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Of the 29 competitors who flexed their all at the13tampa-peter-report prejudging of this afternoon’s PBW Championships, staged at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tampa, there were for most observers two clear standouts: Evan Centopani of the United States and Essa Obaid of the United Arab Emirates. Both travelled different journeys on the road to this clash of West and Middle East. Centopani, after his eighth place Olympia debut of last September – when he was a little flattish – had hidden away in his Connecticut base fashioning a physique to take him to the next -- maybe top six Olympia – level. Obaid flew to Tampa cold off his fourth place finish at the Chicago Pro of July sixth: a subpar performance fully explained by his recovering from the loss of his father.
Evan had added thickness and size and was in shape and the same can be said of Essa. As they went through two sets of comparisons, Evan appeared to be bigger and fuller in the legs and back with Essa coming out ahead on chest thickness and better abs. However it was Centopani’s much improved and humungous back double biceps and most muscular shots that seemed to these eyes to carry the day. But as the prejudging represents only 50 % of the scoring procedure these two came back in the evening to pull out all the stops in a sprint to the finish. In the modern bodybuilding world, physiques can change as quickly as a politician’s promise and the destiny of the one Olympia place up for grabs could be decided by who holds their nerve and condition.
Come evening time and the aforementioned duo to these seasoned peepers were still the leading contenders. Again Essa was thicker in the chest and had better abs but Evan still filled more space and his back shots – particularly back double biceps – were untouchable and I penciled him in as the winner.
Settling into third place seemed to be Juan Morel who came into the event as a front runner, but seemed flatter and therefore smaller than his impressive third place finish at Last May’s New York Pro. Still the thought was he has plenty of potential and continues to make annual improvement.
Surprisingly Lionel Beyeke, looking a couple of weeks at least away from contest condition, was included in the top six call out. Not included in the top six callout was Aliaksi Shabunia from Belarus. With his giant frame and sweeping lines (especially upper body) this humble scribe would have had him vying for a top four spot.
Having witnessed all that, it was more than surprising to hear Obaid being called out in third: there seemed no way he could have been less than second. However as the audience booed Essa took it well and accepted his fate. Still Evan was a deserved winner and he now goes forward fully qualified for the Olympia while many of those he defeated in Tampa will no doubt travel to Dallas next week for another tilt at gaining an Olympia berth.
Ace promoter Tim Gardner put on a great event ably abetted by IFBB/NPC stalwart Steve Weinberger and his judging crew.
Evan had added thickness and size and was in shape and the same can be said of Essa. As they went through two sets of comparisons, Evan appeared to be bigger and fuller in the legs and back with Essa coming out ahead on chest thickness and better abs. However it was Centopani’s much improved and humungous back double biceps and most muscular shots that seemed to these eyes to carry the day. But as the prejudging represents only 50 % of the scoring procedure these two came back in the evening to pull out all the stops in a sprint to the finish. In the modern bodybuilding world, physiques can change as quickly as a politician’s promise and the destiny of the one Olympia place up for grabs could be decided by who holds their nerve and condition.
Come evening time and the aforementioned duo to these seasoned peepers were still the leading contenders. Again Essa was thicker in the chest and had better abs but Evan still filled more space and his back shots – particularly back double biceps – were untouchable and I penciled him in as the winner.
Settling into third place seemed to be Juan Morel who came into the event as a front runner, but seemed flatter and therefore smaller than his impressive third place finish at Last May’s New York Pro. Still the thought was he has plenty of potential and continues to make annual improvement.
Surprisingly Lionel Beyeke, looking a couple of weeks at least away from contest condition, was included in the top six call out. Not included in the top six callout was Aliaksi Shabunia from Belarus. With his giant frame and sweeping lines (especially upper body) this humble scribe would have had him vying for a top four spot.
Having witnessed all that, it was more than surprising to hear Obaid being called out in third: there seemed no way he could have been less than second. However as the audience booed Essa took it well and accepted his fate. Still Evan was a deserved winner and he now goes forward fully qualified for the Olympia while many of those he defeated in Tampa will no doubt travel to Dallas next week for another tilt at gaining an Olympia berth.
Ace promoter Tim Gardner put on a great event ably abetted by IFBB/NPC stalwart Steve Weinberger and his judging crew.
He is 55 and about 150#
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