After a lay-off of three years, Sela Byrne of Dannevirke has reached the winner's podium once again at the Counties Manukau Regional Body Building Championships held at Papakura on June 4.
Competing in the Classic Women 58-62kg division Sela beat five others drawn from the best all over New Zealand but was astonished to hear her number called out when the Supreme Champion award was announced, beating 29 other competitors both male and female in all divisions.
For Sela, it has been quite a journey since first winning body-building championships in 2016. Back then she was competing in the Senior Women's Physique Category for those over 40 years, which emphasised muscle toning. This time she was competing in the Women's Classique Category for those 58-62kg of any age which has an emphasis on posing as much as physique.
This was Sela's first competition in bodybuilding for six years as she had also moved to powerlifting winning a number of regional championships including the Central Districts Championship lifting her own body weight.