Bodybuilders Malvern and Philomena deliver on world stage

KUCHING (Nov 15): Sarawakian bodybuilders Dr Malvern Abdullah and Philomena Dexclyn Siar have once again brought pride and glory to the country after bagging medals at the 14th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships 2023 held in Wongju City, South Korea.

Malvern won a silver medal in the Men’s Athletic Physique (up to 160cm) category while Philomena clinched two bronze medals in the Women’s Sport Physique (up to 165cm) and Women’s Ladies Sport Physique (age 35 and above) categories.

Another Sarawakian, Asri Asmat Sefri, finished fourth in the Men’s Bodybuilding (up to 55kg) category.

Malvern, whose silver marked his fifth in the world championships, was proud to deliver again for Malaysia.

“Even though I won gold last year, the world championships is a very competitive event.

“There are many bodybuilders from different countries competing against one another and I feel really proud to be able to deliver a silver medal this year,” he told reporters when met after touching down at Kuching International Airport (KIA) with Philomena yesterday.

The 48-year-old is already setting his sights for next year.

“My targets for next year are the Southeast Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships which will be held in Batam, Indonesia in June next year as well as the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships in Maldives to be held sometime in November,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philomena said her two medals validated all the training, sacrifices and time spent preparing for the world championships.

“We hope that we will continue to receive support and incentives from the government, and we will be fighting and preparing for the championships next year,” the 40-year-old Bidayuh added.

The two athletes received a rousing welcome at KIA from family and friends as well as Sarawak Bodybuilding Association president Dato Wee Hong Seng.

“Out of the 400 athletes from 40 countries, our Sarawak bodybuilders came back with one silver and two bronze medals, so these are world titles for Sarawak.

“Our Sarawak bodybuilders never disappoint us and I’m very happy to see the results for this year,” Wee said.

“They have to train themselves hard and this requires a lot of discipline. There are no shortcuts,” the Kuching South mayor added.

He revealed that the association has a new candidate in mind to compete for the Mr World Title.

“So you can see, Sarawakians ‘memang boleh lah’ (can make it).”