BAHRAIN's top bodybuilders Hussain Jassim and Sami Al Haddad notched a gold and silver medal, respectively, in their weight categories at the Arnold Amateur Bodybuilding Championships which concluded last Sunday in Ohio, US.

Hundreds of leading bodybuilders from across the globe took part in the championship, which featured 24 different categories for men and women and was organised in co-operation with the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB).

In the 75kg welterweight category, Jassim emerged champion after fierce competition with five of the world's best amateur bodybuilders.

This weight category saw 17 entrants from Ecuador, Colombia, Spain, Netherlands, Oman, Ital, Egypt, Mexico, UK, Brazil and the US, but only six made it to the final show after passing the pre-judging held on Saturday.

Al Haddad competed in the 90km light heavyweight section which attracted 24 bodybuilders from Norway, Oman, Australia, Netherlands, India, Egypt, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, Peru, Pakistan, Italy, UK and the US.

The majority of the remaining weight categories were also dominated by other Arab bodybuilders. Nasser Al Maskari and Hajji Al Belooshi notched the 70kg and 85kg sections, respectively while Egypt's Jamal Al Medawi was crowned 90km champion.

The event was part of the fourth annual Arnold Sports Festival, held under the patronage of the California governor.

The Bahraini pair were congratulated after the event by Bahrain Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Association (BWBA) president Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa and president of the Egyptian Amateur Bodybuilding Federation and IFBB Vice President for Africa Adel Fahim El Sayed of Egypt.

Shaikh Abdulla, who is also International Federation of Bodybuilders' vice-president, was accompanied by BWBA general secretary Saleh Al Ammar and team manager Ali Amini.

The BWBA chief said that both Al Haddad and Jassim, along with Mohammed Sabah, would spearhead Bahrain at this year's World Bodybuilding Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The 64th edition is scheduled from November 3 to 8.