The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT turned out to be the Serena Salis Decius-Norius show at the NPC 2021 CJ Classic and Sunshine State Bodybuilding Bikini Physique Figure Fitness Classic on Saturday.

Decius-Norius, wife of professional bodybuilder Jimmy Norius, walked out of the Palm Beach Convention in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a total of nine trophies after her dominating performance.

She emerged as the women’s physique overall champion after she won the Class A, novice and over-35 masters titles and masters overall, women’s figure Class A, novice and over-35 masters, as well as second place in the bikini masters.

For her efforts, Decius-Norius was presented with a swim suit by one of the event sponsors.

Like a sprinter looking for an event to specialise in, Decius-Norius was uncertain about the clear path of concentration she will focus on in the future.

Before competing in the show, Decius-Norius said she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do so she decided to enter the bikini, physique and figure categories.

After her performances, she said she’s more leaning towards participating in figure, thanks to the advice she received from the judges.

“When you’re training for three categories, it’s very tough,” Decius-Norius said. “You have to train to be hard to win physique, but if you’re too hard, you won’t win bikini.

“So right now, the figure is right in the middle because it’s a sweet spot for me to compete in. I will have a shape of the bikini and the hardness and firmness of physique.”

Norius, who serves as her coach, said the goal was for his wife to surpass her debut performance last year when she competed as a bikini model, capturing the bikini A short class divisional title and was second in both the bikini masters over 35 and the bikini novice, while getting third overall in the bikini open class.

“She did really well. The judges love her appearance and they told her as the smallest competitor, she was the most symmetrical and her stage presence was right on track.

“They didn’t want to give her the overall for the bikini because they said she was a little too hard, but they gave her second, so I feel it was kind of generous of them instead of bombing her out of the final.”

Norius said his wife did an awesome job and he didn’t have any problems celebrating over a pizza dinner, although she has to get right back into training for her next show here in the Bahamas in June.

“The competition was really stiff. The bikini was off the chain,” Norius pointed out. “Actually last year, she got first in the bikini short class, but because she has to build muscles to continue to win that category, she didn’t want to push it.

“They like her. They critique her and they told her she just needs to appear in a few more shows because she can get her pro card. They love her body, her stage presence and how she walks in heels.

“They say she can get her figure pro card now, but for physique, she has to put on some size.”

At the show in June, Norius said his wife will have a chance to compete for her pro card. If she fails there, she will be travelling to Pittsburgh in September to go after the card again.

“This year, it’s looking really bright for her to get her pro card,” said Norius, who will become the first Bahamian couple to achieve the feat.

Decius-Norius, a native of Italy, said it was a hectic day from 10am until about 9pm, walking on and off the stage, changing clothing to compete in the three divisions.

In the end, she said it was worth it all. “Honesty, I feel more comfortable being on stage,” said Decius-Norius, who never competed in any major competition until she met her husband.

“I like it. I feel like I can always step back on the stage and perform.”

She thanked her husband for believing in her and pushing her to the limit at their home during their training sessions to get her ready for the show.

“I stepped out nine times in the morning and nine times in the afternoon and twice because they called me back for the pose downs,” she said. “I need to get one more suitcase to bring all my nine trophies back to the Bahamas. So it was a very good performance. I really enjoyed it.”

The couple were due to return home on Sunday.