By Neto Baptiste
International Federation Bodybuilding (IFBB) Pro Figure athlete, Rosian Warrington, has urged the country’s latest professional bodybuilders to prepare for a rough and challenging road as they pursue their dreams as the sport’s elites.
Warrington, who became the country’s first professional bodybuilder after winning the overall body-fitness title at the 2015 CAC Championships in the Bahamas, said adequate and regular sponsorship has been one of her major issues.
“Actually, sponsorship has gotten more difficult, and the harder things get on the island then the harder it is to get sponsorship; and we’re in a sport where we’re overlooked a lot of the times. Basketball will get it, athletics will get it, soccer [football] will get it and we’re just overlooked, so you must have a lot of patience and sometimes you have to go into your own pocket,” she said.
Four of seven athletes in Kimberly Percival (tall class Bikini), Leanna Carrington (short class Bikini), Michelle Seaforth (Bikini Fitness) and SherRhonda Braithwaite (Body Fitness), all earned the right to hold IFBB Elite Pro Cards following varying levels of success at the 2019 Darcy Beckles Diamond Classic held in Barbados earlier this month.
“It’s going to be tough and especially for the bikini class ladies because it’s not always a case where the judges have a set thing they are looking for because your personality is going to play a lot into it. They are looking at your presentation so although you bring your best package sometimes, you’re not going to be at the very top and sometimes though you don’t have your best package but you’re presenting it beautifully, that’s what puts you out there,” the veteran said.
Warrington, who recently competed at the Linda Murray held in Virginia, said her love of being on the stage and her dream of, one day, competing on the sport’s biggest stage, are just two of the things that keep her going.
“I love it, I genuinely love it. Music plays and immediately, in my head, I am on stage and I am posing. During my downtime I am thinking about what I can change in my workout to fix this particular problem, to change how my physique looks so that the judges can be happy and a girl has a dream, I want to go to Olympia one day. I want to step on that prestigious stage,” she said. Warrington finished 10th amongst 25 competitors at the championships.