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Tampa Bay area bodybuilders head to Las Vegas
Josh Cascio reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Two competitors will be representing the Tampa Bay area on bodybuilding's biggest stage.
The Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding contest starts Thursday in Las Vega, and it's a sport's premiere event that can draw in athletes from all over the world. It's considered the "Super Bowl" of bodybuilding.
Tampa's Winston Sullivan, 37, will be competing in the physique category in the contest. Reaching the top always starts with a strong foundation, and Sullivan he has his two daughters.
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"They help me with posing, they’re watching the clock timing me," Sullivan said. "I like that I can bring them into the journey."
It's a journey that is taking this local bodybuilder to the sport's biggest stage.
"I’m excited, the work that I put in to get to this point overcomes any nerves, I’m excited, ready to go," Sullivan said.
The work, goes back to his Jefferson High School days on the basketball courts, and it transitioned to the weight room.
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After competing in the amateur shows, Sullivan went pro in 2019 and qualified for the Olympia for the first time in October.
Also competing is Tampa native Erin Stern. She is a two-time Ms. Figure Olympia champion for 2010 and 2012.
This year, the former University of Florida track star will be competing in her seventh Olympia contest and will be in a new division, switching to the bikini competition.
"I switched to bikini, because I loved the look," she said.
It's a look that required a significant three-year body alteration, Stern said. It's a feat that's even more impressive when you consider Stern's lifetime commitment to avoiding steroids.
"You have to have an underlying drive there. It is what I have. It is what I’m born to do," she said. "It would mean the world to me to win the Olympia. At 42, it would be really exciting, I’m going up against girls that are half my age, I want to be a good role model in the sport and show what’s possible."
From Tampa, to the top of the fitness mountain, both Stern and Sullivan are focused on the peak.