Ukraine’s best bodies compete in Lviv

Male bodybuilding competitors competed in five weight classes, while women won awards for fitness, body fitness, and bodybuilding. The winners in the different weight classes of the men’s competitions were contending for the Lion’s Cup in the final round, the super-final.

A total of 32 athletes competed: 14 women and 18 men. Lviv resident Oleksandr Mykytka (no. 63) won in the lightweight class (less than 70 kg). Dnipropetrovsk resident Serhii Hes (no. 37) was the best in the under-80 kg weight class: the Ukrainian narrowly won over Anatolii Semerenko from Tiraspol.

Another Lviv master Andrii Kukharchuk (no. 33) won in the under-90 kg weight class. But his multiple-award-winning colleague Sviatoslav Sheremeta (no. 60) was beaten by Anatolii Kudlai from Dnipropetrovsk (no. 16) in the finals in the under-95 kg weight class. Incidentally, Kudlai, Ukraine’s ten-time champion, turned 39 that day.

Among the super heavyweight competitors another Dnipropetrovsk athlete turned out to be the best — Bohdan Kravchenko (no. 8.) In the super-final the jury voted in favor of Kudlai, who took home the Lion’s Cup 2006.

Among the female competitors Tetiana Bielousova from Feodosia (no. 64) won the hors concours fitness competition. This resident of the Crimea was a finalist at the European Championship 2006. Vinnytsia resident Tetiana Obrevko (no. 3) won the female bodybuilding title. Her husband Andrii also came to the City of Lions to compete, but the couple brought only one gold medal.

The most interesting and furious competition was women’s body fitness. Besides beauty and muscularity, the jury also judged individual musical compositions, which should demonstrate plasticity of movement and quality of strength. At this year’s Lion’s Cup athletes from Kharkiv set the pace, and three of them made it to the finals. The winner was Yevhenia Prutkova (no. 22).

Besides the sports competitions, a few other surprises awaited the visitors: a lingerie fashion show held by the sponsoring company, a show put on by Natalka Karpa and the Gladis Art Ballet, and a demonstration performance by Maksym Horobets from Cherkasy, the junior fitness World Champion 2006.