Mary Lado
IFBB Ms. Figure International Champion

Website: http://marylado.com/
Bio: http://marylado.com/biography.html
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Store: http://marylado.com/store.html

MARY ELIZABETH LADO BIOGRAPHY
I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 16,1978 and raised in Metairie, Louisiana. I have two brothers, Jose 22 and Carlos 20. If you wonder, “Why such Spanish names?” My mother Marianela is from Cuba and my father Jose Ramon is from Spain.

Since the age of nine I began to play sports such as volleyball, basketball, track, soccer, and softball. Growing up I couldn’t help but to be a tomboy with my two brothers. I
n my middle school years and up through high school I won many district titles. Once graduating from high school I earned an athletic scholarship to Chipola Junior College to play fast pitch softball for two years. As a pitcher, I was nicknamed “Scary Mary” due to the fact that you would never know where the pitch was going to end up. Academically I earned an associate of arts in physical education and Who’s Who Among American Junior Colleges.

I then moved on to receive an athletic scholarship in softball to finish my studies at Georgia Southwestern State University. When I completed my softball years I was then an assistant coach in softball to finish my bachelors in sociology. When my college days were over it was back to Louisiana. There I began to fool around with weights on a daily basis as a hobby or sport. I met a bodybuilder who asked me if I ever thought about competing. I never really new there was such a thing? I watched my first figure competition that summer in 2002 and decided I wanted to try it. I always admired the toned athletes.

I did my first show in New Orleans in 2003, where I placed 1st in the tall class. I then did the NPC Louisiana and got second, the NPC Greater Gulf States was my last local show where I placed 1st and overall. My final show that year was the NPC National Figure Championships. Let’s just say I took that as a learning experience.

My goal the following year was to be a professional figure competitor. I aimed for the NPC Junior Nationals and NPC National Figure Championships that year in 2004. I placed second at Junior Nationals and won 1st place in the tall class at NPC National Figure Championships and overall. Thanks to the support of my family my dream was now a reality.

My first year as an IFBB Pro was in 2005 and I made my pro debut at the Arnold Classic’s Figure International and I was honored to place third. Next up was the IFBB Pittsburgh and California Pro Figure contests and I won them both! Winning two pro shows in my first year as an IFBB Pro was something that I would have never expected. I was in shock and totally excited about it. Of course you always train to win, but with the caliber of girls that these shows had, you would think that the possibility of winning would be far off. Coming off of two wins and getting ready for the 2005 IFBB Figure Olympia was a great advantage. Needless to say I was fighting an uphill battle getting ready for the Olympia. It seemed like one thing followed after another. I was in Spain for two weeks when I got news that Hurricane Katrina was going to hit home. I was petrified and worried the whole time because my mother, brother, and dog were going to ride out the storm the whole way through. Not hearing from them for 4 days after the storm had struck just added to my worries. In the end, my mom made it out fine. Since my necessities, the gym and grocery store, were damaged, I was getting ready for the Figure Olympia at a friends house two hours from New Orleans. I went through with getting ready for the Olympia. I did not want to give up on a dream to compete in the biggest show ever. Who knows if I would ever be able to again? The way that I looked for the Olympia did not impress me, it upset me. This was a wake-up call for me. I was determined to come around for the 2006 IFBB Figure International at the Arnold Classic and show myself and my fans that I could do it. I got a new trainer which in turn changed my whole diet and training. This changed my body in a matter of three months to be able to win the 2006 IFBB Figure International, the second biggest title in our sport. I could not help but cry when I won. The three hard months of dieting and training like never before paid off. Now I am focused on the 2006 IFBB Figure Olympia.

I currently work as a Personal Trainer when I am not competing & I am also an endorsed athlete for VyoTech Nutritionals & make appearances on their behalf.

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