By: Tiffany Pristelski

A new country and a new competition for me! The European show is only open to European residents, so don't invest in an expensive airline ticket.

Preparation

Training for the Fitness Pageant involved some Volksmarches amongst rolling hills and lush, green pastures. Germany's southern countryside and trails where splendid, despite the frequent rainy weather. Each Sunday or Saturday I would either walk a 20 kilometer or run a 5 or 10k. The pleasant aspect is most Volksmarches have medallions (or rather prizes) that can be purchased for a few Euro. The downfall was all the tasty pastries, bratwurst and beer at the end. Of course after long workouts like these, one would think I'd deserve that type of scrumptious energy intake. However, if I did splurge, I would feel a little guilty afterwards.

Yes, dieting was a bit sketchy for me. Living here for several months gave me the inclination that I was still on vacation. I absorbed myself into the culture and relished the German food. I tried a variety of food at restaurants, festivals and volksmarches, instead of sticking to my strict high protein, low carbohydrate and low fat diet. As a result, I went into competition not as lean as I could have. My advice: keep to you're diet!

Pictures of me before the show. Click to enlarge.

On the other hand, preparation for my routine went well. I have a vampire theme and I love playing into the crowd. Thankfully, I found employment coaching gymnastics and thus could practice my routine using their facility.

Kennen Sie Deutsch? Additional preparation included knowing the language! I did somewhat make myself familiar with German. This was indeed necessary since the entire competition was in Deutsch. There were however contestants who spoke English, but we didn't; we spoke German.

Competition

Since this was my first European competition, I wasn't sure how everything would go. The evening show held September 28th in Stuttgart, Germany at the Philharmonie Theatre included Hit the Rock, Miss Bikini Europe and the Fitness Europe Pageant. I wss happy to be invited, because I wanted an opportunity to get on stage again before the Fitness America Pageant in Redondo Beach, California. The stage looked like any other, but my routine felt fabulous! All the contestants in both Miss Bikini Europe and the Fitness Europe Pageant were very friendly and fun. This is always beneficial because it helps you unwind before going out on stage for the swimsuit round.

I shared a room backstage with Dorota Szcieswa from Poland and Karin Marty from Switzerland. Both girls are beautiful, intelligent and positive. Suzy, captured on camera pulling a face, was the fiery, red-headed director. Her encouragement, her Hund (who entertained and protected us) and her wonderful attitude were all superbly appreciated! Uli Sandfort, the man in charge, ran a smooth, organized competition. The fitness and bikini contestants rehearsed the same day for the opening show and did our photo shooting before the evening production. While we were directed through our regiment, Musclemania was taking place.

With some of the other girls. I am the one in the light pink bikini. Click to enlarge!

This type of organization kept us with our "own kind" so to speak. In other words, I didn't get to know or speak with any of the body builders. The men competing for Hit the Rock were backstage during the evening performance, but that would also mean I would have to practice more German, which I didn't quite feel prepared to do. Best wishes and to all those who competed!

Top five results are as follows:

Musclemania Europe 2002

Newcomers

1st Johannes Tait
2nd Sven Maiko Essich
3rd Darko Barisic
4th Gunter Schneider
5th Albert Pichler

Over 40

1st Wolfgang Sperling
2nd Luigi La Pica
3rd Peter Butze
4th Herbert Paduch
5th Bernd Hauke

Men up to 75 kg

1st Mariano Villena
2nd Michael Gallo
3rd Dave Muller
4th Dietmar Haubold
5th Sicco Heersink

Men up to 85 kg

1st Beat Schlegel
2nd Murat Tombul
3rd Holger Kunath
4th Filip De Brauwer
5th Rainer Burkhardt

Men up to 95 kg

1st Wendy Wyss
2nd Daniel Ivkovic
3rd Marco Wedekind
4th Michael Cronie
5th Dexter Robeson

Men over 95 kg

1st Guido Backsmann
2nd Markus Rohde
3rd Fadi Issa
4th Dieter Hutridi

Miss Bikini Europe 2002

1st Andrea Santangelo (Andrea was first in Fitness 2001)
2nd Susi Schirm
3rd Alexandra Gutierez
4th Ines Dieckman
5th Yvonne Deicke.

Hit the Rock

1st Florian Maier
2nd Andreas Bosse
3rd Jose Chappotin
4th Guido Backsmann
5th Ivan Pavan

Fitness Europe Pageant

1st Karin Marty
2nd Dorota Szcieswa
3rd Susanne Hasenberg
4th Tiffany (Ripple) Pristelski
5th Andrea Knohr

More Pics - Click To Enlarge

I will be doing the Fitness America pageant as well, which is coming up quick. Check back soon!

tiffany@tiffanyrae.net

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