I received this email from Marzia Prince, this weekend’s recent winner of the 2007 Ms. Bikini Universe!  I’m posting her thoughts here with permission for your viewing pleasure.

“How it felt to win:

At first I didn’t know I had won! The girl next to me grabbed my arm and said “You won!” I was like, “I didn’t hear my name!” It all happened so fast! How did I not hear my name?! I walked up to the first place spot, I felt like I was in slow motion and I could feel the look of shock was on my face! I didn’t know whether to laugh because I was so nervous or to cry for joy. I kind of did both.

My smile was quivering and my legs were shaking in my heels. I thought,” What?! I won the tall class!” I was shocked! I had to go back out for the Overall. I felt like I had achieved a huge victory winning the tall class. After all, it was my first competition ever!! Then they announced the Overall and I was the only one on stage. They called my name again! I was living my dream!! A dream I had wanted to do for four years!!

“Marzia Prince is this year’s 2007 Ms. Bikini Universe…” I was on a smiling high and my cheeks hurt! I have to admit writing how I felt on stage brings a smile to my face right now. I am in absolute disbelief. I still can’t believe it.

What I expected coming to the show:

I tried to be as prepared as possible. I talked to other girls who had entered it previously. I talked to staff members to make sure everything I was going to wear was within regulation. I practiced walking in my high heels, doing my half turns, and smiling in the mirror at home over and over again. I even had watched last years DVD many times to get an idea how the girls walked, carried themselves, what they wore, and what I should expect.

You could say did my research! Since it was my first competition, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. So, I did everything on a budget. I really expected to come learn and have a great experience in which I could hone my skills and then come back knowing the ropes, so to speak. Never in a million years did I expect to win my first competition!

I have done a few bikini contests in local clubs (many years ago in my early twenties!!) but, never to this extent where I was televised and competing against over 100 of the worlds most beautiful hard bodies! There were also many fitness stars I had looked up to and read about in major magazines for many years that I competed against. I felt like I was up against many forces. The competition was tough! I felt like the underdog or rookie.

“If you’re not hard on yourself…who is?”  I believe you need to be hard on yourself to achieve your own personal goals. After all, you are the one who will really feel the sense of accomplishment when you do achieve it! Feels good huh! Work hard! Play hard! Live the dream!”

Yours in Health,
Marzia Prince