Owasso Woman Using Fitness To Overcome Grief, Competing To Be On Magazine Cover

A Green Country woman is a top 10 finalist in a competition to get on the cover of a national fitness magazine.

Gloria Cannon of Owasso is also getting ready for her first body-building competition and uses tragedy as motivation.

The gym is Cannon’s therapy.

"I do a lot of curling, a lot of abs, a lot of cardio," said Cannon.

The 26-year-old said body building helped her push through the chains of mental health after losing her only child in 2019.

"I woke up and he was just gone," said Cannon.

At seven weeks old, Max, died of sudden infant death syndrome.

"Body building gave me an outlet to grieve in a healthy way while building myself up and help him live on inside of me through growth,” explained Cannon.

Now, she has her first body-building competition in just two weeks.

At 5'3’’ and 103 pounds, Cannon does not let her size stop her from anything.

"We have a little bit more work to do on my legs, but I'm very excited,” said Cannon. “I actually had my suit made locally, too."

The Owasso resident is also in the running to be "Miss Health and Fitness."

She's currently in seventh place. The winner would be on the cover of "Hers" magazine and get $20,000.

Cannon said she would use the money to be certified in fitness and help her mother, Virginia, who is battling brain tumors.

"She shows signs of strokes quite often, and she needs help," explained Cannon.

Cannon is again using life's challenges as fuel for fitness and hopes others do, too.

"Not only are you going to feel better, you're going to make other people feel better when you feel good,” said Cannon.

Cannon's first competition is June 4 in Broken Arrow.

The next round for the magazine cover contest for the top five ends May 26th. You can vote by clicking here.

Cannon has a GoFundMe set up to help her mother. Click here to donate to Cannon's GoFundMe.