Winslow Small, 2nd vice president of the Barbados Powerlifting and Strength Association (centre) presents Barbados’ Eureka Goodridge with her trophy as association president Manessah King looks on.
By Kimberley Cummins
After confidently declaring his intention to dominate the competition, Julio Sinclair sealed the deal over the weekend to retain his title as the strongest man in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, in the female category newcomer Eureka Goodridge overcame a tough rivalry to be crowned the region’s strongest female.
Their victories came after two days of Strongfest 2022 which was held at the St. George Secondary School, Salters, St. George over the weekend
Sinclair bested his countryman Carlos Griffith by six points to be the ultimate champion. Griffith came in second with 70 points and major rival Surinamese Requel Dudler was third with 66 points.
Sinclair swept his competition in the kettle throw, yoke carry and farmer’s carry; placed second behind Dudler in the bench press on day one and was third in the tyre flip, shoulder press and in the deadlift. The only category that the Guyanese national didn’t make the top three was in the sandbag carry as he had to settle for sixth place after Griffith carried away the top honour and Neil Forde of Barbados was runner-up with the third spot going to Mitchell Rollock of Barbados.
The 34-year-old told Barbados TODAY that he was incredibly proud of his performance in the competition which returned after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I’m feeling great,” he maintained.
“I did not win in every category but that really wasn’t my focus. My focus was to just win the Strong Man competition mainly and that’s what I did. My performance this year was 100 [per cent] like always. It was very high. The competition was very competitive and I love the fact that I came out on top,” Sinclair said, adding that he was preparing for an upcoming bodybuilding competition in December in Guyana.
On the other hand, Barbadian Goodridge told Barbados TODAY she hoped this win would be the catalyst to advance her craft. And she said that if the opportunity arises for future competitions, possibly some overseas, for sure she will grab hold of them.
“I will be training harder and will be competing again. I will be working on every area and I believe I could conquer much heavier weight,” Goodridge stressed.
In the women’s tournament, Goodridge dominated six of the seven categories for her 80 points to Guyanese sports women Kean Andrews’ 76 and Junica Pluck’s 56 points. Goodridge was first in the tyre flip, sandbag carry, kettle throw, farmer’s carry and the bench press, tied with Andrews in the shoulder press and place second in the deadlift behind Andrews.
The 28-year-old Bajan added: “I feel amazing! Extremely happy! I would say it was an impeccable one that I wasn’t expecting especially for a first-time competitor.”
President of the Barbados Powerlifting and Strength Association, organisers of the event, Manasseh King, was pleased with the level of competition and its success but expressed disappointment in the level of financial support that was given to the event. Furthermore, he revealed that because of the lack of support he had to pull his own pockets to ensure the event’s success.
“I would say that to date the title sponsor has not honoured its financial obligation and we are awaiting such funds. We requested support from the Arts and Sports Promotion Fund since April 11 and nary a response regarding our request for support. I personally have honoured the remaining debts using personal funds as it would be disrespectful to invite persons to your country and make a commitment and not honour it.”
Acknowledging that the inclement weather over the weekend severely impacted gate receipts, King nonetheless thanked the agencies that came on board to lend their support.
“I thank Pharmacy Sales, Bryden Stokes, Stansfeld Scott and General Distributors for sponsoring the individual disciplines of the Strongman competition. We also thank The St. Michael School for its support in providing transport for the overseas competitors to the venue and back to their accommodations,” he added.
Competitors in this year’s event came from Barbados, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana and Cuba. All events are judged under the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) standard and rules and regulations. (KC)
