{"id":4160,"date":"2026-01-06T16:50:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=4160"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:50:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:50:39","slug":"lincolnshire-bodybuilder-donald-sweeting-wins-world-title-at-first-attempt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=4160","title":{"rendered":"Lincolnshire bodybuilder Donald Sweeting wins world title at first attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I had zero expectations going out, it&#8217;s been massively overwhelming,&#8221; he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t expecting to go out and win.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Sweeting explained that natural bodybuilding adheres to Olympic rules on drug use, meaning substances such as steroids and weight loss medication are prohibited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;As a natural you have that nicer sort of shape as you don&#8217;t get blown out of proportion compared with the assisted side of the sport,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Sweeting earned his trip to the United States after winning his category in the UK Natural Bodybuilding championship in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He said he got into the sport after struggling with his mental health in his early 20s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;For me it&#8217;s a self-discipline thing,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It&#8217;s really the journey rather than the destination.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><i class=\"ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2\">Listen to highlights from<\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p0cjdw6n\" class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds<\/a><i class=\"ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2\">, watch the<\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/b007tp3n\" class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">latest episode of Look North<\/a> <i class=\"ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2\">or tell us about a story you think we should be covering <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/mailto:eastyorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk\" class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">here<span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">, <!-- -->external<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Download the BBC News app from the <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/gb\/app\/bbc-news-uk-world-stories\/id377382255?is_retargeting=true&amp;source_caller=ui&amp;shortlink=6mc9icpm&amp;c=BBC_app_install_house_ad_uk&amp;pid=Generic%20article%20link_Apple&amp;af_xp=custom&amp;af_reengagement_window=30d\" class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">App Store<span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">, <!-- -->external<\/span><\/a> for iPhone and iPad or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=bbc.mobile.news.uk&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;is_retargeting=true&amp;source_caller=ui&amp;shortlink=ser4scwo&amp;c=BBC_app_install_house_ad_uk&amp;pid=Generic%20article%20link_Android&amp;af_xp=custom&amp;af_reengagement_window=30d\" class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">Google Play<span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">, <!-- -->external<\/span><\/a> for Android devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cwyx17w528lo\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I had zero expectations going out, it&#8217;s been massively overwhelming,&#8221; he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t expecting to go out and win.&#8221; Mr Sweeting explained that natural bodybuilding adheres to Olympic rules on drug use, meaning substances such as steroids and weight loss medication are prohibited. &#8220;As a natural you have that nicer sort [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[271],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-natural-bodybuilding"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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