Carl Cipriano wins bodybuilding title(updated)

North Bay's Carl Cipriano (left) poses with Sudbury's Rick McCutcheon (right) during the Northern Ontario Bodybuilding Championship held in Sudbury. Photo courtesy Michelle Brady, www.sudburynewsnow.com.

North Bay's Carl Cipriano defended his Northern Ontario heavyweight Bodybuilding Championship this weekend.

Sudbury's Rick McCutcheon placed second in the event held at Fraser Auditorium in Sudbury.

McCutcheon was also the heavyweight runner-up to Cipriano at last year's event in Elliot Lake.

Doug Schneider from the Ontario Physique Association was amazed by Carl's performance in Sudbury.

"To say Carl was a crowd favorite is like saying Arnold Schwarzenegger was a pretty good bodybuilder. Carl was the very last competitor to step onstage and when he did he received by far the loudest response from the audience." Schneider told the website www.bodybuildinglive.com.

"It's easy to see why. In fact, when Carl Cipriano first emerged at a Level 1 show last year I got a call from Ron Hache -- not only the OPA president but a professional judge, too -- to say that Carl has what it takes to be a Canadian champion.

"Carl is one of the most thickly muscled competitors I've ever seen -- I mean ever. He's got the one-in-a-million genetics that so many bodybuilders dream of, but, of course, so few have. His arms, shoulders and chest are so thick that when he hits a most-muscular pose I don't doubt that he could crush his winning trophy between his pecs. When he turns around he has back thickness that's so overpowering that his lower lats actually cast a shadow over his waist! The guy is an absolute monster, the epitome of a Herculean-type physique, and he quite easily won his class, and then walked away with the Overall title making him the 2005 Northern Ontario Men's Champion to the enormous approval of the audience," Schneider said.

Carl Cipriano will now move onto the Ontario Championships which take place in two weeks in London.

with files from Sudburynewsnow.com and bodybuildinglive.com