After a Stormy Scene -- Linda Okwor Wins The Ms. Fitness South Beach Pageant Crown.

Sunday, March 30, 2003: Against a gray and bruised sky, more than 25 very fit women gamely vied for the title of 2003 Ms. Fitness South Beach. This particular regional competition is part of the Fitness America and Fitness Universe circuit, and is touted to be one of the most competitive.

Linda Okwor, who traveled from the colder climes of Minnesota to compete in “sunny” Miami, sparkled in her ocean blue and diamante two-piece, looking coolly confident against the threatening gray skies. During the preliminaries – the fitness round – Okwor delivered her competitive dancing prowess while donning her animal prints. And despite the obvious set back of losing her props in a freak gust of wind, Okwor’s polished physique and spirited routine propelled her to 1^st place in the overall competition and title of Ms. Fitness South Beach 2003.

Okwor believes the key to her success was created by her careful planning and knowing when to stop. Too many competitors are still training, dieting and/or preparing for the competition literally moments before walking out on stage. Okwor feels that this is not only a risky endeavor for a competitor, but this also interferes with one’s enjoyment of the competition and hinders the person’s ability to do well by focusing on things other than just pure competition.

Said Okwor of her win: “The win totally took me by surprise. Prior to my performance, I thought there were only 10-20 competitors, but almost 50 beautiful and talented competitors were present. It was so windy that my prop was nowhere to be found and I did most of tricks and routine prop-less! It rained -- no, it was storming -- during the Final Round, and a judge (or a least I thought he was a judge) told me I was off-beat, needed to learn gymnastics, and looked like I wasn't having fun. I was so surprised when they called my name that it took a Marine to calm me down in order to crown me and get me out of the rain. As I was being crowned, the rain intensified and everyone started to scramble for cover.

“I got an official Diva kit from one of the sponsors which included everything I need to become/stay a Diva...look out world, this Diva is about to embark on her journey. My next competition is Fitness Universe and I can't wait.”

More results on the Ms. South Beach contest and Okwor’s athlete page can be found at http://www.fitnessuniverse.com