CAC Bodybuilding Championships
Coach Forbes Mitchell’s predictions come true
By Leeron Brumell
Guyana Chronicle
October 4, 2003
SHORTLY before Guyana’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding team departed these shores for the 2003 championships, national coach Forbes Mitchell, made two predictions.
The first was that Sylvon Gardner would retain his bantamweight crown and that sponsorship would be on the rise for the lifters.
Well his hunch was right. Gardner did retain his crown and sponsorship would be on the cards for the lifters.
Mitchell, the owner of the Power Plant Gym, in Campbellville, is pleased with the results of the CAC games in which Paul Nichols gained a bronze, while Mike Morris and Olwayn Lynch fell short of medalling.
“I’m pleased because, I don’t think anyone has repeated such a feat as myself, and I feel proud to be associated with this feat, having my name written there,” the soft-spoken Mitchell said.
He said questions are there as to whether it was the diet or the regimen these builders followed. “I think it was a combination of both the diet and regimen, as well as discipline that took these guys so far.”
But Mitchell is not just satisfied with two CAC gold, silver and bronze medal, his motto is to strive for higher grounds.
“I’m not happy with just CAC, I want to see Sylvon go to the max, I want to see him at the World Games, but the bodybuilding federation has to show interest, they have to take steps to have Sylvon meet his full potential.”
He was also glad with Paul’s bronze and also told them before they left that the competition would be stiffer than in 2002. Nichols landed silver in the 2002 championships that were staged in Venezuela.
The broadly built coach also said that he was disappointed that Olwayn Lynch and Mike Morris did not medal, but noted that he was impressed with Lynch’s body.
“Lynch has an excellent upper body, but he has no symmetry, his legs are small and for him to be a better builder he has to build downstairs to match his top.
If and when he does this it would produce wonders for him in the future because he’s tall.”
Mitchell said that from the pictures he saw, Lynch’s disadvantage was his legs and that he was smaller in body mass than the other athletes. He noted that Lynch was more definitive.
Mike Morris is young in the sport, and Mitchell feels that with two to three more years’ investment in lifting, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Mitchell’s second prediction is somewhat met. He had expressed optimism that lucrative investments and incentives would come from both the private and public sectors for Gardner and Nichols.
Earlier in the week International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) donated supplements to the two.
The short, but compact Gardner expressed his joy at successfully defending his title.
“I’m very proud about my achievements over the last two years. Right now I’m just relaxing and waiting to see what will be the federation’s next step.”
He is already relishing the thought of making it three in a row when the championships will be staged in his backyard, the National Cultural Centre.
“People have been telling me that I can make it thrice; well I’m waiting for that. I’ll continue to train hard and with full support, I’m willing to go the distance.”
He noted that this year’s competition was much stiffer and he felt a bit of strain from the Bahamians and Guatemalans but felt more at home in his free-posing routine.
“The guys were good this year, the competition was stiff, but when it came to my free-posing, there was no stopping me,” he said from in front of his house where he was caught relaxing.
He also noted that he wants to enter the 2004 competition with more muscle mass and to be a bit heavier, but he’ll first experiment at the National Championships where he hopes to make the 160 lb mark, the heaviest he’ll attempt.
He noted that he was thankful that Mitchell was there beside him all the way. He said it was a good move by the federation to make him the national coach.
“I’m glad that Forbes was our coach, he’s done an excellent job and also brought out the best in Mike and Olwayn, since they did not really train with us.”
Paul Nichols felt that his tan was the problem in the first round, when he only applied one coat, but he showed better when applied two to three more coats for the other rounds, something the other builders encouraged him to do.
He too felt that the competition was very stiff, and felt that he was not as prepared as in 2002 when he claimed silver in the lightweight division.
“I was set back by injuries to my knees and legs, but I did the best I could to make up for it. There was nothing more I could have done. I’m thankful, but I was looking for the gold.”
Gardner and Nichols also expressed their gratitude to IPA for the supplements they received and noted that the pharmacy would be assisting them, leading up to the 2004 championships.