By Neto Baptiste
Former national bodybuilder, Beverly Percival Tonge, said she lived for the stage and relished competing against the best from across the region and the world.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Tonge who was dominant on the national scene for many years as a female bodybuilder, said her competitive nature drove her to improve with every competition.
“I love to compete and when you leave Antigua and you go to the region and you go international, the competitions are not the same and you may just miss your target/s when you go and you see these athletes, I would say to myself, I am not taking no last lick. I go home, do my homework and you go back out there,” she said.
Tonge, also a former president of the Antigua and Barbuda Amateur Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Federation, recounted the challenge of having to come back after giving birth to her son in 2009.
I remember challenging myself because I was 200 pounds and I said, I am going to compete next year, I was so driven. I remember when I went to the weigh-in and I dropped my clothes and you know when you feel good?” she said.
“I remember Steve Williams says, we doing everything. We doing the masters, the heavyweight and we doing the mixed pairs and the Antigua team came home with so many gold medals and I was just having a field day because I got gold for heavyweight, I got silver for the masters and gold for the mixed pairs and missed the pro card by an [inch],” the athlete added.
Tonge is also a national Sportswoman of the Year winner.