The more things change, the more they stay the same. Over the past two years, since the IFBB Pro League Bikini division was introduced, the mass influx of competitors on the NPC level has made it arguably the deepest and most competitive division in the professional ranks. Which makes Sonia Gonzales’ start to the 2012 season that much more impressive.
Her latest win, at the MuscleContest.com Pro Bikini Championships on Saturday, gave her two consecutive victories to star the year – the same way she started 2010. That year, when Gonzales first made the switch from figure to bikini, she won the New Zealand Pro and MuscleContest, then went on to finish the season by winning three more contests and becoming the first-ever Bikini Olympia champion.
(Go here for full galleries and results)
This year, she started out even bigger – by winning the Bikini International against the top competitors in the world, and following that up with her second MuscleContest.com title.
“That first year, none of us really knew what we were doing at first since it was all so new,” Gonzales said. “I was starting a new chapter, almost rejuvenating myself. Bikini gave me the opportunity to extend my career.”
Her reign atop the division didn’t last long. Five months after winning the Olympia, Gonzales was knocked from the mountaintop by then 19-year-old Nicole Nagrani. After placing fourth at the Europa Super Show and fifth at the Bikini Olympia, it seemed Gonzales’ days as a threat to win the big one were all but over.
But she flipped the script at the Bikini International two weeks ago, regaining her standing as the No. 1 bikini competitor in the world and surprising everyone who had written her off in the process.
(Related: Gonzales Wins Bikini International)
“It was hard,” Gonzales said. “I think a lot of people maybe discounted me, thinking that I couldn’t come back or bring the physique I had in the first place. But I talked a lot with [my trainer] Kim Oddo and went back to the drawing board. I had put on a lttle too much muscle last year, so we went back to what I was doing in 2010. I felt like my confidence was back and I think it came out on stage.”
With the two wins under her belt, Gonzales now has her sights set on the 2012 Bikini Olympia.
