"I've trained may a champion over the years, but Vicky is exceptional and is a class act. If I didn't know her and someone said to me she's a bodybuilder when she had her street clothes on, I'd say, yeah right. But when she's in her show gear, it's clear she is. To win three titles in short succession after just 18 months training is almost unheard of and testament to her courage and determination."
Boswell said she initially began training to keep fit and gain weight, but had fallen in love with the art.
"My kids had all grown up and left home, so I thought I'd do something just for myself," Boswell said.
"I weighed about 42kg then and wanted to keep fit and gain weight. Once I got right into it and thought about competitions, I didn't think I could do it. I had a few negative comments at the start and that just drove me harder. And working in the surgical ward at Wanganui Hospital didn't make it any easier. The shift work dictated my training times and training is hard. The saying 'no pain, no gain' is a very true saying."
She achieved her goal of putting on weight and before she was 'cut up" for competition, she tipped the scales at 53kg.
"But I was down to 45kg or 46kg once I was cut and on stage at the weekend. I'll put it back on now that I'm back to a more normal diet."
In fact, Boswell was hungrily waiting to sit down to a roast meal last night cooked by her son Steffan Bardell and his partner Jess Blackmore.
"And it won't be chicken either, I want red meat and gravy - I can't wait," Boswell said.
Mood swings dog many bodybuilders in the lead up to competitions with strict diets and intense training playing on the mind, but Boswell's affable nature denied mood swings taking her mind prisoner. "It was intense peaking for three championships just weeks apart and that's where Pat's experience came in. When he said jump, I jumped."
Boswell will keep the training ticking over before preparing for the step up to masters and or open grades next year - or possibly both.
