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 By: Isaac Hinds
New York served host to another IFBB battle of shredded bodies on May 10, 2008. Promoter Steve Weinberger and Bev Francis, with the help of retired pro bodybuilder, Shawn Ray, put together the first 202 and Under Men's bodybuilding show of the year. Bev and Steve added this to the usual Men's Bodybuilding show. Women's Bodybuilding also made a return to the Big Apple which brought out 21 women for the competition.
This competition brought out 16 competitors with hopes of qualifying for the 202 & Under competitions at this year's Olympia. There will be a new show added to the Olympia which features the men who qualify in the 202 & Under class. This show had three spots up for grabs. There were some familiar faces looking to take the show and the favorite going in was David Henry. Charles Dixon was making his pro debut after his victory at the 2007 Nationals and had hopes of knocking Henry out of the top spot. How did it all go down? There were a few surprises in store once the prejudging began around 11:15 in New York.
Charles hasn't been able to get that dry, graining, hard look to his physique yet and may never be able to achieve that. He has thick skin which presents a challenge to him when it comes to getting really grainy looking. If he is able to get a bit more conditioned he could move up a few spots. His legs are the only spot where his conditioning could be brought up a bit.
His conditioning was good and what most likely elevated him to the third place shot. If he could improve for his next show it would be to bring up his arms, especially in his front double bicep shot. Overall this was a good outing for Jason though.
When he posed he went through the shots holding his head down and rarely looked up with any sense of confidence. The judges had him squarely in second throughout the entire show. I would have it a little closer on the cards between him and the winner but I had no problem with him in second at the night show.
Kevin was much wider than David and won the show with his wheels combined with spot on conditioning. If you didn't know what he weighed you may think he weighed closer 215-220 without much question.
It had been a few years since the women's bodybuilding had been held at this venue. The top five was very competitive at this contest and ended up being a good show with the top three heading to the Olympia.
   Click Image To Enlarge.Debbie Laszewski. View More Pics Of Debbie Laszewski At The 2008 New York Pro.
Her upper body conditioning was very good but was a bit smooth in her lower body, particularly in her glute and hamstring area. The one hindrance Dena has with her physique is her waist appears a little thick. If she brings up her quads it may help balance her physique out.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Dena Westerfield. View More Pics Of Dena Westerfield At The 2008 New York Pro.
Ultimately, she ended up qualifying for the Olympia where she could legitimately be in the top 6 there. She also has amazing calves and overall had a great showing at this contest.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Rosemary Jennings. View More Pics Of Rosemary Jennings At The 2008 New York Pro.
Based on some of the prejudging callouts I would have guessed she'd be near fifth. The judges got it right with her second place finish and she matched up very well to the champ.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Jeannie Paparone. View More Pics Of Jeannie Paparone At The 2008 New York Pro.
She was in great condition and it wasn't too much. Cathy poses in a way that again is feminine and she is a good representation of female bodybuilding.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Cathy LeFrancois. View More Pics Of Cathy LeFrancois At The 2008 New York Pro.
The Men's bodybuilding lacked many "big names" and all the hype was around Kai Greene going into this show and rightfully so. Many people were watching to see how rookie Ben White would do after he proclaimed he was the greatest in Vegas after an overall win at USAs.
He did manage to qualify for the Olympia and if he works on his back and brings better conditioning to the Olympia he could be a top 10 competitor. His routine was good and he proved no one should over look him in any line up.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Craig Richardson. View More Pics Of Craig Richardson At The 2008 New York Pro.
He looked to be enjoying himself onstage and will make a return to the Olympia stage once again. If he improves his conditioning in his lower body you could see him crack the top 10 at the Olympia, but that's a big if as we haven't seen him nail it recently.
If Kevin was smart I'd suggest he enter a couple more smaller shows and collect a few more pay checks. I don't think he'll do well at the Olympia, but never say never. This was clearly the best he's been as a pro. He could quite possibly go into the Europa Super show and win the 202 class as well as crack the top five there in the main show like he did here.
I'm told Kai was sick before the show and advised by a couple people to not even enter the show. I saw him guest pose a week earlier and he looked good, but he did mention he'd like to pose earlier in the night as he wasn't feeling well. Whatever it was that ailed him certainly didn't effect his performance in New York.
If I didn't know better I would have said Ben White looked like he could have competed in the 202 and Under class as David Henry and Kevin English both looked bigger than him on stage.
His conditioning was good but he lacked the size needed as well as detail in his back. Leo Ingram looked good and was in great condition but he could have been marked down due to the large lump in his right lat. Martin Kjellstrom was shredded and probably displayed the highest level of conditioning in the show.
The top five in the men qualify for the 2008 Olympia held in Las Vegas. The top three in the women will head to Vegas for the Ms. Olympia contest. The show was run well and Bodybuilding.com's Bob Chic served as the Emcee for the show. Bob kept things moving along and did a much better job than his partner in crime, Shawn Ray who emceed the 202 and Under Class. Shawn is great on video and the radio but you put him on stage to emcee and he doesn't know what to do. Two awards were given out for best posing in the women and the 202 and Under Class. Debbie Laszewski won the women's and Tricky Jackson took home the men's. The few competitors I spoke with about the 202 & Under class all enjoyed it and it was a tougher show to call who would place where. When you have guys competing on a more even playing field in terms of mass it made things a bit more exciting.
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