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The evening started off with a tribute to and a moment of silence for Ben Weider. It consisted of a heartfelt commemoration from David Pecker, President of American Media (AMI). Then, a short video narrated by Joe Weider and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about the creation of the IFBB, the humble beginnings of their media empire, and the contribution Ben made to bodybuilding. It continued with a short speech from Joe Weider himself about how much he loves the sport and the people in it. At 89 years young, the man is still clearly going, and with no less passion for the sport than he had when he started. Always an inspiration and source of motivation! Now on to business...
In case your memory is as good/not-so-good as mine, Gina Allioti, Heather Mae French, Amy Fry, Kristal Richardson, Erin Stern, and Nicole Wilkins Lee were all in the first call-outs of the morning yesterday. I actually saw Nicole Wilkins Lee and Amy Fry in the International Food Court yesterday afternoon chowing some food (that may or may not have been diet-friendly). Clearly whatever they ate did them some good, because they both got called out again tonight in the Top 6 line-up. (All girls who were in the first callout yesterday were in the first callout again this evening).    Click Image To Enlarge.Ms. Figure Olympia 2009 Nicole Wilkins Lee! View More Pics Of Nicole Wilkins Lee At The 2009 Olympia. What I like about Figure is that it's rarely as clear cut as men's/women's bodybuilding; there's not one competitor where you say, "Yup, that's it. She's gone it on lock for sure." Maybe it's because I am a bodybuilder at heart, or maybe it's because I haven't followed Figure for as long as I've been following bodybuilding, but I actually like that fact that up until they actually present the awards, it's hard to determine for sure who's going to win at the end of the night. But it's that element of suspense that makes the aesthetic aspect of our sport so interesting!
All the women came out in their one-piece suits (which I don't understand, but that's another article for another time...). It's hard to tell whether the girls tightened up, softened up or straight up spilled over when they're in their one-pieces. However, I assume the judges have already decided where the women will place, so bringing them all out one last time is just a formality.   Click Image To Enlarge.Nicole Wilkins Lee: 2009 Olympia One-Piece Round. View More Pics Of Nicole Wilkins Lee At The 2009 Olympia. Yesterday, I think I heard Jen Hendershott say that the reason they have the one-piece round is so that they see if the girls pick a suit that's flattering on them. I still don't get it. If that was the case, it would just make this more of a fashion show than an actual competition; so we'll just assume this round is like the Bermuda Triangle or trigonometry - an enigma to me...
Gina Aliotti is looking tight, but not as shredded as she was at the 2009 Arnold. Maybe the judges told her to take her conditioning down a notch and come in a little softer.   Click Image To Enlarge.Gina Aliotti: 2009 Figure Olympia Two-Piece Round. View More Pics Of Gina Aliotti At The 2009 Olympia. However, I've heard interviews where she's said that the Arnold was her best condition to date, so I don't know why she would've given that up. Regardless, even when she's not as conditioned, she's one of the best figure competitors on stage.
The Top 6 girls looked good & tight. Honorable mentions go out to Monica Brant-Peckham, Jessica Paxson-Putnam, Alicia-Marie Harris and Sherlyn Roy. Although not in the first callout, they all brought the best package I've seen from them in a while.
The 2009 Figure Olympia final results are as follows:
  Click Image To Enlarge.Erin Stern At The 2009 Olympia. View More Pics Of Erin Stern At The 2009 Olympia.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Kristal Richardson At The 2009 Olympia. View More Pics Of Kristal Richardson At The 2009 Olympia.   Click Image To Enlarge.Heather Mae French At The 2009 Olympia. View More Pics Of Heather Mae French At The 2009 Olympia.
1) Nicole Wilkins Lee - I could have seen it going either way between Gina and Nicole. The placings probably had something to do with Gina's conditioning, but regardless, Nicole is a VERY deserving competitor.
Congratulations, ladies!
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