Bidayuh muscleman caps off 2025 season with Mr Borneo win

KUCHING (Dec 15): It was a sweet finish for Joseph Ladi as he capped off this year’s competitive season with a victory at the Mr Borneo 2025 Bodybuilding and Physique Championships.

During the finals at Penampang Cultural Centre in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday, the 38-year-old Bidayuh from Kampung Seratau here won the Men’s Bodybuilding Under-70kg category.

The respective first and second runners-up are Ibrahim Latif of Brunei, and Ng Chin Soon of Sabah.

The result qualified Joseph for the ‘Champion of Champions’ showdown, but the coveted title went to Brunei’s Muhammad Al-Akif Elias, the Above-70kg category winner.

“It was a great fight with Al-Akif; in fact, we are now good friends sharing the same love for bodybuilding,” said the Sarawakian in a WhatsApp text to The Borneo Post.

“I’m relishing this victory as it nicely closes my bodybuilding season for 2025.

“I will take some time off before coming back better and stronger for 2026,” said the 2024 Southeast Asian Championships’ 65kg category winner and two-time Mr Sarawak titleholder.

Joseph made his first competitive appearance at Mr Gym 1Malaysia in Kuching in 2013 and since then, he has been active on stage – with the exception of the Covid-19 years.

At Mr Malaysia level, he excelled in the Flyweight (55kg) and Lightweight (70kg) range, winning his first gold in the 2014 edition.

This year, Joseph took home bronze medal from the 57th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships, held in Bangkok in August this year.

It was his first appearance at the Asian-level stage.

Meanwhile, Sarawakian athletes exhibited commendable performance in Kota Kinabalu.

Wong Sing Hui and Nathan Tan Chun placed respective first and second in the Men’s Body Smart category; while Aflisahyir Ali and Alfie Khan Abdul Aziz Khan made it into the Top 5 of their respective Men’s Sports Physique Under-170cm and Above-170cm categories.

The competition was organised by Sabah State Bodybuilding Association, under the auspices of Malaysian Bodybuilding Federation.

It gathered some 40 athletes, including women, representing Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Brunei and also the regional contingents of Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

Stefly Said, special aide to Prime Minister’s political secretary Datuk Azman Abidin, and the association’s president Clarence Runggi were among those who presented the prizes.