We are getting very near to the EFBB Finals now and some well-known bodybuilders are getting desperate to qualify.  There was a fabulous line-up of UK HW muscle at the Leamington Show on 18th September and we were delighted when Troy Brown took the win.   What a year Troy has had.   He qualified for the EFBB Finals last year weighing 78 kgs as a MW.   At the Finals he had drifted over the 80 kg limit and was unplaced.    Now at the same show just one year later he is weighing in at 99 kgs — and growing.  He is becoming the talk of UK bodybuilding and is on a roll.  He is now the man to beat at the EFBB Finals. 

I was unable to go to the Leamington Show but those who were there said that Troy was really impressive.  Ace photographer Eric Guy, who has seen one or two physiques over the years, said that Troy looked terrific.  Gravesend last month was Troy’s first ever contest win but in winning in Leamington he walked over some of the cream of British HW competitors.

Troy took 1st place in front of Serge Camerou and Paul de la Haye.   Serge Camerou was 3rd in Gravesend and Paul de la Haye was returning to contests after a long time out from bodybuilding.  But unplaced were Chris Wall, Stuart Core, Mark Etherden and Tim Blakeley.   All four of these men have been forecast to win the EFBB HW title more than once — yet here they could not even qualify for teh finals.  Fundamentally, all of these guys are big men but they turned up at this show out of condition.   Standards are now so high that the days when a top man could turn up and qualify almost automatically are long gone. No longer can you just get into shape for the finals. Also unplaced in this line-up of top UK muscle were Carl Vink, Dave Talbot, Jason Thomas and Petra Fakav.  Our own Danny Poole from The Forest Gym certainly had a baptism of fire against such an impressive line-up but he was in the best shape of his life and he just has to keep on growing.  An extra stone of muscle will make all the difference.

We heard that Chris Wall may have been going to Mansfield to try a third time to qualify but then he was allowed through — although as we report on the Home page, he may be banned anyway.  Zak Khan took the HW Class in Mansfield looking hard[ish] but his legs need more work and he appeared to have some swelling around the nipples.    However, there is no getting away from the fact that his shoulders, chest and arms are pretty awesome. Tony Stephenson is also through and looking good.  

It is not easy to call the HW Class at the British this year — we will have to see on the day who turns up and who is allowed to compete.

More Balco Stuff

The fallout from the Balco Labs story continues with raids by US Federal agents on the home and laboratory in Illinois of Patrick Arnold — who, it has been widely assumed was responsible for developing the THG steroid..   He is best known for the range of work he did in developing the pro-hormones that  swamped the market in the USA when steroids were first made illegal.  As has been the case since Twit Bush’s call to arms against steroids the raid in Illinois involved massive over-kill as the team of cops, investigators with the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration searched  Arnold’s facilities, Proviant Laboratories, in Champaign.

Ages ago, BALCO founder Victor Conte identified Arnold as the source of the undetectable THG steroid called "the clear." Conte, Vice President Valente, track coach Remi Korchemny and baseball trainer Greg Anderson pleaded guilty to distributing steroids to athletes and will be sentenced during October.

It seems that the San Francisco grand jury is still gathering evidence and may bring further charges against somebody or other.   How about George Bush for invading Iraq?

Why are they so obsessed by something that doesn’t matter?  It may just be, of course, that Patrick Arnold has not been paying his taxes.

Castle Gym Open Day

Simon Morgan had an Open Day at his Castle Gym on Saturday 25th June.   The Castle Gym caters for serious bodybuilders as well as the keep-fit market.    The Gym is larger than I expected and it has some excellent equipment.  

Simon provided some food for us at the start and there were free protein bars from CNP.

The Open Day was set around a seminar by the Chemical Nutrition Team of Dorian Yates, Kerry Kayes, Brian Batcheldor and Ernie Taylor.  The presentation went really well and stimulated some good discussion among the audience of serious bodybuilders from Simon’s and other gyms.

Simon said that he was making an all out attempt on the EFBB HW title this year but we have heard very little in recent weeks and we do not think he will have been able to get through.

Simon has been a great competitor over the years and I hope he manages to take the title soon.

Windsor is not the easiest place to get in and out of.    The big problem is that there is a bloody big castle in the town centre.

Marius Dohm qualified for the EFBB Finals by winning the EFBB SE. He beat a big, harder Dean McTearnen on the basis of his great shape but he will need more size and condition to take the HW title in Nottingham.