Two hardworking people just got a lot richer, thanks to Bodybuilding.com's global search for its 2018 $250K Transformation Challenge winners, sponsored this year by Optimum Nutrition.

Every April, a team of Bodybuilding.com employees and executives select one woman and one man in recognition of the changes they have made to their physiques—and inevitably, their lives—over a 12-week period. Whether by following one of the many trainers available through Bodybuilding.com All -Access, or by following programs of their own, contestants made the most of three short months to lose body fat, gain muscle, and "transform" their bodies.

Each of the two top winners receives a check for $100,000, presented in person by a team of Bodybuilding.com representatives, which, this year, included CEO Jas Krdzalic. The company also awards $10,000 apiece to five category winners.

Sabrina Moreira of New York City was the Female Overall winner. Sabrina began her transformation on January 12 weighing 173.2 pounds, with 34 percent body fat. At the end of the challenge on April 7, she was a toned 139.4 pounds with 24 percent body fat. The team surprised her on the street in New York, leaving her momentarily speechless.

During the 12 weeks of the challenge, Sabrina said she would "wake up in the morning and say to herself, 'Let me get through this.'" And she did! "I just kept telling myself I could do it," she says. When asked what she planned to do with the money, she said she had a lot of student loans to repay. "Not anymore," she grinned.

To present the check to the Male Overall winner, the Bodybuilding.com team had to fly from New York to Australia. At about the same time the Bodybuilding.com team was boarding a plane bound for Melbourne, winner Declan McGovern was texting his friends that the rumors he had won didn't look like they would come true. The Bodybuilding.com team caught up with Declan in the middle of his workout and presented him with an oversized check for $100,000.

Like Sabrina, he was momentarily dumbstruck. When the reality of the moment sunk in, he tearfully said, "My wife and I have our beautiful son, River, who is two years old. We've been trying to have another child, but it hasn't worked out, so our doctors are saying we're probably better off trying in vitro fertilization. The money gives us the chance to hopefully have another child. That's pretty special."

Here are the other category winners.

Best Social Motivator: Amy Myer

Best Muscle-Building Transformation: Cory Dovel

Best First-Time Challenge Transformation: Joel Anderson

Best Continuing Transformation: Melanie Plante

Best Transformation Using an All-Access Program: Michelle Messina

Our congratulations to the winners and to all the people who worked and sacrificed to have a shot at this year's $250K Transformation Challenge. We'd say "see you next year," but we have challenges going throughout the year in our Transform For Life Challenge Series. Try them and come into next year's contest better more prepared than ever!