Red Deer's Kristina Kotowich recently entered her first-ever fitness competition and came home with three trophies.
The 23-year-old fitness athlete was named the overall winner of the wellness category at Paramount Performance's 2024 Alberta Fall Naturals competition in Calgary on Nov. 9. She also won trophies in the true novice division, which for first-time competitors, and the junior division, which is for people 23 years old and under — both divisions were within the wellness category.
"It was surreal (to win). It's still hard to fathom the fact. It was such a cool feeling hearing them call my name. ... I was very proud and grateful," Kotowich said.
Originally from St. Paul, Kotowich moved to Red Deer to study at Red Deer Polytechnic. She stayed in Red Deer after graduating and currently works as a registered nurse.
Kotowich began going to the gym regularly three or four years ago and quickly became passionate about fitness.
"I don't really know what sparked interest into the gym. I just wanted to get a bit healthier. Once you graduate from high school, you kind of lose the sports you were a part of, so the gym was a hobby I could have that allowed me to stay active," she said.
"From there, I found my way into the body-building world through social media. I thought it was very interesting."
Kotowich's boyfriend Jay McIntyre had previously competed in fitness competitions, in addition to coaching fitness athletes.
"He knew I was interested in it and since he had done it before, he was willing to coach me through a prep. It just kind of came together perfectly," said Kotowich.
"You have a pretty strict diet that you follow when preparing for these competitions. Jay created all my meal plans for me — he was such a huge part of everything and I definitely couldn't have done it without him. On top of that diet, you have to train hard in the gym and do cardio as well. You also have to learn all the posing too. I spent a lot of time in the gym, whether it was the training, cardio or practising my posing."
Kotowich said she was overjoyed to eat something outside of her strict diet after the competition concluded.
"Throughout the prep, especially because it was my first one, I was constantly looking at food that I couldn't have. I was so excited to have it at the end," she said.
"During cardio I'd be scrolling on TikTok to make the time go by faster and I was constantly seeing people review Crumbl Cookies. I thought, 'I cannot wait to have one as soon as I'm done.' That's exactly what I got afterwards."
The 2024 Alberta Fall Naturals, which is sanctioned by the Canadian Physique Alliance, serves a natural event that qualifies Canadian athletes for national shows. With her victory in the wellness category, Kotowich said she now wants to compete at the Natural Canada Pro Show in Toronto, Ont. at the beginning of August.
"I think that'd be such a neat experience. Now that I've done one show, I'm hooked because it was so much fun," she said.