2019 Northern Counties
Photos courtesy of Sam Solarfly, Matt Marsh Photography
September 8th saw 66 athletes from an original entry of 76 take to the stage in front of another packed UKDFBA crowd for what became our biggest Northern Counties yet.
The results were:
Junior Men
1 – Jack Richardson
2 – Tyler Lloyd
3 – Ralph Merritt
4 – Blake Gidley
The first class of the day was packed with talent as all four men boasted great physiques. Jack took the win with the thickest muscled and best balanced physique of the four with good conditioning and posing. A few percent sharper and the 2016 Teen UK Champ will be one of the favourites for the finals. Tyler was hot on Jacks heels and although not quite as heavily muscled in the upper body bought an incredible classic shape and incredible quads to the table which if a little harder may have turned the tables on Jack today. Ralph was his sharpest ever in third and beautifully structured as always. He was a little light on muscle to upset the top 2 on this occasion and needs to make his comparison posing a bit more prompt and precise for the finals but is capable of placing high there nonetheless. Blake took fourth today but in reality was good enough for a higher placing in many other shows and if he brings his big and balanced physique to the finals in true contest condition could cause a huge upset.
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Masters Men
1 – Chris Chapman
Chris’ third Northern Counties title, albeit without opposition today. However, he was his best yet looking tight and full and well on track to give his strongest finals challenge to date.
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Grandmasters Men
1 – Patrick Rouxel
2 – Marshall Clarke
3 – Ian Preston-Kline
An incredible Patrick stormed to victory in the Grandmasters, carrying far too much muscle to be touched today and in good condition to boot. A tad sharper for the finals and he could be one to watch out for. Runner up Marshall was rock hard and detailed, but just not big enough to take the win from Patrick today. He too will stand his ground at the finals and is capable of placing. Ian took third in his best shape to date, gradually getting better and better at every outing and so much more impressive now than when he first stepped onstage. Good work Ian, keep moving forwards.
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Masters Figure
1 – Paula Christian-Cox
2 – Maria Giordmaina
3 – Terri Barrett
4 – Deborah Marr
5 – Anastasia Walsh
Solid first and second place finishes in this class for Paula and Maria, with both having the potential for high place finishes at any final. Paula took the title over Maria today with superb conditioning to show off her near perfectly developed figure which would look just as impressive in either this or the Fit Body division but Marias supreme structure and incredible shape could turn the tables in 6 weeks time if she hardens up sufficiently. Terri and Deborah in the next two places were both in great shape, but lacked the shape and flow of the top two athletes. Anastasia rounded out the class in 5th with great presentation and potential to climb the placings as she develops and tightens up further.
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Novice Men
1 – Tom Edmunds
2 – Nush Sajjad
3 – Charlie Mitten
4 – Sat Dhaliwal
5 – Chris Wilson
A clear and decisive win for Tom in the Novices, with just too much muscle to be troubled by the others in the class today. Hard conditioned and with a lovely shape and balance, Tom is one of the best Novices we have seen all season and will be hard to beat at the finals. Nush and Charlie had a tight battle for second place with Nush just pushing ahead by virtue of being slightly bigger and fuller. Charlie was rock hard and detailed and could have taken second place with no complaints and both were invited to the finals where if Nush comes in a little sharper and Charlie a little fuller could both feature strongly. Sat took fourth with the beginnings of a very good physique and as he grows a little more over time will find himself in the top 3 placings before he knows it. Chris rounded out the class in fifth, and although improved over last year still needs more size and condition overall to be more competitive.
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Open Figure
1 – Grace Jones
2 – Diane Bennett
3 – Laura Bateman
4 – Charly Wright
5 – Sarah Ridgeway
6 – Katie May Smith
Grace stormed to victory in the next class, about as muscular and hard as she could be for the class and boasting an incredible shape and perfect presentation. Diane and Laura took equally decisive second and third places and were both worthy of their finals invitations. Charly, Sarah and Katie May took the next 3 places, all needing to be a little sharper to challenge the higher placings. Also competing were Sigita Catherall who was lean and muscular and better suited to Fit Body and Candi Martin who has a lovely shape and structure but needed to be harder today.
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Fit Body
1 – Jennifer Yarwood
2 – Paula Christian-Cox
3 – Grace Jones
4 – Sigita Catherall
5 – Deborah Marr
6 – Terri Barrett
The Fit Body class was won by some margin by Jennifer, who carried the perfect amount of muscle for the class, shaped and structured beautifully. If she sharpens up for the finals she could cause serious trouble for opposition. Figure winners Paula and Grace took second and third respectively today but will be more suited to figure at the finals. Sigita, Deborah and Terri took the final placings, all with decent physiques and in good shape but needing a little more muscle on this occasion.
Also competing were Maria Giordmaina, Sarah Ridgeway, Charly Wright, Katie-May Smith and Fiona Sneddon who all needed to be more muscular for this class and fit the figure criteria better and Gina Gardiner who was sharp and muscular but not structurally suited to this class.
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Ladies Bodybuilding
1 – Gina Gardner
Gina, who we had seen earlier in the Fit Body division went on to take the Ladies Bodybuilding class unopposed. She was more suited to this discipline and has potential to do well in this class as she develops further.
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Lightweight Men
1 – Yikai Shao
2 – George Osborne
3 – Eddy Williams
4 – Dominic Siringano
A decent battle came next in the Lightweight Open with all four competitors relatively evenly matched and very little separating them overall. Yikai took the win with a balanced, full and lean physique which boasts a beautiful shape and symmetry and has notable gains in muscle since his last outing. George and Eddy could have placed either way round in 2nd and 3rd, with Eddy a touch sharper and more impressively muscled when viewed in some poses, with George better balanced overall and more impressive from the rear. Fourth placed Dominic was well balanced and lean but needs a little more size and condition to turn the tables on the men who placed ahead of him today.
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Middleweight Men
1 – Gareth Anderson
Unopposed and taking the stage with the Heavyweights, Gareth was vastly improved from his 2017 Novice showing and in superb condition. With another decent offseason under his belt he will soon find himself in the running at national level.
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Heavyweight Men
1 – Ben Lloyd ** Overall Winner **
2 – Stephen Manuel
3 – Theo Golaub
4 – Nick Adams
5 – John Lovell
A superb class, and the battle for first and second possibly the highlights of the day as a big and shredded Ben took the title in his UKDFBA debut over first time competitor and former multi titled World Class Powerlifter Stephen. Both men were just incredible, drawing audible gasps from the crowd as they were compared and both capable of winning any title they please. Today, Ben took the nod by virtue of his superior conditioning before going on to take a unanimous Overall win but once Stephen masters this element of his game it could well be lights out for pretty much anyone who stands onstage next to him. Theo, Nick and John all had decent, well balanced physiques but required far more in the way of conditioning today to have any chance of challenging the top two. Theo received an invitation to the finals and gets his chance to do just that in 6 weeks time.
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Ladies Bikini
1 – Emma Clark
2 – Amy Bamford
3 – Danni Robinson
4 – Staav Bremer
5 – Sian Kenny
6 – Jasmine Beesley
Possibly the best Bikini line up of any UKDFBA qualifier in history, with pretty much all of the 12 ladies who filed onstage in shape, fitting the criteria for the class and good enough to crack at least the back end of a top 5 in any other show. That being said, Emma was a solid winner with a beautiful structure and great presentation who was impossible to beat today. Amy and Danni were closely matched in the next 2 places, with both well structured and ideal condition but just not quite as well developed as the winner. Similarly, the next 2 places went to ladies very evenly matched with both Staav and Sian in great shape and capable of placing higher on any other day but just unlucky to land in such a high quality line up on this occasion. Jasmine took 6th ahead of Kelly Walsh, Jeannie De Gray Birch, Helen Quinn, Hannah Hesketh, Liza Salt and Noor Haddad. Each of these ladies were far too good to end up out of the places on any normal occasion but todays line up really was something special.
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Mens Physique, Short
1 – Ambokile Bell
2 – Sam Carragher
3 – Nick Chapman
4 – Josh Dowen
5 – Sam North
6 – Dane Fowler
A strong 9 man line up took the stage next, with a much improved Ambokile taking the title in far better condition than last years third place finish. Sam and Nick had a battle for second, which went to Sam by virtue of his excellent shape and structure with Nick taking third, in far better condition than his last appearance 2 weeks prior. All three men deservedly took finals invitations for their trouble and will meet again in 6 weeks. Josh Dowen in fourth was lean and muscular but not as aesthetically pleasing as those in the top three, as was Sam North in 5th. Dane took 6th with a decent looking structure but his heavy tattoos prevented any real detail from being visible in the front of his upper body. Also competing were Sam Kelly who needed to be harder, Luke Buchannan who has the beginnings of a good physique but needs a little more size and hardness and Christopher Simpson, who thoroughly enjoyed his stage time but was outmuscled today.
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Mens Physique, Tall
1 – Jason Magee
2 – Weston Mutepfa
3 – Quais Butt
4 – Tom Whitney
5 – Jake Donnelly
6 – Matthew White
The final class of the day, as well as the Overall were won by a much improved Jason who was too well put together to be beaten today. Jason needs to relax a little with his posing as he looks a little tense at times but that aside he is pretty much the finished article physique wise. A close battle of opposites for 2nd and 3rd saw Weston take the runner up spot over Qais with a more conditioned upper body but without the aesthetic appeal that Qais showed. In reality, Qais had the most appealing shape of the day in these classes and if he were a touch harder would have been untouchable. He now has 6 weeks to rectify this for the finals should he choose to.
Outside the top 3 were Tom, who was muscular but not enough so to challenge for a higher placing, Jake who has a lovely shape and balance but needs more size and Matthew who needed to be harder today.
And with that, the contest came to an end. Thanks to all who supported us today as we head now towards the final qualifier of the season.
Lee.
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