BIGGER AND BETTER
Bodybuilder Kristen McGregor says she is looking forward to many opportunities that could come her way from qualifying for Ms Olympia to be held later this year.
McGregor, 28, will become the first Jamaican woman to compete in the event when she takes part in the figure category in Orlando, Florida on November 3. In this category, bodybuilders perform routines in front of judges before returning to the stage for comparison among each competitor.
She is looking at how former Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger used the competition as a catalyst for greater opportunities in his life. From winning, he moved on to become a lead actor in numerous action films, then also eventually American politics, where he was also a former governor of California.
“I do look for other opportunities,” McGregor told the Jamaica Observer. “I don’t know where it will take us but I’m looking at fitness modelling, movies, so we don’t know. Going to Ms Olympia, the opportunities are large, so we’ll see where this goes. It’s gonna be a big thing to know that there’s a Jamaican in Ms Olympia for the first time and I’m thinking it’s gonna attract a few sponsors.”
McGregor says qualifying is still a surreal experience for her.
“It’s more than I’m aware that I’ve qualified for Ms Olympia, but it still hasn’t sunken in yet,” she said. “I dunno if closer to the show I’ll realise what is really happening, but at the moment, it’s still surreal.”
She earned her spot when she finished first in the Mr Big Evolution Pro competition, which served as a qualifier, in Portugal earlier this month.
“I went with an open mind – may the best person win,” she said. “I did all that I could do at the time. I also put in all the necessary preparation. So, it was left up to the judges to make the decision. I fought for that also because that competition was not an easy one. It was very competitive and they actually had us on the stage for quite some time. It was a battle and I ensured that I did my very best.”
But her best was not without first dedicating long hours to training. This preparation started over a year ago and saw her in the gym for five to six hours every day.
“It takes 16 weeks to prepare,” she said. “For the first eight weeks, you can’t play around; for the second eight weeks, things start getting serious. For the last four weeks of those second eight weeks, you go into autopilot. You find that place and that time and you just keep going off memory, until that day of the show. You don’t even get proper sleep.”
But she says she still has some way to go to get ready for the competition.
“The plan now with my coach (Derman Hodge) is that we are going to train to get a little tighter, a little more separation, and keep the same condition,” she said. “Based on what he’s hearing, because he’s in the States, he is getting the talk that I have a good chance of being in the top five with the Olympians. We are working to keep that condition and keep that as the reality, and not just talk,” she said.