By Avenash Ramzan
Fitness Challenge 2018 is set for this Sunday (March 11) at the National Park Tarmac, with six Guyanese celebrities set to challenge for the title of fittest celebrity of the land.
Organised by Guyana Fitness Games and sponsored by Kares Engineering, the event is set to bring together the fittest men and women of the country battling in various activities.
However, six well-known Guyanese will compete in the Scotiabank Celebrity Charity Challenge, with proceeds from this specific segment being channelled to the work of the Giving Hope Foundation and Help and Shelter.
Miss World Guyana Veena Mookram, Radio Announcer and Television presenter Macaela Cameron aka ‘The Remix Chick’ and Co-founder of Red Entertainment Saskia Wijngaarde are the female celebrities, while on the male side would be Director of Sport Christopher Jones, Radio Announcer/DJ Akelo Elliott and Founder of Pulse Entertainment Robbie Singh.
Last year’s Scotiabank Celebrity Charity Challenge was won by reigning Miss Guyana Universe Soyini Fraser. Former West Indies fast bowler Reon King came in second, followed by ‘Inside the 592’ host Yannick Charles, former News Room Anchor Ashley John and popular businessman Sean Major.
As part of the Celebrity Charity Challenge, Scotiabank had donated $100,000 each to the Ruimveldt Children’s Home and Care Centre and Help and Shelter to assist them with their mandate.
Meanwhile, Dillon Mahadeo and Semonica Duke are set to defend the Male and Female titles respectively when the event gets underway at 11:00h.
Flashback
In 2017, Mahadeo became the first athlete to successfully defend his title at the event, while Duke went one step further after finishing runner-up the previous year.
The athletes battled their fierce competitors and the scorching sunshine in a display of strength, endurance, determination and tenacity.
The participants were required to compete in five events, the first of which was a two-mile run around the inner circuit of the National Park. That was followed by deadlifts, jumping on and off a box, kettle bell swings, chin over bar pull-ups, overhead squats, wall balls and toes-to-bar among others.
The final event of the day required the athletes to perform 100 skips, 30 trusters and push and pull a heavy sled.
Mahadeo of Team Crossfit 592 emerged with the most points after the five events with 462, 52 more than Charlie Walker-Yhap of Team Fitness Paradise, who finished with 410. Rounding off the podium spots was Berbician Anis Ade-Thomas of Team Elite Systems. He managed 397 points.
Duke, also of Team Crossfit 592, ended the day as the most prolific female athlete with 490 points, 15 more than her nearest rival Delice Adonis of Team Fitness Paradise. Christine Rahman of Team Elite Systems took third with 455 points.
Not surprisingly, Team Crossfit 592, comprising Mahadeo, Duke, King Solomon and Christian McRae, copped the overall team title, while Elite Systems (Ade-Thomas, Rahman, Timothy McAndrew and Jeremy Chow) brought second and Team Fitness Paradise (Walker-Yhap, Adonis, Paul Meusa and Thurston Pearce) came in third.
Admission to the event is $1,000 per person.
