You’ve never heard of Amy Haddad on the masters circuit? No wonder. She has barely begun to compete. But according to a recent article in a Florida newspaper, Amy has her eye on masters medals. She says: “My next sport is masters track and field. I want to be a national champion in the high jump, long jump and the 100 meters.” Quite ambitious for this muscular blonde. But given her record as a boydbuilder and professional fitness contestant, she has some credits to back her up. Here’s a cool video clip of her in action.

Here’s the article, should the link go dead:
Super Mom
Amy Haddad jumps, kicks and flips for pro fitness competitions. Her daughter knows her routines and her son cheers her performances.
By THOMAS BECNEL
thomas.becnel@heraldtribune.com
As a professional fitness contestant, Amy Haddad steps onstage in a sequined bikini and performs everything from side splits and straddle jumps to high kicks and back flips.
“And you’ve got to smile, too,” she says, turning a cartwheel.
“It’s not so” — another cartwheel — “easy.”
Narrating a routine while performing it isn’t required at this weekend’s 2006 Fitness Olympia competition in Las Vegas, but it’s still a neat trick. Aerobic ventriloquism?
Haddad, a 39-year-old physical therapist from Bradenton, is a former gymnast who also sprints and jumps in masters track and field. She loves the idea of competing at the highest level in the Olympia show.
“I’d like to finish in the top 10,” she says. “Even if I finish last, though, it’s against the best in the world.”
In a training session at Gold’s Gym, Haddad showed off a sculpted body. Five-foot-6, 130 pounds. Flat belly, cinched waist. Broad shoulders, muscled arms.
She’s strong enough to do one-armed push-ups — a contest requirement — but says they’re more of an all-body workout.
“It’s all in your abs,” she says, “believe it or not.”
Haddad wears the same costumes as her rivals and follows the same diets and workouts, but there will be differences at the national competition.
“I know I’ll be the oldest competitor,” she says. “And I’m the only single mom.”
Haddad’s 9-year-old daughter, Taylor, is her biggest fan. She knows Mom’s routines by heart.
Her 7-year-old son, Cole, once suggested a “Spider-Man” theme for her workout routine. One of his elementary school friends saw her in costume.
“Your mom’s a superhero!”
Haddad works part-time in the morning at the Sarasota Therapy Center. She exercises at Gold’s Gym in the afternoon. Her parents, who live nearby, pick up the grandchildren from elementary school in Bradenton.
Haddad coaches her kids in everything from basketball to track. They watch her practice and have gone to her performances.
This year she’s doing a “Pirates of the Caribbean” routine. The other day Cole saw one of her plastic props sticking out of her workout bag.
“Nice sword, mom.”
Strict dedication
Sarasota’s Amyra Mondon, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader, helps choreograph Haddad’s routines. Part of her job is helping a powerful athlete become a more graceful dancer. Haddad is willing to work at it.
“Amy’s phenomenal,” Mondon says. “I’ve never seen a more dedicated woman in fitness. I’ve never seen anyone so strict in her diet.”
Haddad inherited some athletic ability from her father, Richard Tresky, who was a college quarterback and barefoot punter back in the 1950s. He can remember Amy pulling herself up on a bar when she was just 2 years old.
“She had the body strength and the arm strength all along,” he says. “And she did gymnastics for a number of years. She was always in really good condition. Basketball, volleyball, softball — whatever she did, she did well.”
Tresky supports her fitness career, though he likes her high jumps more than her skimpy costumes. It’s still competition, though.
“She knows what she’s doing,” he says. “She’s focused. She researches it out and she does it.”
Deer in the headlights
Haddad was a gymnast growing up in Connecticut. Her idol was Nadia Comaneci. In high school she ran track and played basketball and volleyball.
At Northeastern University in Boston she became a diver, competing in the 1- and 3-meter springboard.
After getting married and having two kids, Haddad saw fitness competitors on TV.
“I looked at them and said, ‘You know, I can do that,'” she said. “And then I went to a competition and totally got hooked.”
Working on choreography and developing stage presence takes time. Haddad cringes when she watches video of her early performances.
“The first time I was like a deer in the headlights,” she says. “I looked like it, too.”
When Haddad’s marriage ended in divorce, training and competing helped take her mind off domestic troubles.
“It gave me something positive to focus on,” she says. “It was something to keep me sane during that time.”
In 2004 she moved to Florida, looking for a fresh start.
Haddad takes her kids paddling on the Myakka River, but they haven’t done much hiking or camping in Florida. They miss the hills and mountains of New England.
On the other hand, they have done some surfing.

The Arnold Classic

In the weeks before a fitness show, Haddad dials down her diet and picks up the pace in her training. Smiling through a 2-minute aerobic routine requires discipline and toughness.
Haddad is attractive, a green-eyed blonde who once did some fitness modeling for a New Balance catalog. Her appearance doesn’t hurt onstage, but she’s often frustrated by fitness judging, which tends to be subjective.
The highest level of competition is called professional, but only a handful of women make a living in fitness. The others earn some prize money, along with free gym memberships and other perks from sponsors.
Haddad hopes to do well in Las Vegas and get invited to Ohio in March for the Arnold Classic, another national competition.
“I’ve always wanted to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger,” she says, “but only onstage at his show.”
Turning to track
As Haddad approaches her 40s, she isn’t sure how much longer she’ll compete in fitness. One athletic alternative would mean trading in her bikini for a tank top and running shorts.
“My next sport is masters track and field,” she says. “I want to be a national champion in the high jump, long jump and the 100 meters.”
Last year Haddad competed at a masters meet in Clermont, winning the high jump and sprint for her age division.
She thinks she can run faster and jump higher. She’s going to train hard to find out.
“I don’t know what I’d do without sports,” Haddad says. “It’s such a part of my life.”