Atlanta firefighter competing in international bodybuilding competition
ATLANTA - This week, one of Atlanta's first responders is putting herself on the line in a different kind of way. Sgt. Cherish Richardson of the Atlanta Fire Department will be competing in the Olympia Bodybuilding Competition in Las Vegas. It's an international contest, with winners including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Richardson is passionate about her job as a firefighter.
"I like the thrill of it. I know it sounds bad to say, 'I enjoy running into burning buildings,' but I do. And knowing that I'm always making someone's day better than we left it," she told Good Day's Lindsay Tuman.
She is a fire command technician in southwest Atlanta, which makes her the right hand of the First Battalion Chief.
"It taxes you on all realms - your mental, your physical, your spiritual - in all ways," she said.
Richardson rose to the challenges of her job, and beyond. She credits firefighting with how she started her other passion, bodybuilding.
"So in recruit school, I weighed 118. Definitely don't look anything like how I look now. I was the smallest I'd ever been, and I just wasn't happy with how I looked physically," she said. "So I said ‘I have to do something to keep my frame, my physique up,’ and I got into bodybuilding."
Last year, she qualified for the Olympia Bodybuilding Competition for the first time and took fourth place.
"For those who don't know what Olympia is, it's a bodybuilding Superbowl. So we're not just going against people in the United States. We're going against people all over the world," Richardson said.
Richardson trains three to four hours a day, six days a week. She says her training has made her a better firefighter too.
"Civilians don't care how tired you are. They're like, 'I need your help!' And that's how it is with bodybuilding, like, girl, you gotta go if you're going to get it," she said.
And her crew here are always pushing her to achieve her goals.
"The guys here, I'm so blessed to have them support me so much. For them to treat my goals like they're theirs. The guys here will be like you gotta do cardio, Cherish. Make sure you get on that Stairmaster for 35 minutes," she said.
Training this year was even more of a challenge after the loss of her father.
"I think the most rewarding thing is, I didn't quit. I gave it my all. The mornings where I'm like, 'I gave it my all,' the days where we have long nights where I don't want to go to the gym, I have. So I can't wait to see the finished version of myself and it will only propel me to do better." Richardson said.
The Miss Olympia competition started on Oct. 10. If you are interested in watching Richardson, there's a livestream available here.