Scottish Grand Prix 2024

MEN’S CLASSES

Classic competitor Alex Johnstone took home the £500 overall prize as well as the trophy for best male presentation. Alex was the epitome of the classic look, from his aesthetic muscular proportions to his posing routine. He won the height-to-weight restricted classic bodybuilding class to qualify for the overall and then claimed the overall against all the other male class winners at the end of the show.

He wasn’t quite able to pull off a vacuum pose, however, which led to him being marked down in the classic physique class, where the ability to perform a vacuum is mandatory. That opened the door for Mark Finnegan to take the title. Mark has a wonderful structure and if he gets a bit tighter will be a major threat.

Up to 100kg bodybuilding champion Chris Bayne had a superb muscular shape and with a few tweaks his physique will be a threat on a national stage. Atif Afzal’s nice taper and pecs helped him defeat Darren Sterrick in the under-80kg division.

One of the highlights of the day was seeing three competitors in the over-60s bodybuilding. It was a tough class to judge not only for the quality of physiques but also because they brought different qualities. Runner-up Derek Wilson had the best proportions and a tight midsection but winner James Murphy was huge and vascular and took the title.

Alex Leadbetter, who is 56, packed plenty of shapely muscle on his frame to win the over-50s. His legs were particularly good for an older competitor. The evergreen Kevin Milne yet again nailed his condition to take the over-40s ahead of the peeled Matt Henderson. Kevin really is seasoned competitor who seems to know how his body works and puts in the effort to consistently get in shape. In novice bodybuilding, Neil Kerr’s more detailed look prevailed over Darren Sterrick.

Rising star Dylan Cahill was the star of the men’s physique category. Dylan ticked all the boxes — he scored highly on aesthetics, had a superb taper and was rock hard. He won the juniors unopposed then showed he could more than hold his own in the open class by winning the over 179cm class, defeating the heavily tattooed David Campbell.

David Lawson’s well-conditioned torso took the under 179cm class.

Paulo Emanuel Rocha Silva became the first muscular men’s physique champion. He and Ryan Gibson both had impressive upper bodies but Paulo’s conditioning was superior in a quality contest.