BORN
November 5th
PLACE OF BIRTH
Barril, Protugal
HEIGHT
5'3" (162 cm)
WEIGHT
143 lbs (65kg)
BICEPS
15.7" (40cm)
THIGHS
20" (51cm)
CALVES
15.5" (39.5cm)
LANGUAGE
Portuguese, Spanish, French, English
My name is Eulalia. I was born and raised in a small seaside village in Portugal. The village, Barril, is 40 kilometers from the capital city of Lisbon. My childhood was difficult, because my father deserted the family when I was nine years old. As a youngster I moved to the city of Torres Vedras to continue my education. Because I was fluent in French, I was offered a position as secretary at a French company with a branch in Portugal. I stayed with the company for ten years.
How did I become interested in bodybuilding?
Even when I was a child, I loved sports. My favourite activities were volleyball, jogging cycling, body- and board-surfing, and dancing. As soon as I was old enough, I took aerobics and jazz dance classes. However, I was not happy with my appearance; at 44 kg (about 90 pounds), I was too thin. One day my aerobics trainer, a retired bodybuilder and former president of the Portuguese International Federation of Body Building (IFBB), took me to his gymnasium because he thought that I could improve my bodybuilding performance. I was 21 years old and found that was a good time to improve my physique. As soon I entered in the gymnasium and saw the walls, covered with photographs of beautifully sculpted female bodybuilders, my life changed. It took one year to gain seven kg (15 pounds), but it was an important first step. While training, I read as much as I could find about women's bodybuilding. I always tried balance my secretarial position with my physical training, and within five years I was spending more and more of my free time on bodybuilding.
Soon a friend invited me to become his partner in a gym in the lovely seaside village of Ericeira, a pretty village, only 10 km from where I lived. By then I was looking for new professional opportunities. I decided to resign from my secretarial job. Because I was going to be the "image" of this gymnasium, I took some workshops and courses in bodybuilding, cardio fitness instruction, fitness, body pump, rpm, gap and some workshops. I worked as an instructor and then as the manager of this gymnasium.
Although competitive bodybuilding was virtually unknown in Portugal, a good friend encouraged me to try it. In November of 1999, I entered the Fifth Grand Prix, sponsored by MLO, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements.
The months before the competition were hard, because I had to stick to my diet, train hard, and prepare myself physically and mentally. At the same time, I was happy to see the improvements in my body, and I knew that I had the potential to win. When I won the championship, I wept tears of joy.
I was happier when in the same month, the president of the Portuguese WABBA invited me to participate in the 1999 World Championship in Alzey, Germany. In this competition, I won sixth place in the single category competition and had the opportunity to be side by side with other great female bodybuilders.
In 2001 I competed in the Portuguese WABBA in the world championship in Cuxhaven, Germany, where I earned sixth place. I was a little discouraged but I continued to work hard.
In 2001 there was no national championship. The WABBA in Portugal had no money to take the athletes to the World Championships, so I was unable to compete that year.
I resumed competition in June of 2002 where I came in first in the national championship and first in the 7m MLO Grand Prix.
In Portugal I was the only professional female bodybuilder, so there was nowhere for me to compete. I was sad, but I continued to train and to spend more time working as a bodybuilding instructor.
In May of 2004 a new challenge appeared. I had the chance to participate in the IFBB World Championship at Santa Susana, Barcelona in September. It was a very good opportunity for professional recognition. Once again I trained non-stop, rarely seeing my friends or family.
