Latchford Classic (2006)
| November 11, 2006 |
The Latchford Classic 2006 was held in the Thai-Japan Youth Centre in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Though originally scheduled for October, it was delayed to last Saturday, November 11th. The atmosphere was pretty relaxed; fans, friends, family, officials and competitors were walking in-and-out of the main hall of Gymnasium 2, all intermingling with quiet buzz and an occasional cheer.
The main event consisted of six bodybuilding classes and one overall class for the men, one bodybuilding class for women, and a fitness class for men and one for women. The morning began with the pre-judging of the men's bodybuilding and fitness classes, and the afternoon was reserved for the men's finals and women's classes.
After lunch, Douglas Latchford, president of the Thai Bodybuilding Association, made an emotional speech stating his gratefulness for being involved in Thai bodybuilding for the last 30 years. He presented Sitthi Charoenrith, Thailand's only current world champion (!), a check of 1,000,000 Baht to show his appreciation.
The JUNIOR class (up to 21 years old) consisted of an amazing number of athletes: 19 -- the biggest number of any class. Perhaps this is a sign that bodybuilding finally gains some traction in this age-group in Thailand. The stage was barely big enough to hold them all during pre-judging. One man stood out: Kittisak Wuthikarn, and he was the just winner of this class.
The MASTER class (45 years and up) was won by the Somsri Turinthaisong without much difficulty. He is in an amazing shape still and could easily beat many younger opponents. Somsri Turinthaisong is a real crowd-pleaser and loves to pose to great hilarity of everyone present.
In the 60KG class, Jiraphan Pongkam fended off a challange by Jalernpong Chaiwong who came in second. Jiraphan Pongkam's great symmetry and thick legs proved to be in a league of his own. Nevertheless, Jalernpong Chaiwong made fantastic progress since his appearance in the Mr. Thailand earlier this year when he came in 5th.
The top five of the 70KG class were all in superb shape, but the best of them was Somkhit Sumethowetchakun, which didn't surprise anyone. Where Somkhit Sumethowetchakun may lack some height in comparison to the others, he makes it up with solid muscle. Mekhin Aryuwattanamongkol deserves a special note here due to his charisma and a good individual posing routine.
In the 80KG class, the top spot was battled out between Boontham Sriboontong and Panupong Prateep. Both men were shredded to the bone, but in the end Panupong Prateep knew he had met his match and was the first to congratulate Boontham Sriboontong with his win.
The 80KG+ class saw an impressive Pala Meechai delegating Prap Paramapooti to second place. Prap Paramapooti was sharp, but Pala Meechai was beyond him. The other competitors tried their best, but were no match for these men. A noteworthy Chanchai Kongmoon made his first appearance in this weight-class, adding an incredible 15kg to his frame in 2 months! Although he wasn't his usual shredded-self, he's determined to shape-up and make it "big".
Wanchai Kanchanapimai took the title of the Men's FITNESS class, delegating Samorn Puonnim to the second place and Somsak Kamchan to third. No surprise here.
The end of the day saw Boontham Sriboontong as the OVERALL winner; his aesthetically pleasing physique beating a more massive Pala Meechai. It may have been a roll of the dice that landed Boontham the title, as the men were all top-notch.
