The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
THE Bulawayo Metropolitan Bodybuilding and Fitness Association are aiming at building on this year’s success by athletes under their banner to fully revive the sport in 2015.Bodybuilders from the province notably did well this year with Lovemore Munyamana emerging tops in the lightweight category at the flagship and prestigious Mr Zimbabwe contest in Harare last month.
Ndumiso Dlodlo came second in the light heavyweight section while top junior bodybuilder Delvin Page came third in the juniors’ category in the same competition.
Page also emerged triumphant at the Midlands Grandprix that was held on 8 November in Gweru.
BMBFA chairman John Mhangwa said they were pleased that local athletes were now among the champions in the country following a period where other provinces dominated the sport.
He said they were aiming at increasing the number of contests in Bulawayo as a way of assisting bodybuilders to sharpen themselves.
“I think we need more competitions within the province as they would give the athletes an opportunity to refine themselves instead of going to compete nationally without having had the chance to see at what level they are locally,” he said.
Mhangwa said there was a need for more financial support from other stakeholders to enhance the local athletes’ chances of success.
“I think our counterparts in Harare and other provinces have had the edge over us because they have secured funding from various quarters which has assisted them with critical items such as supplements,” he said.
Meanwhile, the bodybuilding community in Bulawayo is still revelling in the achievements by Munyamana more so as those involved in the sport in this city have in recent years played second fiddle to contestants from other provinces. Charity Juma was the last bodybuilder to win in a national competition when she walked away with the Ms Zimbabwe title in 2008.
BMBFA organising secretary Simon Gama, who travelled with the Bulawayo contestants to this year’s edition of Mr Zimbabwe, said they were still elated with Munyamana’s win which, he believed would bring renewed vigour to local bodybuilding and the revival it needed.
Champion Chienderamwano clinched the main heavyweight title for the second year in a row at the national finals held on 18 October at the Harare International School in the capital.
Munyamana said he was happy to have walked away with the crown adding his hard work had finally paid off.
“I worked so hard to land the crown; I never missed a training session and managed to endure the most difficult part which is dieting. If you are not strong you won’t be able to diet but I was mentally strong as I limited the type of food I ate while drinking one bottle of 500ml of water a day, as a lot of water in the body affects the shape of the muscles,” said Munyamana, adding that he hoped his achievement would inspire aspiring bodybuilders to take up the sport.
Munyamana also said the achievement should be used as a base to uplift the sport in the city by attracting sponsors and more athletes.
“We need more athletes and sponsorship to uplift bodybuilding in the province. It has been saddening in the past few years for us to watch other provinces dominate while we played second fiddle but with this win I feel there is hope to achieve more.
“Sponsors can now see that as bodybuilders in the city we have got a lot of potential but we are only let down by lack of frequent competitions and support. Bodybuilding is an expensive sport as one needs supplements and you have to eat a lot of protein. I had to eat at least six eggs a day to grow my muscles.
“It wasn’t easy but I received support from Dynamics Gym owners, Brian and Lynette Magigwana who assisted me with supplements,” he said.
The 30-year-old bodybuilder said he was initially reluctant to join the sport after another athlete from Mabutweni, Sydney urged him to join the sport when he met him at a gym in Mpopoma.
Munyamana then started taking part in the sport after being encouraged and pushed by Sydney in 2011.
Munyamana said he took time to acclimatise because he felt uncomfortable when dressed in underwear in front of people. However, after coming third in the Mr Matabeleland contest in 2011 and in the top 10 in the Mr Zimbabwe finals, his confidence grew, and has never looked back.
The athlete, whose job is fixing amplifiers and television sets in Mpopoma, was born in Mutare.
He moved to Bulawayo in 1997 after completing secondary school studies at Biriri High School.
He is married and has two children.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Page expressed satisfaction at coming third saying it was an improvement after taking fourth place at the Marondera Classics held three weeks ago.
“After the Marondera Classics I went back to the gym and worked harder and I am glad my efforts got recognition as I came in third. Now that I am out of the juniors, I am eager to continue with my career and achieve more in the sport. However, funding will always remain a concern for me and currently I was financing myself but I hope to secure sponsorship in the near future to enable me to be competitive,” he said.
Mhangwa said they were eager to revive the sport after a lull this year with only one competition having been held so far.
He said their focus was already for next year and they would begin by reviving past contests while bringing in new ones to ensure local bodybuilders were adequately prepared for national competitions.
“We are back on the drawing board and we are looking forward to hosting competitions such as Mr Western Areas, Mr ZITF, Musclemania, Mr Novice, Mr Matabeleland and Mr Bulawayo among others to ensure our athletes get a feel of the stage before they go national. As an executive we will be engaging sponsors and we want to see a comprehensive revival of the sport in the province,” added Mhangwa.
