Haka vs Terminator in Pretoria
The motto of the IFBBA SA is “Go Big or Go Home”, and that was certainly the case at the Pretoria City Hall when the North Gauteng bodybuilders competed for their regional titles and places in the SA Nationals that take place in Cape Town later this week.
The thousand-strong crowd that packed the auditorium were enthralled by the 68 prime fitness athletes who competed across 19 divisions for provincial honours.
As is standard practice with these IFBBA events, the select panel of judges do their work during the day and compare notes on the athletes who present themselves for close scrutiny.
By nightfall the gleaming athletes were ready to rock the famous old landmark with vibrant music and fabulous displays of muscles and fitness as the under-18s and under-21s showed their muscles with pride before the big guns, veterans and masters took to the stage.
Then it was the delight of the night for the male members of the audience as the bikini-clad beautiful bodies graced the stage.
Anneline Booysen and Yvonne Kotze won their respective height classes in the Body Fitness division convincingly, with their slightly more defined and harder physiques.
35-year-old stunner Alex Logan, who won her division at the Miss SA Xtreme 2011, showed her dedication for the sport with a diamante IFBB embossed on her winning navy blue bikini.
In the Beach Bikini division the bubbly 24-year-old Jestine Lottering won over the judges with her infectious smile, lifting the trophy in her first year of competing.
In the senior men’s divisions, in which judges score competitors based on symmetry, muscularity, presentation and overall physique, the athletes flexed their way onto the massive stage. Showing that David can beat Goliath, bantamweight David Lethulochipi won the division with ease.
In the lightweight division Zukisile Mbali and Levy Radebe with their similar symmetry and muscle size had the crowd divided, but the judges had picked Mbali in the pre-judging session.
Welterweight Benni Balepile will undoubtedly be holding a big celebration for his 29th birthday this week after winning his group … even in his bright yellow speedo!
By far the most visually entertaining division of the night, the light middleweights, brought their top moves to the fore. Second placed Armand Fourie did his tribute to the Rugby World Cup with a haka-inspired routine, while winner Charles Luck took on the terminator with his mechanical robot posing.
Despite winning multiple SA National Champion Cobus van der Merwe faced some tough competition in the heavyweight division, as Roelf Coertze gave him a run for his money, but the judges chose Van der Merwe for his superior symmetry and great striations. Van der Merwe also managed to clench the overall title at the end of the night.
The SA Nationals take place in Cape Town on the 10th and the whole show will be streamed live on the Internet from 15:30 on the IFBB SA website — David Blood SportsCentral