On stage

Egypt was victorious at the 60th IFBB Men's World Amateur Bodybuilding and Classic Bodybuilding championships in Ostrfava, Czech Republic. Inas Mazhar writes

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Egyptian bodybuilders show what they're made of

Egypt continued to prove its supremacy in the world of bodybuilding. Its rule in the artistic sport was confirmed in the Czech Republic where Egypt scored a total of 84 points to win first place. The Czech Republic was second with 65 points followed by Slovakia in the third place also with 65 points.

Fifty countries took part in the four-day event.

Egypt also received the "Best National Team" award in the final of the championship. The award is given to the team with the highest score in all events considering the most number of gold, silver and bronze medals won.

The Egyptian delegation consisted of eight bodybuilders who won two gold medals, by Yosri El-Sayed in the (75kg) and Ahmed Hammouda in the +100kg. The silver medal was won by the reigning African champion Ahmed Esmat Sadek in the 85kg, while the bronze was won by the former world champion Anwar El-Ammawi in the 65kg.

President of the Egyptian and African Federations Adel Fahim was overjoyed with the results. "It is a great achievement for Egypt. It confirmed our leadership in the world of bodybuilding. It meant a lot for us to take the world trophy from the home team, the Czech Republic.

"The results were remarkable. All our athletes were winners. Four clinched medals, three finished in the fourth place while only one came fifth which means that they are still among the world's top five players and this is something big because only the top five in each weight category make it to the final stage," Fahim added.

"I hope the country represented in the National Sports Council will seriously consider our achievements by rewarding the athletes them appropriately. We have just won the African championships in Cairo last month and the world championships are the greatest."

Silver medalist at the 85kg category Ahmed Esmat Sadek said he could have won a gold medal had he not exhausted himself at the African championships in which he won his category's gold medal.

'Training and building up for two consecutive championships is very hard... the muscles should be relaxed between major events and I didn't have enough time."

"Actually I wasn't sure of winning. But it was enough to be selected among the top 15 for the final round. And that made me more confident. I did my best and believe that I deserved winning the silver medal."

Esmat, the son of the former world champion Esmat Sadek, was happy with his achievement since he was making his first appearance at the world championships. "I was unlucky twice before. Every time after training and intensive preparations I got injured and couldn't make it. This time, thank God, everything went smoothly for me and I believe I had an outstanding season and I'm confident that next year I'll claim the gold"

Esmat believes he is still young for bodybuilding. "I'm only 28 and there were others competing against me in their late forties."

The favourite to win the gold in Esmat's category was former world champion, Egyptian El-Shahat Mabrouk. The elder Mabrouk, 48, placed fourth though he has been dominating the 85kg category for almost a decade.

"Mabrouk is a great champion and he is my idol. I hope that one day I win as many medals as he did," Esmat says.

"Esmat says that it's a matter of another year before turning pro. "It's a different level. I've already received some offers from abroad, from the US. An agent even followed me here to Cairo after the world championship. Only those among the top three can obtain the pro card and I could, but my goal is to claim the world's gold medal next year before turning pro.

"It's not only the technical level that is higher in professional bodybuilding but financially as well. We are amateurs, we receive no prize money but at least we should be rewarded by the country. So far, we haven't been rewarded for the African Championship. In Egypt, it takes months and even years to collect your reward. It's very quick in football, of course, though their achievements are only regional, not worldwide.

"Most of the bodybuilders here spend a lot of money on protein supplements and vitamins. It could reach LE600 a day and the federation receives a limited budget from the National Sports Council."

Esmat believes the main reason behind Egyptian excellence in the sport is the talent. "Egyptians are talented in this sport. It's just born with them, in their genetics. It's like Brazil in football, it's in their blood. Each country is talented in a certain sport and the examples are many."

In bodybuilding, when there are more than 15 athletes competing in a category, an elimination round is held for the purpose of reducing the number to 15. In the elimination round, all of the athletes in the category are brought on stage in a single line (two lines if necessary) and in numerical order. The chief judge then directs the competitors, centre-stage, in numerical order and in groups of not more than five competitors at a time, through four compulsory poses: front double biceps; side chest; back double biceps; and abdominals and thighs.

The prejudging (round one) follows the elimination round where all 15 finalists are called on stage as a group, in a single line and in numerical order. The judging panel should be given a moment to note the competitor's numbers on their score sheet. In groups of not more than five competitors at a time, and in numerical order, the competitors are directed to perform four poses at centre-stage: front relaxed followed by front double biceps, side chest, back relaxed followed by back double biceps and abdominal and thighs.

This posing is not be scored but is used by the judges to determine their own individual comparisons, which immediately follows. In round one, the judges compare the competitors while they are directed to perform the following seven compulsory poses (five for women), up to a maximum of five athletes at a time: front double biceps; front flat spread (men only); side chest; back double biceps; back flat spread (men only); side triceps; and abdominals and thighs.

Each judge is expected to watch all of the comparisons and not just those that a specific judge has requested. Then each judge marks the competitors in placings of 1 through 15, indicating where a particular athlete stands in comparison with the other 14 athletes, and do not give more than one athlete the same placing.

The scores for the prejudging are used to place the top 15 competitors from first place to 15th place. The top five competitors from the prejudging advance to the finals and starts the finals with zero points. At the discretion of the judge, the top five finalists may be announced after the prejudging and before the finals.

The finals usually immediately follows the opening ceremony where the top five finalists are brought on stage for the round 2 in a single line and in numerical order. Each finalist should be introduced by number, country and name and performs an individual posing routine to music of his or her choice, up to a maximum of 60 seconds. This round is scored. The judges then eliminate two high and two low scores for each competitor, and then add up the remaining five scores and record the results. The same nine judges who adjudicated a category at the prejudging judge the same category at the finals.

Round 3 then follows. Under the direction of the judge, the top 5 finalists perform the seven compulsory poses, as a group and at the same time, in the middle, left and right stage areas. An 8th pose, the "Most Muscular", is called as the last pose before the posedown. This round is also scored. As soon as the seven compulsory poses are completed, the judge calls for a 60-second posedown to music of the organiser's choice. This round is not be scored.

Each judge marks the competitors in placings of one through five, indicating where a particular athlete stands in comparison with the other four athletes, and do not give more than one athlete the same placing. The statisticians will transcribe each judge's placings onto a score sheet. They will then eliminate two high and two low scores for each competitor, and then add up the remaining five scores and record the results. The results of the second round and the third round are then added to produce a final score. They will then record a placing for each competitor. The competitor with the lowest final score wins the category's first place while the competitor with the highest final score is awarded 5th place.

Surprisingly, the results of the World Championship are subject to doping controls and are therefore not final.