WILLMAR - A 35-year-old Willmar mother and a former college football player won $300,000 for winning the TV reality series “Strong” on NBC.
“I’m going on one hour of sleep right now,” a giddy Jill May said Friday during an interview with KARE 11, just hours after hosting family and friends at the Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA for a viewing party of the finale.
The mother of four was selected for the show after entering a video during an open call last year.
The show is produced by Sylvester Stallone and billed by the network as “a fitness competition show like no other.” It paired contestants with all-male trainers from a myriad of fitness disciplines.
The duos competed side-by-side each week during strength and conditioning challenges. May was teamed with Bennie Wylie, a former college football player who later became a strength and conditioning coach in the NFL.
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Upon entering the competition, May weighed 167 pounds with 31 percent body fat. Through her work on the series, she gained 24 pounds of muscle but lost 23 pounds in weight.
She now weighs 144 pounds with 12 percent body fat, according to the KARE 11 report.
