Posted 30/03/2007
Photos by Andrew Jackson

Britain has been sending teams to the WNBF world championships for over a decade now, and 2006 was certainly no exception. The show is regarded as the largest and most prestigious natural bodybuilding contest in the world. Seven athletes from the UK flew out to New York City to compete on the 11th November, including Marina Cornwall, Michelle Gough, Cheryl Myers, Jason Barnett, Brandon Greenwood, Wes Clarke and myself. Numerous friends and family also came to support us, including Andrew Jackson and his son Daniel.

This time round things were done a little differently and the athletes went out under their own steam without the support of a UK federation. As a result, organisation was a little haphazard and unfortunately no one was nominated as official show reporter. Therefore I am filling in after the event so to speak, and so apologise in advance for the lack of detail in my report, as I only caught glimpses of some of the classes. Because of this I have decided to fill in with a little background on my own preparation for the worlds.

This was to be my third outing at the worlds, having being runner-up in both 2003 and 2004 in the pro lightweight division. With two silver medals on my mantel I still felt there was some unfinished business, and knew I had to go back and take one more shot at the title. My game plan was to add more upper-body thickness whilst maintaining leg mass to improve my overall balance. On top of that I was looking to duplicate my condition of ‘04 with the fullness I displayed in ‘03.

The Countdown Begins

In the summer of 2005 I built my own home gym; a big log cabin at the bottom of my garden, kitted out with a range of free weights and Cybex machines. I had been putting it to good use, managing on average three workouts a week. I was a little down in size as I was training mainly for maintenance, although still reasonably lean. So when I finally committed to the show and began my pre-contest prep at twelve weeks out, I moved from a three days a week to a three-on, one-off plan. My body responded well and I started gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, to the extent where my bodyweight remained almost static throughout the full term of the prep, while I just kept getting bigger and harder. Staying relatively lean throughout the off-season gave me much less work to do, which enabled me to consume more calories whilst dieting. This helped me to retain more muscle mass, whilst training each body part twice weekly instead of once kept my metabolism racing and enabled me to rebuild muscle tissue at a faster rate.

Having been away from the stage for two years, I admittedly felt a bit rusty with my posing, so I asked the secretary of the NPA, Michael Phillips if I could possibly do a guest spot at their British finals, which were being held in Coventry three weeks out from the worlds. Fortunately Michael said yes. The first guest poser they had at the British was the great Mike Williams in 2004. Mike was one of the best posers in the game and I really wanted to do the man proud, so it was an honour to follow in his footsteps and perform on that stage. The reception I got from the crowd that night was just fantastic and it gave me a much-needed boost to get through those final gruelling weeks.

Landing in the Big Apple

I flew out with my wife Sandra on the Thursday before the show, giving me a couple of days to carb-up and adjust to the time difference in New York. After landing we got a bus from JFK airport to central Manhattan and checked into our room, which to our surprise was tiny, bordering on shoebox sized! It was barely big enough for one person, let alone two, so practicing my routine was out of the question, unless I ventured out into the corridors! Still, the location was great and we were only a short power-walk away from all the action, like Fifth Avenue, Times Square and Broadway. With almost two dollars to the pound it’s a UK shopper’s paradise, but the credit card had to stay firmly tucked away until after the show, much to the frustration of Sandra. Well, I couldn’t waste all my energy being dragged around shopping malls when I needed to be taking things easy and carbing-up, now could I?

After we checked into our room I made my way to the New Yorker hotel to complete the mandatory drugs tests, which consists of a urine sample and polygraph. Well, here the problems started because despite being fully hydrated I just couldn’t produce a single drop. The transatlantic flight was playing havoc with my fluid levels and I was holding water like the Hoover dam. Two hours later, having drunk about a gallon of water, nature finally took its course and Hallelujah – we got the sample. Relieved in more ways than one, Sandra and I set off to find our favourite bar and restaurant Mustang Sally’s, where we could relax for a while and eat. I ordered the 16oz steak, medium rare, and a big plate of potatoes. Nothing tastes better after a long-haul flight!

So, back to the competition. 2006 saw record-breaking entries in the pro division with 44 men, 24 women and 20 figure competitors. With such a huge turnout there was concern over splitting the pro men into just two classes (lightweight and heavyweight), as was the case in previous years. So a vote was taken at the competitor’s meeting on Friday night to either keep the format as it was, or split it into three classes (light, middle and heavyweight). The athletes voted unanimously in favour of three classes. This meant the prize money had to be spread out a little further, although the overall winner’s total prize money would remain at $6,000. The upshot being that three smaller classes would be less nightmarish to judge than two larger ones, and also there would be more medals up for grabs. After the reshuffle I just scraped into the lighter end of the middleweights at a bodyweight of 173 pounds.

Showtime

The day of the show arrived, and as usual the pro men were up first for prejudging. There were 14 in my weight division and backstage I could see the standard was incredible, just as you would expect at a world championships. Going by the callouts I figured I was in the mix somewhere, but with so many great physiques on show it was far too early to make any kind of predictions.

Due to the sheer number of competitors, only the top six in each class performed their routines in the evening. In the middleweights both Brandon Greenwood and I made the cut. In the final analysis Brandon landed fourth place, displaying great conditioning with striated glutes and a muscular, balanced package. Third place went to David Hamlette who was thickly developed from head to toe, with huge arms and chest. That left me and Clarence McGill, who sported an incredible v-taper, great conditioning and thickly developed back and legs. We braced ourselves for the final decision. On the day the judges went for my package and I was relieved to get the victory, but I have to say Clarence pushed me very hard and gave me a tremendous battle.

A muscular and shredded Luis Santiago took top honours in the lightweights, and the huge Ben Tennessen took the heavyweight class for the third year in a row in his best condition to date. The show host Steve Downs then called the three of us back for more gruelling comparisons to decide the overall winner. Despite being physically exhausted I just gave every last ounce of energy I had. Eventually the dust settled and the judges reached their final decisions. I stood there, flexed hard and gazing towards the floor as those brutal months of training and dieting flashed before my eyes. After what seemed like the longest ten seconds of my life, Steve called the final result, “number 27 – Jon Harris.” After three attempts I had finally become WNBF overall pro world champion. It was an amazing feeling, and I remember my wife rushing backstage and being even more excited than I was. I actually felt quite numb. The news just hadn’t sunk in at all.

Britain gets the Double

To top things off, Cheryl Myers also won gold in the pro women’s heavyweight class, beating the sensational Katy Holmes. In taking her class she went up against the beautifully sculpted lightweight champion Brenda Kahe for the overall. However, Cheryl’s superior muscle mass together with top-drawer condition, confident presentation, and a knockout rear double biceps pose secured the overall victory and total prize money of $4,000. Cheryl was delighted with her win and deservedly so, and in taking the title she made history by becoming Britain’s first ever female pro world champion. What an achievement! Well done Cheryl, I thought you looked spectacular and hope to see you back onstage this year to defend your title.

An ultra-ripped Michelle Gough landed an impressive eighth in the pro women’s lightweight class, whilst Marina Cornwall looked well prepared with some very polished posing, managing eleventh spot at her pro debut. Wes Clarke finished fifth in a very competitive pro heavyweight class, with fantastic separation and improved balance to his physique. In the INBF amateur division, Jason Barnett was rock hard and deeply cut, landing third amongst some very fierce opposition in the bantamweights. Such was the high standard of this class that the winner Shaun “Giant Killer” Clarida took the overall too, beating out four divisions of men heavier than him.

The Aftermath

After the show, most of the team spent several days sampling the delights of New York, eating, shopping, sightseeing… and eating some more. Once again, the trip was a big success for the Brits, and we look forward to sending more athletes out this November. As always, we were made to feel very welcome by the show organisers and fellow athletes. The INBF amateur worlds is open to all natural bodybuilders who are a minimum of seven years drug-free, with the overall male and female winners receiving a WNBF Pro Card. For more information click here.