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Fungai Muderere
SEVERAL top bodybuilders will seek to outdo each other at this year edition of Mr and Ms Zimbabwe International Trade Fair on Saturday at the ZITF Main Arena and at Elite.
South Africa-based Ndumiso Dlodlo, the winner of last yeara��s men bodybuilding, is coming home to defend his title.
He is certain to face competition from five times in a row Mr Bulawayo, Lovemore Munyamana who has withdrawn from Arnold Classic. Other senior men expected to give Dlodlo stiff competition are Michael Alimu, Givemore Marufu, Domingo Lunga and Thembinkosi Lunga.
With Shantel Greenland and Selina Manuel who are both going to the Arnold Classic not taking part, this presents an opportunity for up and coming female bodybuilders to showcase their talent. Gift Sango and Prosper Saungweme are favourites for Mr Strongman as they are representing the country in the same category at Arnold Classic.
Saungweme swept all the prizes at the Body Works Classic Mr Strongman held at Gifford High School in October last year.
This year the tournament, which has seen PPC Zimbabwe, Proton Bakery, Intercape and Bodyworks Gym among other sponsors, assume sponsorship has been broken down into two segments, Mr Strongman in the morning as well as the bodybuilding contest in the evening.
The Mr Strongman event will take place at the ZITF Main Arena while the bodybuilding contest will be held at Elite 400.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Bodybuilding and Fitness Association organising secretary Simon Gama said prizes were lucrative for Mr Strongman with the winner set to pocket $500, the runner up $300 and third-placed to get $200.
For the senior men bodybuilding the first prize is $300, $200 is for the runner up with $100 for number three. For junior men, the champion is guaranteed $200, with $150 to go the way of the runner up and $100 for the athlete in third place. The prize structure is the same for the top three in women fitness bikini and mena��s fitness physique. A separate show for mena��s fitness will take place a day before, which Gama said had its own sponsor.
a�?For Mr Strongman, muscled men will get to pull cars from a Nissan March up to an Intercape Pathfinder bus over 30 metres, flip tyres and engage in the Farmers Walk where they get to run with weights over a certain distance. The categories for the bodybuilding are junior men Under-23, women fitness bikini, senior men and mena��s physique,a�? said Gama.
Last year, Clarion Insurance bankrolled Mr and Ms ZITF which took place at Cloud Nine, now Club 263.
The event is a brainchild of Gama and Tenson Manyuka who in 2011 managed to run a bodybuilding event which has now since become an annual event.
The National Federation of Zimbabwe Bodybuilding and Fitness executive council are in full support of the project which has capacity to grow into an international event.
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Online Reporter