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Ottawa man wins bodybuilding championshipDate: 14.04.2003
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
After weeks of weight-watching that would have made Jenny Craig green with envy, one couldn’t blame any of the competitors at Saturday night’s 2003 NPC Mid-Illinois Bodybuilding Championships if they had a hard-core hankering for a real meal.
You know, something other than tuna fish and rice cakes.
“Pizza at R. Grotto — and beer,” Ottawa’s Josh Waytenick said backstage at Ottawa Township High School’s auditorium, echoing late-night dinner plans typical to most of his fellow bodybuilders.
But not all.
Robert Young, for example, didn’t make a bee-line to a burger joint late on Saturday night. Heck, after his performance, the 38-year-old Ottawa truck driver claimed he wasn’t even that hungry.
Could be because he had a championship trophy that more than satisfied him.
“I’m just going to drink a lot of water,” Young said with a big smile after being named the champion of the Masters Men Age 35-39 Division. “I’ve been drying out and haven’t had any since yesterday afternoon.
“So, yeah, I’ll go home and celebrate — but just with water. I’m not even really hungry, just thirsty.”
After getting into competitive bodybuilding about three years ago, Young had been thirsting for a strong showing at the Mid-Illinois Championships.
“I competed here three years ago and finished sixth,” said Young, a Flex Gym member, who missed out on last year’s show due to other commitments. “This year, I just kept my carbs a little higher. I flattened out my first time, dropping from about 270 (pounds) down to 205, and this year I weighted in at 212.
“I had a couple of friends who gave me the advice to keep my carbs up and do a little less cardio. I’ve got a fast metabolism, so I could handle it.”
OTHS’ auditorium handled a full house on Saturday night for the Mid-Illinois Championships — one of the nation’s premier bodybuilding events that Flex Gym owners Jeff and Ann Johnson have been sponsoring for the past 13 years.
This year’s show drew more than 90 competitors hailing from eight states, as well as two celebrity guests in pro bodybuilder Art Atwood and pro fitness athlete Adela Friedmansky.
The 5-foot-11, 290-pound Atwood was the winner of the Men’s Heavyweight and Overall titles at the 2000 Mid-Illinois Championships, which proved to be a springboard for his career.
“Winning the Mid-Illinois in 2000 was huge for me,” Atwood said. “Two weeks later, I won the Junior USA Super-Heavyweight and overall titles, and the following year I got my pro card and competed in Nationals.”
Atwood began his pro career with a first-place showing in Toronto in 2002 and is now one of the hopefuls who would like to end the stranglehold that Texan Ronnie Coleman — last year’s Mid-Illinois guest poser — has had on the Mr. Olympia title for the past five years.
“And we like to think that we’re responsible for Art’s success,” Jeff Johnson said with a smile when he addressed the crowd to kickoff the Mid-Illinois on Saturday night.
“This is a great event, and my career has really taken off after winning it,” Atwood said. “Jeff and Ann do a good job here, they’re really down to earth and they treat people right.”
In addition to Young picking up the Age 35-39 Masters championship, several other local competitors also took part in the Mid-Illinois on Saturday. Waytenick and girlfriend Abby Kolotka placed second in Mixed Pairs for the second consecutive year — “We were really hoping to win this year,” Kolotka said — while, individually, Waytenick was third in Men’s Light Heavyweight.
Tom Hosek, 56, of Ottawa was second in the Masters Men 45+ Division and fourth in Men’s Heavyweight, while 43-year-old Ottawan Skip Cullman was third in the Masters Men 40-44 Division. Hixie May Church of La Salle was third in Women’s Heavyweight.
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