Katherin Vanessa Amaya Medina better known in the international sports scene as “Coach Bones” is one of the Colombian athletes who shines with strength and credibility with numerous victories and academic title throughout her sports career.
She’s a professional in sports with specialization in fitness and new trends, between weightlifting, bodybuilding, and sports nutrition, she also treasures passion for treatment on the sensitive population, visually hearing impaired and seniors, in addition to being specialized in Aquatic Training for swimming career.
As an athlete she was part of the Colombian Karate Team for more than 5 years, being district, national champion and as if that were not enough fifth in the world, also adds to her victories Semi-Professional swimming, besides competing in CrossFit at international level. In Colombia is in the Top 10 and currently has just climbed the podium as Miss Bikini in the NPC Virginia Classic of bodybuilding – Miss Virginia of the United States.
How long have you been an athlete and how did this path begin in your life?
I started at a young age thanks to my mom when she admitted me to swimming lessons with my brother, we both began to compete at district and national level in Colombia, at 14 years of age I was a champion in free-style swimming. Unexpectedly I found karate, and, within a year, I became national champion without having any experience, my process in karate was very unique because it was very fast, my virtue was to be very thing and tall, that allowed me to reach my opponents easier, then I was third at international level in the Central American and Caribbean championship in Mexico then at El Salvador and Brazil.
What has been the most challenging part of dedicating your personal and professional life to sports?
As a result of the competitions, I won in karate they proposed me to go to the Olympics or to study a university career, and I hardly decided to continue studying and have my university sports degrees, I was very young, and I did not want to stop specializing. Giving up the process of getting to participate in the Olympics was the most challenging thing, besides everything was getting complicated, because my competitions were sponsored by my family, being an athlete in Colombia is expensive when you have no sponsors.
In which area of the sport do you specialize?
In CrossFit and Fitness, I am ranked as one of the best CrossFit Coaches in my native Medellin and in the United States I have also gained a lot of credibility.
You just won the NPC Virginia Classic bodybuilding in the Bikini category, what was this competition about?
Bodybuilding is a modality of many years ago that has Arnold Schwarzenegger as a reference. The competition consists of judging the proportion of your muscles and your body in different poses, some of its rules are the size of the bikini you wear, how to pose, the tone of the tan you have and a professional card to compete. I am part of the Bikini category for those of us who are not so muscular, but not too thin.
How was the process to become the winner?
It all started during the pandemic, I was interested in bodybuilding, until I trained with Sebastian Alvarez, a Colombian who has one of the largest teams in Virginia. When he saw me, he told me that I should not compete in twenty weeks, it was what I had planned! he reduced it to eight, that was my preparation and so without experience in this type of competitions I took first place in all categories. And so, I became Miss Virginia. I am the first Colombian to achieve it.
I faced the champions of the other categories, in those I took first place and that’s how you win the event to go to the nationals, where I already have direct quota.
Let’s talk about the NPC / IFBB Virginia Classic Nationals.
Now I am training extremely hard, I am going to compete against the best of each state, I have 8 meals a day and I train 4 hours a day twice a day, I must give more shape to the body and make it look more impressive. The stages of the preparation are changing until the day of the competition to the stage without hydration and without food.
What projection is coming for your sports career.
My goal is to participate in the Mr. Olympia, but to get there I must win the nationals for which I am preparing with discipline and passion.
Photographer: Jeff Binns @JeffBinns