LIKE a good dancer, Mark Anthony Vassilatos decided to exit the bodybuilding stage with the music still playing out loud and revelers calling for more.
The Harare Fitness Gym hulk won the Mr Zim title for the second time in succession at a recent Zim Nationals event held in Harare.
Vassilatos joins other illustrious past Zimbabwean bodybuilders on two Mr Zim titles.
These include Vaughan Carl who won Mr Zim in 1997 and 1998 and Walter Munyikwa who was crowned the King in 2004 and 2005.
The muscleman, Vassilatos did not need much time to think about his future in bodybuilding and in the midst of joy, fatigue and anxiety, he had his mind set as he called time on his bodybuilding career.
“It's definitely an honour again to be put into those history books, to go down in the history books as a two-time Mr Zim champion, definitely a big thing,” Vassilatos told The Sports Hub.
“It's confirmed and official, I am no longer competing. I'm just now going to take a break and call it quits for, for good in fact, the competition days are over.”
Vassilatos was a cut above the rest winning his category, the Senior Men Bodybuilding over 85kg comfortably at Avondale's 7 Arts, beating into second and third place, Noah Dzvokora also from Fitness First and Pro Fitness Harare’s, Irvine Dekeya respectively.
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Alex Mangwiro of Fitness Gym in Harare came in fourth place.
Vassilatos then lined up for the routine overall senior men bodybuilding line up where he easily beat Nigel Maphosa, the winner of the Senior Men Bodybuilding up to, and including 85kg and young James Tashera who won Senior Men Bodybuilding up to, and including 75kgs.
Tashera from Kadoma Sports Club also won the Junior Men Bodybuilding category up to, and including 23 years while Maphosa of Virgin Active Gym in Sandton, South Africa won the best poser award. Vassilatos reckons he wanted the title more as evidenced with a magnificent frame he brought onto the stage.
“This year's contest for me, I think I brought a better package than last year. In fact I'm definitely most improved athlete so I think it was just befitting for the judges to reward the guy who had improved and the guy who was the best on the day,” he added.
“Special thanks to my main sponsor, Mukuba Holdings’s chief executive, Cosmas Masocha for believing in me and putting in everything into my preparations. Ross Tyres helped me a lot and also Spray Tech helped me quite a lot in my off season, the guys are just amazing.”
