ENGLISH GRAND PRIX

By John Plummer

Photography by Kevin Horton

You can order photos of the event here https://www.ukbffphotos.com/2022/ENGLISH-GRAND-PRIX

To order all your images as a package, email ukbffphotos@gmail.com.

The English Grand Prix has become one of the main events on the UK calendar since it started in 2014. Many big names in British bodybuilding have competed here since it started in 2014.

New champions were crowned yesterday when the event was once again staged by Helen ‘Panther’ O’Reilly, one of the original stars of TV’s Gladiators. Helen and co-promoter Francisco Rocha again went that extra mile, pulling in lots of sponsors and nice touches, such as champions’ jackets and swords as incentives for athletes, besides the trophies.

There was no lack of inspiration on show with IFBB Elite Pro Chloe Greenwood and her coach and fellow pro Ian Morgan among those watching and handing out trophies in Beaconsfield. Chloe is one week out from making her pro debut at the Arnold Classic Europe in Spain and looked every bit a top pro. She and bodybuilder David Henderson will be flying the flag for the UK in the pro contest while several leading UKBFF athletes line-up in the amateur portion of the event in Seville.

Today saw Victoria Crewe make her debut in the IFBB Elite Pro division in Malta — further proof of the international opportunities that are available to UKBFF athletes, as it is the only UK organisation affiliated to the IFBB.

IFBB Elite Pro cards will be awarded at the British Championships on October 29. The final qualifying events are the Northern Ireland Championships in Belfast on October 1 and the Midlands Championships in Bilston on October 9.

One week after the British Championships sees the first qualifier for next year – Rhino’s Classic in Stamford on November 6.

BODYBUILDING

The over-90kg class saw seven guys jostle for space on the stage. Mickael Boinot dominated the line-up with his monstrous size and aesthetic proportions to take his second grand prix title. Few guys combine size and aesthetics better than Mickael, and his 110kg of sculpted muscle proved irresistible even though he wasn’t quite at his leanest.

Runner-up Daniel Smith displayed a phenomenal shape but, like everyone else, was outmuscled by a true super-heavyweight. The outcome was tough on the other guys, some of whom gave away a lot of weight to the winner but still brought terrific packages. Paul Douglas from Gateshead was vascular and sharp while John Gair continues to improve, adding size while refining his proportions.

Seyed Hassan Ravanbakhsh, who finished third, also won the competitive masters bodybuilding class. Seyed’s front relaxed pose, with those full pecs, small waist and appealing shape, always catches the eye from the start. Fellow masters competitor Stanislav Gomola was tight and gnarly and the two men sensed they had to work for it and really gave it their all. Special mention to Dean Harris, who placed third at the age of 56.

Matt Wielunski’s more balanced body overcame the promising Pranav Poorna in the up to 90kg class. Pranav had width and a striking front lat spread; Matt posed well, had freaky quads and was sharp in the hamstrings.

James McDonald, a young man with lots of muscle, and particularly good quads, won the juniors.

MEN’S PHYSIQUE

Etin Nosa is now 40 and can stand on the stage with any masters competitor worldwide. Etin, whose brother Abies won the Arnold Classic pro show in men’s physique 2019, remains a great role model for anyone thinking of competing in IFBB men’s physique. He isn’t too big, he doesn’t over-pose — he just displays perfect proportions and aesthetics effortlessly. Etin won the masters and then defeated the tall and wide Lewis Davis and Peet Rothwell in the over 179cm class before taking the overall men’s physique champion’s sword.

The tattooed Gabriez-Razvan Rusu, who had a a little crisper detail than his rivals, took top spot in the up to 179cm height class ahead of Donovan De Klerk. Valentin Tomescu backed up his recent debut win by defeating the impressive Gil Garcia in a high quality muscular men’s physique encounter.

Classic physique saw Ben Parry defeat Paul Harmer, who overcame serious injury to get on stage.

FEMALE CLASSES

While the men’s classes saw familiar names take the top prizes, a new star was crowned in the female overall.

The tall and stunning Halie Harasyn defeated masters champion Alex Brooks in her height class before overcoming Ernestine Asson in the overall. Few women own the stage more than Ernestine — she makes sure all eyes are on her with her proportions and the way she poses.

The masters bikini fitness line-up was the best seen on a British stage for several years. All five women brought tremendous but different packages and it was a reminder of how subjective and tough the sport can be. On another day Alice McCosh and Lucia Watkinson could have been first and second but the judges were for slenderer women on the day but these were fine lines.

Winner Alex makes staying in shape look easy – she has been making regular trips south from Scotland to pick up trophy after trophy this year. She’s a great example of what hard work and discipline can achieve, never turning up looking anything less than ready. The endless legs of Renata Simeone took second spot in the masters ahead of Ksenia Morris, who once again brought a polished and proportioned look to the stage.

Bodyfitness saw two contrasting, quality packages on stage. Tanya Nelson continues to make noticeable gains at every show she does and brought the real wow factor to the stage with her conditioning and shape. Sadly for her, she was possibly a little too hard and the judges went for the taller Hayley Fenning, another athlete who has progressed a long way. Hayley uses her height and width to command attention on stage and she picked up winner’s trophies in both the open and masters class.

The wellness class saw a great demonstration of what the class is all about. Both runner-up Shanda Carr iand winner

Angelika Prejna has dominated the wellness scene this year and it’s easy to see why, as she took another first place trophy ahead of her assault on the Arnold this week, But she didn’t have it all her own way this time because Shanda Carr showed similar breathtaking proportions to make it a real contest. But Angelika took the title to continue to build a head of steam heading into the final weeks of the season and she shed a few tears when her children joined her on stage afterwards.

RESULTS

OVERALL BIKINI FITNESS CHAMPION – Halie Harasyn

OVERALL MEN’S PHYSIQUE CHAMPION – Etin Nosa

OVERALL BODYBUILDING CHAMPION - Mickael Boinot

Junior Bodybuilding

1 James McDonald

Masters Men’s Physique

1 Etin Nosa

Masters Bikini Fitness

1 Alex Brooks

2 Renata Simeone

3 Ksenia Morris

Also competed: Sezja Killoran and Lucia Watkinson

Masters Bodybuilding

1 Seyed Hassan Ravanbakhsh

2 Stanislav Gomola

3 Dean Harris

Also competed: Paul Harmer

Masters Bodyfitness

1 Hayley Fenning

2 Tanya Nelson

Bodybuilding up to 90kg

1 Matt Wielunski

2 Pranav Poorna

Bodybuilding over 90kg

1 Mickael Boinot

2 Daniel Smith

3 Seyed Hassan Ravanbakhsh

Also competed: John Gair, Paul Douglas, James McDonald and Stanislav Gomola

Wellness

1 Angelika Prejna

2 Shanda Carr

Bodyfitness

1 Hayley Fenning

2 Tanya Nelson

3 Mia Tomescu

Classic Physique

1 Ben Parry

2 Paul Harmer

Bikini Fitness up to 166cm

1 Ernestine Asson

2 Zuzana Tvrda

3 Ksenia Morris

Also competed: Sezja Killoran

Bikini Fitness over 166cm

1 Halie Harasyn

2 Alex Brooks

3 Renata Simeone

Also competed: Alice McCosh and Lucia Watkinson

Men’s Physique up to 179cm

1 Gabriez-Razvan Rusu

2 Donovan De Klerk

3 Marius Boroghina

Also competed:

Diogo Ramos De Maoraes, Croitoru Lucian Dorel and Gil Garcia

Men’s Physique over 179cm

1 Etin Nosa

2 Lewis Davis

3 Peet Rothwell

Also competed: Lordson Balogun

Muscular Men’s Physique

1 Valentin Tomescu

2 Gil Garcia