8 days' out (left), and the night before
Do you think I'm ready? Kate Errington asked her Instagram followers the day before she made her pro debut at this year's Arnold Classic. Just out of a hot bath, everything was "popping" and she most certainly looked ready. Then again, I'd thought she'd looked pretty ready at the start of her "peak week", inviting her followers to guess her bodyfat percentage. At the risk of sounding like an IFBB official, maybe she was too ready now, too lean, too ripped. Would it affect her scores to be so utterly shredded? And that depleted, would she have enough in the tank to do her routine justice?
As the first pictures of the heels and turns round went up, it was clear Kate knew what she was doing. She looked resplendent. I had her placed 1st, but then I am no judge and (you may have noticed) can be slightly biased in favour of the British ladies.
I settled down in the evening to watch the show on the Muscular Development live stream. It took a while to get to the Fitness routines, and Kate, if memory serves, was on second last. Again, she looked amazing - so amazing she was described as such by the "expert" commentary team (more about this tomorrow) - and her performance was tremendous, showcasing all her grace, her power, and her dance skills. It was quite different to the majority of the other routines, I noted, but as I haven't watched too many Fitness shows, I lacked the knowledge to assess whether this difference was a good or bad thing (and the "experts" on the commentary were no help at all).
When the time came for the awards to be dished out, I wasn't holding my breath. It was her pro debut, and she was by far the least experienced of the women on the stage. The best ever British pro Fitness result had been Kizzy Vaines' 7th places (2012 & 2013), so history wasn't on her side either. She had been in the first heels and turns call out though, but she wasn't called in 6th, or in 5th, either. She had looked awfully good in the heels and turns, I reminded myself. And that routine had been spectacular...
Then Regiane Da Silva, top 3 at the Olympia on three occasions, was announced in 4th. I'd thought 10th for Kate would have been good before the show, then 3rd went to Bethany Wagner (just the 7 Olympias). And then... "From the United Kingdom, your Fitness International runner-up on her professional debut... Kate Errington!"
WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?! Kate's reaction was pretty much my reaction. 2nd place was beyond my wildest expectations, she wrote afterwards. Mine too, Kate, mine too.
OK, to put this result into perspective, you must realise this is not just the best Fitness placing Britain has ever had at the Arnolds, it's also our best EVER Arnolds' result in any division, writing over Gayle Moher's 3rd place at the 1998 Ms International. And on her pro debut.
She's going to Australia for the Arnolds there next, and she'll be among the favourites to win. She may still be as unknown here in the UK as she was when she took off for Columbus, but the world of IFBB pro Fitness knows her name now for sure.
The er, day job. Or rather "night job", truth be told.
For more, see FMS passim, and Kate's Instagram
No comments:
Post a Comment