2 overall championships for Okawa

Javin Okawa poses for the judges during the 2022 Dee Clayton Classic last Saturday at the Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Hall. The 25-year-old Brabu Pharmacy staff came away with the men’s physique overall championship and the classic physique overall championship.(LEIGH GASES)

Javin Okawa successfully defended his men’s physique overall championship title and added the classic physique overall championship in last Saturday’s 2022 Dee Clayton Classic at the Saipan World Resort.

The 25-year-old Brabu Pharmacy staff bested eight competitors in the men’s physique, after being judged by Jonas Barcinas, Dan Chase, Jerome Diyco, Joshua Cantara, and Runnel Balecha, and also topped the overall category and claimed first place in the short category against two other competitors.

In the classic physique category, which he debuted in 2019, he placed first against three contestants and also claimed the overall category against six competitors.

The classic physique category competitors, from left, Jolo Berueco, Ferdinand Jun Lagmay, Daniel Matsunaga, Javin Okawa, Jovic Tuquero, and Ralph Adrian Villas pose for the judges during last Saturday’s 2022 Dee Clayton Classic at the Saipan World Resort. (LEIGH GASES)

The six-year bodybuilding veteran said on his two overall wins that he was “surprised and grateful. I didn’t expect that we could win two overall… I was actually surprised that I was able to take both.” 

With this competition as a pre-judging and prelude for the 2023 Pacific Games in Honoria, Solomon Islands, he said “I’m excited that I made it to qualify and be able to represent us next year in Solomon, so I’m relieved that the training and suffering I went through finally paid off.” 

“This is something I enjoy doing. It’s like a stress reliever. So, I compete basically just for fun and [it] also helped me reach my physique goals.”

Even with him saying he competes for fun,  Dee Clayton Classic president Dee Clayton said in an interview after the event that you can see who competes to win, to have fun, or just for the experience, but that Okawa came to win. “He is ready for competition in the states.”

Jovic Tuquero placed second and Ralph Adrian Villes placed third, respectively, in the short classic physique category.

In the short men’s physique category, Shawn Fleming won second place and Tuquero placed third. 

In other results, the teen’s physique category was won by Mark Lagado, with Darren Tabora in second place.

The tall men’s physique category first place went to Daniel Matsunaga, second went to Richard Waldo Jr., and third went to Jolo Berueco.

The tall classic physique first place went to Matsunaga, followed by Ferdinand Jun Lagmay and then Jolo Berueco.

The bantamweight bodybuilding first place went to Jovic Tuquero and the lightweight first place went to Ferdinand Jun Lagmay, who were both the only competitors in their respective categories.

The sponsors for the Saipan event include Megabyte of Saipan, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Marianas Visitors Authority, Gold’s Gym, Latte Built Gym, Saipan World Resort, Rozelle Printing, Top Notch, Power 99, Glushko’s Academy of Performing Arts, Foremost, Island Touch by Philip, and Coca-Cola Beverage Micronesia.

Results of the other categories of the 2022 Dee Clayton Classic will be published in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.