Mr Zim battle too close to call

THERE was a time when the likes of Bible Mhizha and Innocent Choga used to blow other bodybuilders off the stage.

Their historic captures of the Mr Zimbabwe title seemed to be by consensus, even the guys they beat had no qualms about it. Well, those days are gone. The margins are getting finer by the day and in a discipline where opinion carries the day, drama is never far away.

Last year, Ndumiso Dlodlo won Zimbabwe’s most celebrated bodybuilding gong ahead of favourite Champions Chienderamwano and there was drama long after the show had ended at 7 Arts Theatre in Harare.

The judges were accused of ignoring Chienderamwano’s size in favour of Dlodlo’s symmetry.

They stood accused of not giving the then reigning champion a fair crack at defending his crown.

Minutes after Chienderamwano had posed and won in the heavyweight category, he was asked to shrug it out with a more rested Dlodlo for the ultimate prize. It was a diabolical call! But before that furore, Garikai Mujuru had left shouting “I was robbed.”

Now, a year after all that hullabaloo, the battle for the Mr Zimbabwe crown goes down again at Jubilee Hall in Milton Park, Harare, on Saturday.

Jubilation is guaranteed, as controversy.

The onus is on the Zimbabwe Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation to come up with a judges’ panel that is worth its salt.

Failed bodybuilders as well as pseudo is experts spoiled the soup last year and must not be given the chance to do so again. Dlodlo is confident of defending his crown but the South African based athlete appreciates that it won’t be a stroll.

“There is never an easy competition but I am ready to go,” said Dlodlo.

While the absence of Chienderamwano may be viewed as having tilted the pendulum in Dlodlo’s way, the national championships have a history of springing surprises.

Often times an athlete bolts out of the blue – with muscles and cuts that look like gold – to literally throw the cat among the pigeons.

After years of insisting he was just lifting weights for “fun”, Mark Vassilatos will make his competitive debut at 32.

Could “Big Mark” be this year’s bolt out of the blue?

Although he has not been showing much as he trains at Total Fitness in Harare, Vassilatos is primed to upset the applecart with his massive frame.

“Look I don’t believe in talking much but l am feeling strong and confident. I have put in the hard work and Total Fitness has been solidly behind me,” he said.

But for rookies like reigning Mr Novice Gerald Woodend, there is no winning or losing.

“I just want the experience, l am young and competing on the Mr Zim stage should give me the experience I need to further my career,” said the 18-year-old athlete who is expected to breeze through the Under 23 category before taking a crack at the big one.

Meanwhile, Jerald Noble’s return to the stage, after a 13-year hiatus, should also provide an interesting twist to the tale.