INVERELL bodybuilder and mother of two Yvette Brown won her category of the first Australian Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic held in Melbourne on the weekend.
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The event drew international athletes from all over the world, and about 60,000 spectators over the two days.
“It was a massive event for Australia,” Brown said.
“I had just competed in Ohio, in the Arnold classic in the US, where I had placed sixth. That was exciting, but then to come back and compete again one week later and win, yeah, I’m still on cloud nine. I just can’t believe it.”
Brown said she was in her fourth year of competition. The 27-year-old started in 2012 after the birth of her second child, but had been interested in the sport since the age of 17.
“I originally got into the sport just to get back into shape after having kids,” Brown said.
She placed third in her first competition and said after that she was hooked, and had been competing ever since.
The win at Melbourne also meant that Brown got her professional card.
“Trying to get into the professional league has been a work in progress and I’ve been trying to get into that for a few years now,” Brown said.
“This has been a goal for years, and it’s just a stepping stone. The dream goal is to step on the Olympia stage. That’s still a while away and that’s another journey in itself.
“Now I have to get myself amongst the pro athletes and compete on a few professional circuits, and see how I go over there in the US.”
Brown said most of the professional competitions were held in the USA.
“It was a big eye-opener to travel over the week beforehand, to get on the international stage,” she said.
Brown said bodybuilding for women had been about since the 1960s, and was broken up into different categories for different physiques.
“We’re not all suited for the one category,” Brown said.
She said the bikini division was more like a sports model, not as lean and with not as much muscle. Her category was the figure division, with slightly more muscle, but keeping the body proportional, symmetrical and feminine, while the third category was physique, which was more akin the bodybuilding divisions.
“Figure is my division, and I’m proud to be a part of it,” she said.
