BRING ON THE TERMINATOR!

BALLYMONEY man Stephen Graham faces a gruelling few months training ahead of a date with the Terminator at the start of next year.

The bodybuilding ace has been rewarded with a place in the prestigious Arnold Classic after winning the IFBB European Championships last week.

Stephen (40) beat off competition from across Europe to take gold in the middleweight (under 80kg) class in the illustrious competition in the Ukraine.

It was an incredible achievement for Stephen who is the first person from Northern Ireland to take top spot at the sport's leading amateur event.

And this despite the fact his pre-competition plans were thrown into turmoil when he arrived at the event without his luggage due to a hitch with the airline.

This meant he had to go without food the day prior to his weigh-in causing him to lose a kilo in weight.

But Stephen showed the renowned north Antrim grit to overcome the hurdle and saw off 12 rivals from countries including Italy, Russia, Turkey, Finland and Spain to be crowned Europe's number one.

A delighted Stephen told Times Sport: "Ahead of the event I was confident of a top six finish, that was my realistic aim.

"I would have been delighted with a medal and a top three finish but never dreamt I would come away with gold."

The judges were blown away by Stephen's chiselled physique which put him head and shoulders above the other competitors.

When he took to the stage Stephen reckons his body was less that 3% fat.

Months of preparation went into preparing for the event including a gruelling fitness and weights programme combined with a diet geared to have Stephen in tip top shape when he took to the stage.

Stephen paid tribute to his main sponsor Complete Gyms who supply him with essential supplements to boost his training.

And he also singled out his wife Cat - who he described as his rock - who was with him every step of the way to victory.

"Cat was with me and I couldn't have done it without her, she was a God send," he said.

"I'm very grateful for the support and also to Complete Gyms who have been the catalyst to my success over the past while."

Stephen has also been working with Dr Eric Serrano, a world leader in nutrition who has worked with some of the globe's top sporting stars.

Stephen is now looking forward to the British Championships in October - where he finished third last time out - followed by the Worlds in December.

Then comes the Arnold Classic in America in March which attracts the cream of sport from a number of disciplines with trophies handed out to the winners by Terminator star and governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Stephen will be the first person from the whole of Ireland to compete at the event.

The top five in each class of the Amateur section are given a pro-card with the winner in the pro-ranks pocketing a prize of 100,000 and a Hummer vehicle.

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