Adonis, Mahadeo used Kares as prep for Reebok Games

Story and Photos by Jemima Holmes

With the weights grounded and grueling events completed, the top finishers at the Kares Caribbean Fitness Challenge are quite satisfied with their exceptional performances.

A group of Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s fittest athletes descended on the National Park, on Sunday last, in a battle of the gladiators for a half million dollar grand prize.
When the final event was completed at twilight, the Guyanese pair of Dillon Mahadeo and Delice Adonis, both of Crossfit 592, walked away $500,000 richer and with ammunition in their tanks to take on a more challenging competition later this year.
Mahadeo, who was visibly elated about his fifth consecutive victory, noted his appreciation for his fellow competitors who continue to push him to the maximum at such events.

“The level is getting really intense. I’m happy to entertain the competition; that just pushes me to get better. I know I have a lot more work to put in and I encourage the competition to come back again and keep pushing me till to the end. I haven’t been pushed like this, so definitely the competition is getting very versed and more experienced.”
Out of five events contested on Sunday, Mahadeo finished first in three, which propelled him to 485 points overall for the win. His only blunders came in Events two and four where, wall over burpees, cleans, thrusters muscle ups and pull up were on the cards. In spite of this, Mahadeo shared that this competition has been great preparation for his participation in the Reebok Fitness games come July.

“This was a stepping stone to that international competition. I mean, that’s on a different level. This is five events in one day, that is a bit more technical and high skilled, so I’m used this competition as a prep and I look forward to my training stint in the USA, sponsored by Lotus Hardware. That should push me to the next level,” Mahadeo shared.
On the other hand, Delice Adonis could be seen as the underdog in the women’s category. Currently recovering from a shoulder injury, Adonis finished fifth in her first event, but the athlete didn’t allow the placement to daunt her spirits. Instead, she pushed herself to the limit, copping two first places and a second in the remaining events. Similarly to the male champion, it was the wall over burpees, cleans and thrusters that challenged the female winner.

Nevertheless, Adonis shared why she is most proud of her achievement.
“It was good to compete against the Surinamese again and to finally come out on top. I look forward to have more people from the Caribbean next year and proving that Guyana really is fit and we can give them competition,” Adonis said.
Like Mahadeo, Adonis will for the second year running participate in the Reebok Crossfit Games in Wisconsin, USA from July 27 to August 2. While she noted that the Kares event was good groundwork, she explained that her training will intensify as the time winds down.
“It’s going good so far, I mean this is the early part of the preparation phase so, it’s not as intense quite yet. Coming down like two months before, then it will really start to ramp up. But so far, so good.”

On the other hand, Suriname’s Kim Pinas finished 5th in last year’s competition. This time around, the Rock Crossfit athlete better her performance by moving up to second place. She shared her surprise and excitement about his achievement.
“I didn’t expect it because at the start of the last event I looked at the weights and I was like, no, these are very heavy ones. But I’m glad I finished firs on this event, bit of surprise for me but I’m happy,” Pinas said.