Seychellois bodybuilder Savio Larue is the second bodybuilder from Seychelles to win a pro card allowing him to move up into the professional ranks of the sport.
Larue got the accreditation during his participation in the Men's Physique category of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) International Grand Prix held in Seychelles on Saturday.
The Seychellois bodybuilder claimed the overall prize, winning a chance to pursue a professional career in bodybuilding.
"To be able to win a pro card is a massive achievement for me, as it is something I have been working towards. This accomplishment is not only for me, as such competitions will open a lot of doors for the younger bodybuilders, who will also be able to follow in my footsteps," said Larue.
The first Seychellois bodybuilder to turn professional was Ziad Mekdachi, who clinched his pro card in 2019 at the 4th Arnold Classic Africa 2019 IFBB pro qualifier.
For Larue, this is the beginning of more hard work, as he will now have to compete with other professionals in the sport from around the world.
"My only regret today is that my mum is not here to witness this, as she had always supported me after I told her that this was my goal," said an emotional Larue, who was one of three athletes to win a pro card on Saturday night, the other two being from Mauritius.
Jean Risley Coomarasamy from Mauritius, also got his pro card after winning the men's classic physique category in which he was the only competitor.
"I have worked really hard, particularly to win a pro card and I am so happy to have finally achieved it here in Seychelles," said Coomarasamy, who also received a full sponsorship for his first professional competition, which will take place next year.
The other pro card winner in the Bodybuilding category was Jimmy Raynald from Mauritius, who said that "I came here to do my best, where I worked hard in preparation to perform today, and having worked for so long to win this, I am very happy."
Aside from battling for pro cards, the 17 athletes competed in numerous categories.
The show opened with the Fit Model contest, with two participants - Inaa Sindeleeva from Kazakhstan and Seychellois Shireen Azemia. The more experienced Kazakh claimed first place with Azemia as the runner-up spot.
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This was Azemia's first international competition and she said this has given her a lot to learn from and improve.
"The competition was good and I was able to learn a lot from Inaa, where since we started, she has been giving me advice and teaching a few things as well," said Azemia, who says she wants to keep progressing further in the sport.
Elicks Rapide was another winner from Seychelles in the Junior Men's Physique, where he was the only competitor in the category.
"This was great and I want to learn from this experience, where my aim is to move forward and also move on to the Classic Physique category, which means I will have to put on some weight in the next few months," said Rapide.
Andy Anthony, who competed in the men's -80kg bodybuilding category, came out first among four competitors.
"I have achieved what I can here to do, even though a pro card was definitely on my mind, but I was up against someone who has been doing this even before I ever thought of getting into bodybuilding, so he deserved it and next I hope it will be me," said Anthony.
Other winners of the night were Kamlesh Lochun in the Masters Bodybuilding, Derrick Mensah in Men's Classic Physique +174cm and Jeremie Genave in Men's Classic Bodybuilding.
This was the first-ever IFBB international competition held in Seychelles, with more expected to come in the coming year.
The next international bodybuilding tournament in Seychelles is expected to be in June 2024.
