Eldoret to stage East Africa body building event
The second edition of Mr and Miss East Africa BodyBuilding Championships contest is slated for October 7, 2023, at the Rupaz Fun N Fitness Centre in Eldoret.
In the previous edition of the competition, 130 bodybuilding athletes from East Africa converged to entertain guests and compete for top honours in the contest which attracted a good number of fans who braved the chilly weather.
This year, the organizers are targeting to increase competitors to over 300.
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The theme of the event is raising mental health awareness among the public.
The winners are guaranteed to Sh300,000 in prize money with the second-placed taking home Sh200,000, and Sh150,000 received for the third-placed person.
Nabert Shiveka, one of the event organizers said last year’s event was a success and this year they are targeting to increase the number of competitors and use the event as sports tourism.
“We want to make it better this year and our target is to invite more than athletes across Africa because we believe there is a lot of talent that has not been identified and that is why we want to ask athletes to turn up in large numbers and try their luck,” said Shiveka.
Joseph Mugo the event’s marketing manager on his part said that last year more than 190 participants competed and this year they are looking forward to more competitors.
“We have brought on board the Uganda and Tanzania Bodybuilding Federations because our target is to make the event big and give a chance to many athletes outside there who have been in the cold for a long time,” said Mugo.
He added that Robert Phill from the UK who was the invited judge will lead other judges from the country, Uganda, and Tanzania in an event that is expected to attract a good number both in terms of competition and body-building fans.
The total prize money is also set to increase to Sh2.65 million this year across the 14 categories and the prize money might increase depending on the sponsorship that will be coming on board in the remaining period.
Mugo added that there have been challenges in having such competitions and with the inclusion of the Anti-doping Agency of Kenya in such events, they are expecting to have a clean sport that will be fair to everyone.
Maganda Omollo who was last year’s second runner-up in the heavyweight category said that he was optimistic of better results this year after improving on what the judges asked them to work on last year.
“The competition is also good for our mental fitness and having finished in third place last year, I’m looking forward to the event I have improved from what the judges told us to work on. The upcoming competition is a motivation to some of us because it has been dormant for some time but we are happy it is now back,” said Omollo.