Champion rider Sonja Logan has revealed how a savage bashing by a group of men led to her thriving as a bodybuilding jockey.
In 2023, Logan was left with a fractured nose, two teeth knocked out and other facial injuries following a terrifying carjacking ordeal that saw up to 15 men circle her vehicle and smash her in the face with a rock.
The 33-year-old told Daily Mail how tough it was to move on with life after she feared she would be killed in the unprovoked attack, which occurred three weeks before her wedding to partner Tommy Logan.
‘My nose is still a bit crooked so even though I’m healing mentally, I can still see the scars from it,’ she said.
‘If anything, I think it’s made me stronger and a better person, but at the time I didn’t see it like that.
‘I didn’t fear getting back into cars but walking out to my front gate was a bit daunting.
Sonja Logan has been combining a successful career in the saddle with a new bodybuilding venture following an attack by a group of men in 2023
How Logan looked before (left) and after (right) a six-week fitness challenge that inspired her to take up bodybuilding
‘Seeing large groups of men was daunting, too. We get a fair bit of commotion in the area we live, and you hear men yelling and carrying on and it could be nothing but hearing it set me off, especially late at night.’
Logan admitted she turned to alcohol to deal with the emotional trauma of the attack.
‘Mentally, I’m now in a really good place but it took me a bit to move past it,’ she said.
‘I masked it for a bit and ignored the feelings. Alcohol played a part in masking it, too, and I hid how I was feeling.’
The turning point came in October last year when she saw a six-week fitness challenge on social media.
Following weeks of hard work in the gym, Logan didn’t turn back, taking things a lot further and going down the natural bodybuilding path – all while winning the 2024/2025 Alice Springs jockeys premiership.
‘If you looked at my face before I started it, there was no glow and you would’ve thought I looked miserable. There was no life about my face,’ she said.
‘I did the challenge to improve myself and I tried to lift heavy and run further and at the end of the challenge I looked brighter and happier.
Despite her short time in bodybuilding, Logan has picked up several awards
Logan was left bloodied after the 2023 attack by a group of men in Darwin
‘It was a mental transformation too. I had to dig deep to get fit. My coach Lauren Killey put it together and we dived into bodybuilding and she’s been so supportive.’
Logan, who has ridden 533 winners in her career to date, was 51kg but packed on 7kg of muscle to perform in bodybuilding contests.
The problem was, she needed to ride at 54kg.
‘It’s a balancing act between how many calories do I put in to build muscle and how light do I need to be to ride on the weekend,’ she said.
‘I had to have a sweat leading into the races but I felt so good physically (from bodybuilding) that wasting didn’t feel as hard.
‘I had that fitness, so I didn’t feel crap. Sweating and dropping weight is never easy. Sometimes it’s so hard to sit in that bath for another 30 minutes to lose 500 grams. I was able to push through.’
Logan has secured a number of podium finishes at both ANB and NAB bodybuilding competitions in the Northern Territory and Queensland but wants to take things further.
‘I would love to go pro,’ she said.
‘For next season, coming from the judges’ feedback, they want me to come in leaner so we’ll go into a build and build a little more muscle and diet down a bit harder.’
Logan is currently on top of the Northern Territory Jockey Premiership and she said bodybuilding has made her a better hoop.
Logan says bodybuilding has helped her get her life back on track after a gang of men bashed her with a rock
Logan credits bodybuilding training for her good form in the saddle this season
‘I’m stronger in the saddle and more balanced,’ she said.
‘My race brain is better too. It now feels like the races are in slow motion which could be due to my mental clarity.
‘I’ve started to end on the fence a lot more after drawing wide gates so I’m reading my races a lot better.’
She conceded that, had the attack not occurred, she wouldn’t be bodybuilding or be in the best physical and mental state of her life.
The only problem is police have not been able to find the group of men, between 10 and 15, who attacked her that fateful night.
‘It sucks,’ Logan said.
‘I don’t think they targeted me so there’s no fear about that because it could have been anyone.
‘Imagine if I was a mother and had my baby in the back seat. That’s the part that scares me. Those people are still out there with no fear of hurting someone.’
