WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 (Greece)
World Champioship
WABBA World organised the World Championships in Athens on November 25-26 2006 with the support of the Greek president, Nikos Tsounakis. One more time, the value and reputation of our federation was demonstrated by the participation of more than 150 athletes coming from all over the world.
Ambitious to welcome more and more countries and to promote itself all over the world, our WABBA World federation had a lot more affiliated members this year, this time grouping together more than 25 countries! Thus we were able to see for the first time on an international championship stage some new countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Sweden as well as Bulgaria. Some of those nations were not represented by athletes only but also by delegates and accompanying persons, and owing to that we could see those countries were very motivated and willing to participate in such an active and fast-growing federation as WABBA. This success is already very promising for the next World Championships, which will welcome more various and relevant delegations at the end of the year 2007 in Yekaterinburg in Russia.
On November 26 the final began with the Medium Class category, the most significant as far as the number of athletes was concerned, in front of an astounded Greek audience who had come out in force in order to support the athletes. With several athletes accustomed to WABBA competitions on stage (among others, the Turkish Serdar Aktolga, current European Champion), the competition for World Champion was tough. Finally, French athlete Alexandre Nataf won the competition easily, with extremely precise muscle definition and an incredible muscle mass. This was great revenge for this athlete who had been runner-up last year, and having then automatically entered the professional category he emerged very remarkably. We saw another French athlete, Dominique Vernay, winning sixth place as well as the Belgian Filip Onghena taking out fifth place. Both athletes have all the qualities needed to climb up to the top steps of an international podium if they work on their muscle definition. Unfortunately, Serdar Aktolga finished in fourth place due to the very high standard in this category, behind Lithuanian athlete Gailiunas Giedrius and the Hungarian Robert Barna.
Congratulations also to English athlete TREVOR CHUNG for his sixteenth placing, a very decent result for his first participation in a world competition, evidently he has the necessary potential to progress.
The Short Class category only gathered about 20 very high-level athletes, surprising us with the Spanish athlete Jose Maria Forte, who took the third step on the podium last year and who finally won first place here, in front of the Russian Dmitry Pakhtaev and the Italian Diego Martines. It is true that this athlete has considerably improved himself over the last few months and that he fully deserved his title. One more time, Turkey placed in the top six with Gonul Murat taking fourth place.
Two English athletes were also remarked on by the judges and the public: JAMES RICHARD LLEWELLIN who, owing to his significant muscle mass, placed sixth (a very satisfying result knowing that top six candidates were of a very similar level); and BAMY DU PLESSIS, with an excellent physique, who took out eleventh place and who has all the required qualities to improve in the near future. At thirteenth was the Reunionese athlete, Jean-Marie Toxiville, presenting a very good physique but lacking a bit of muscle mass in order to impose himself more.
At thirteenth was the Reunionese athlete, Jean-Marie Toxiville, presenting a very good physique but lacking a bit of muscle mass in order to impose himself more.
Then, the Tall Class category competed, gathering the athletes of over than 178cm (5’10”) in height to impress us with their kilos of muscle mass. Italian athlete Andrea Tedeschi placed first owing to a dense and symmetrical physique. He finished in front of Michel Borsboom (Netherlands) and Mehmet Kasap (Turkey). Both English athletes, JAMES SCOTT and EDMUND WEYER, took out sixth and seventh places respectively. With some further preparation to improve their muscle definition and detail, both athletes will surely be able to improve their performances during the next international championship.
Then the Miss categories came on stage in order to perform their show for us. The Under 30s Miss Shape was particularly difficult to decide, they were so numerous and the standard was so high. The Dutch Debbie Keskin reached the top step of the podium owing to an amazing physique. Moreover, her routine was original and impressed many of us. Finnish athlete Jenny Levavaara was runner-up with another incredible physique. She is unfortunately becoming accustomed to this second placing after several competitions. Let’s not forget the Lithuanian girls, Jovita Siukstaite and Indre Lasmanaviciute, placing fourth and fifth behind the Hungarian Dora Szantai who came third this time
Both Miss Fitness categories were won by Italian girls: Mavi Gioia for the Under 30s and Barbara Carita for the Over 30s. Greek athletes won both second places: Aikaterini Megalou for the younger and Eleni Kava for the older, very well supported by their audience. English athlete SHARON MARSHALL, who won sixth place, should also be mentioned
Other athletes to be noted in the Over 30s category: third and fourth places went to two more Italian ladies (making Italy the winning nation for the women’s categories) and seventh place went to the French Andrée Jioanni. The English SHELLEY HINE, for whom it was her first WABBA competition, can be proud of her sixth place. With better preparation she will be on the podium at the next championship.
The older athletes were very well represented. Mikhail Bryukhanov from Russia won the Masters (Over 40s) and Walter Van Elderen of the Netherlands won the Super Masters (Over 50s). This athlete has incredible genetic potential and an impressive muscle mass for his age, and the title of World Champion was given to him unanimously. We hope to see him again at the next championship, his physique and determination being a model for the next generation of older body builders.
KEVIN ALDER and PAUL BRODERICK, both English athletes, took out the seventh and ninth placings, even up against some frightening competitors. We also hope to see them back at the upcoming international championships.
As for the younger people in the Junior category, incredible athlete Giovanni Bru left us speechless. Coming from Reunion Island, this was his first world-class competition with WABBA. His dense and symmetric physical gave him first place, in spite of the excellent condition of the Greek athletes who won second and fourth placings. REES SYMON from the UK deserves our encouragement, since he managed fifth place at his first participation in an international WABBA championship. We are sure that he will experience remarkable development!
As a reminder, the federation of Reunion Island is only one year old, and the success of their young athlete illustrates the great job done by president Yacine Bachir for the promotion of the WABBA in the French DOM TOM Islands.
In the Men’s Fitness category, the 2006 European champion, Graziano Campoli from Italy, won the title of World Champion, followed by Fabio Tonella, another Italian. The Spanish Agustin Frias improved on his performance in the European championships and managed third place. The Belgian Filip Vanderheide also made progress to reach fourth place. It is important to note the huge effort made by Mexican Lucio Rodriguez in his routine, giving a lesson to all the athletes in his category. Indeed, he presented a very original and artistic routine, impressing the jury as well as the audience, and was chosen to perform as part of the final show exhibition, in order to demonstrate to all fitness athletes what the WABBA is expecting from them.
Last but not least was the much-expected Professional category, where the Greek Michalis Kefalianos, in excellent shape, competed one more time against Vitalijs Aleksandrovs from Latvia. The winners of the Short, Medium and Tall Classes were also in the competition
It was a tough fight for the first three places and all three athletes presented incredible muscle mass and breathtaking muscle definition. Finally, the Greek won first place, just ahead of French Alexandre Nataf (World Champion for the Medium Class and in a professional competition for the first time). Vitalijs only managed third place, since his preparation had not left him in top condition. Moreover, the judges had already seen him in better shape. Amongst the 13 contestants the Swiss Patrick Tuor’s preparation has to be noticed: his physical preparation, muscle definition and posing were perfect and got him seventh place. Also, MARK KRAH from England presented exceptional muscle potential, which gave him eighth place. With a little more muscle mass, to harmonize with his tall frame, this athlete might be at the fore in upcoming competitions.
We invite you to browse through the complete results and pictures on our website: www.wabbaworld.com, where you can find your favourite athletes by category. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@wabbaworld.com
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