A childhood and lifelong dream has come true for local hybrid athlete, Alicia Bullen, who will represent her country.
Bullen is one of only five female athletes chosen to represent South Africa at the IFBB World Fitness Challenge in Spain. The IFBB World Championships will take place in Santa Susana, Barcelona, from October 31 to November 6. Bullen will compete individually and in a team.
“I’m extremely blessed and privileged, and I really have so much to be grateful for. I have only been competing professionally for 18 months. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices, and it’s been years of blood, sweat, tears and loads of disappointments to finally be able to celebrate one of my biggest dreams. I have so much to be thankful for and so many people to thank who have been part of my journey and still support me every step of the way. In particular, I would also like to thank Lourens Smidt and the Biodiversity Biobank SA national president, Wayne Price, for this opportunity – it’s an absolute honour,” she said.
She has also just signed a brand-new sponsorship agreement with Twincare International as an official influencer and ambassador.
Bullen has been selected to represent the country after winning the South African championships women’s open division in the bronze category at the IFBB Fitness Challenge in eMalahleni on September 2. She said she participated in her first continental championships in Potchefstroom on August 26, where she secured third place in the fittest games novice division.
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“It was a very cold weekend of brutal CrossFit workouts with extremely fierce competitors all throwing down as hard as possible to fight it out for a podium spot. The competition kicked off with a zero-degree trail run, followed by a couple of events that took place outside in a windy colosseum; however, it was the -3ºC bike event with a bow and arrow shot that really threw a big spanner in the works to test what the athletes were made of. I had to dig really deep and give it everything I possibly had to have the privilege of finishing the third fittest in Africa in my division. This was one of the harder competitions that really challenged me,” said Bullen.
