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A Competitor's Life in Croatia
by Zrinka Korac
My name is
Zrinka Korac and I come from a small but powerful country Croatia. I was born 27th January 1980. I
have two occupations and two jobs (I need two jobs since the financial situation in my country is
quite poor and I have to pay for all my expenses) so I am an archaeologist and a professor of
english language and literature and I teach English language in primary school as well as college.
I started training in the gym 6 years ago and did my first bodyfitness (figure)competition in
Croatia (in the IFBB) in spring 2006 where I won the gold medal. Since then I have won nothing else
but the gold medal in all the Croatian competitions, 3 years in a row.
Competitions in Croatia are, of course, smaller in size than in other countries since Croatia is a
small country and there are not that many competitors in bodyfitness. I've started competing in 2005
and have won all the 1st places in every national competition. Our nationals are held in spring and
there are always two categories-up to 163cm and above 163cm. The winners of each category meet in an
absolute category which I have won in 2007. and 2008. There are 10-12 competitors in bodyfitness
each year. The rest of the competitions are 3-5 grand prix throughout the year, based mainly in
spring and autumn period. The best of us enter the Croatian team competing at the Mediterranean,
European and World championships. 2nd place at the Mediterranean championship (Zagreb, Croatia,
2006.), 3rd place at the European championship (Cacak, Serbia, 2007.), 1st place and the title of
the overall
European champion (Skopje, Macedonia, 2008) and the 2nd place at the World championship
(Santa Susanna, Spain, 2008) are all historical accomplishments form Croatia since no one has ever
won them before. Right now I'm in negotiations regarding my obtaining the pro card and it's very
difficult since I'm not an USA citizen. There are no
financial benefits in Croatian amateur bodyfitness and just recently I have been given a chance to
get some monthly financial help if I transfer to the club operating in Zagreb, the capital city of
Croatia (which I am doing now). Food is the same for the competitors everywhere in the world with
the exception of me being a laco-pesco-ovo vegetarian. My diet is based on eggs, fish (tons of
fish), cottage cheese (I cut it out couple of weeks before the competition), boiled potatoes (not the
sweet ones-we don't usually have them in our markets) and brown rice. Some veggies like broccoli,
cauliflower and lettuce and that's basically it. Oatmeal, I have crossed out of my list as an
experiment since I've noticed it gives me the inflated look, we'll see how that works out. Water
intake is always high, 4 litres per day
As a Croatian team member, I
have won:
-2nd place in bodyfitness -163cm category at the IFBB Mediterranean bodybuilding, fitness and
bodyfitness championship 2006. in Zagreb, Croatia
-3rd place in bodyfitness -163cm category at the IFBB European women's bodybuilding, fitness and
bodyfitness championship 2007. in Cacak, Serbia
-1st place in bodyfitness -163cm category + the title of the overall European bodyfitness champion
at the IFBB European women's bodybuilding, fitness and bodyfitness championship 2008. in Skopje,
Macedonia
-2nd place in bodyfitness -163cm category at the World women's bodybuilding, fitness and bodyfitness
championship 2008. in Santa Susanna, Spain (23-26th October 2008)
My successes are the historical ones for Croatia since no Croat senior bodyfitness athlete has ever
won either one of these titles. My plans for the future (2009.) are applying for the pro card since
I gained the right to do so by earning the prestigious title of the overall European bodyfitness
champion. That means you will be hearing more about me some time soon. I train in BBK (bodybuilding
club) 'Body Art' form Pozega, Croatia. I am also trying to find a way to earn enough money to get my
PhD in either the English language or the archaeology.
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