Roelly Winklaar and Gal Ferreira-Yates won at the first-ever Nordic Pro on Saturday, punching tickets to the Olympia in their respective divisions.
For Winklaar, the win assures him of a qualification in his last chance to do so. Winklaar has been chasing a berth since early August, competing in the past three contests in order to qualify for the second time in his career.
Winklaar returned to the winner’s podium for the first time since his win at the 2010 New York Pro. That likely seems like forever ago to the Netherlands native. When he won in New York, Winklaar was pegged as one of the sport’s future standouts. But his career took a downward turn after that, beginning with his 14th-place finish at his first Olympia. The results over the last 18 months – 5 top 5 finishes, 8th at the 2011 Arnold Classic – look fine on paper. But when you come out of the gates like Winklaar did, expectations are higher than most.
Now, he’ll head to his second Olympia looking to erase the memory of 2010.
Ferreira-Yates, competing in her first professional contest, won the figure division.
