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DENVER, Colo. -- Luis Santa competes in the 2008 CytoCharge Rocky Mountain Bodybuilding Championships Nov. 15, where he was named the championships' overall champion. (Courtesy photo)
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Schriever bodybuilder overcomes injury to earn championship
Posted 12/3/2008 Updated 12/3/2008
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by Scott Prater
Schriever Sentinel
12/3/2008 - DENVER, Colo. - -- Luis Santa was posing onstage in the early rounds of the 2008 CytoCharge Rocky Mountain Bodybuilding Championships Nov. 15 when disaster struck. As he turned to show judges his quad muscle definition he tweaked his left knee. A shock reverberated through his leg, he lost his balance, stumbled and... fell over onstage.
Years of work, dedication, training, dieting and discipline vanished in an instant on that Denver stage. As he writhed in pain, all he could think of was he didn't want it all to end this way.
He popped his knee back into place, pulled himself up and asked the judges for a continuance. They granted his request.
Four hours later, he stared into a sea of flash bulbs, as many in a crowd of more than 1,000 shouted his number, "87, 87, 87!"
Then event promoter Jeff Taylor announced that Luis Santa was the 2008 CytoCharge Rocky Mountain Bodybuilding Overall Champion.
"It was a surreal experience," said Staff Sgt. Santa, 50th Operations Group, who earned the right to compete at the highest amateur level in the nation along with his victory. "What I was looking for was earning at least second place in my weight class (welterweight). This result far outweighed my expectations."
He knew he was in the best shape of his life. Shredded and vascular, his muscle symmetry was almost perfect. His wife, Yolanda Alvarado, told him he looked gross, which is a good thing in bodybuilding.
"I had to go in with the mentality of winning it all," he said. "I brought a be-the-best attitude in. I wasn't going to accept anything less."
The competition couldn't have been set up any more dramatic.
Sergeant Santa completed the early rounds of competition in obvious pain, and it took every ounce of discipline he had to make it through the final judging rounds. Afterward, judges gave competitors a break of two hours. So he went back to his hotel room, iced and elevated his knee.
"I just kept praying to God to let me finish this show," he said. "And I was impressed with how the leg held up. Right after the all-around competition it swelled up."
After the recess, he was called on stage with five others to hear the results of his weight class. Organizers set up the show to announce the winner last, so with each place announcement he knew he'd finished higher.
His excitement grew when they announced the fourth and fifth place finishers.
"My smile was bigger than my body, and my heart started pounding really fast when they called third place and it wasn't me. I knew then that I had taken one of the top-two places."
He only needed to finish in the top two of his weight class to qualify for the highest level of amateur bodybuilding competition. Little did he know at the time that he'd soon be posing with the overall championship trophy.
After winning the welterweight championship, he waited backstage while the other class champions were announced. Then he posed off against those same champions for a chance at the overall title.
At 5 feet 6 inches tall and 165 pounds, Sergeant Santa is a dwarf compared to middle, heavy and super heavyweight bodybuilders. His super heavyweight opponent was nine inches taller and outweighed him by 90 pounds.
As the posing phase drew to a climax, judges asked the super heavyweight competitor to pose next to Sergeant Santa. That's when crowd members began shouting his number.
And the judges agreed.
"At that moment I couldn't think about my knee," Sergeant Santa said. "Adrenaline must have taken over because I didn't feel any pain."
As he accepted the trophy and posed as the champion, his wife nearly fainted. Tears of joy streamed down her face as Sergeant Santa's friends from 24-hour fitness celebrated and shouted congratulations.
"I think I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning pinching myself and staring at the trophy," Sergeant Santa said.
One of those friends in the crowd was Sergeant Santa's training partner here at Schriever, Capt. Tyler Cates. Captain Cates earned fourth place in his weight class, an exceptional finish considering it was his first bodybuilding competition.
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