2011 Arnold Sports Weekend: Women's Physique Events
Pre-Judging
The women of figure, bodybuilding, and fitness may present different physique looks, but the common denominators were also evident on Saturday morning at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Before a standing-room-only crowd, each class comprised a deep lineup of women with beautifully sculpted bodies with a fierce determination to leave Columbus with a title in hand. That level of intensity should be expected when you have
If you missed it--or even if you didn't, but you just want a brief recap of each show--Isabel Norton and I have what you're looking for. The critiques are just our opinions, so if you disagree, umm... we're sorry to have offended you.
Figure
The favorites going into this show are Jennifer Gates (who actually hasn't competed since 2008 where she won the Olympia), Erin Stern (who won the 2010 Ms. Figure Olympia) and Nicole Wilkins-Lee (Won the 2009 Ms. Figure Olympia, and is the defending Ms. Figure International).
So the talk has been regarding whether the reigning Ms. International can beat the reigning Ms. Olympia. The dark horse would be Felicia Romero; she placed 5th at the Arnolds last year, and is looking to crack the Top 3 this year.
Another competitor coming in with a lot of momentum is Courtney West. Courtney won the NPC USAs (where she earned her pro card), then went into her 1st pro show (The Houston Pro) and won first place. So we're looking to see her in the Top 5.
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She's definitely decreased her muscularity since the 2010 Olympia. Looks fantastic and she polished her stage presence.
She had been working really hard on that aspect of the competition as well as bringing up her legs.
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Tall, graceful, wasp waist with AWESOME abs. Also has great lines, her v-taper was phenomenal.
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Pretty soft, but still has a good shoulder to waist ratio.
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Her physique looks very similar to that of past shows, but what was noticeably different was her stage presence was very polished and graceful.
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Ohio native, a loud cheer exploded from the crowd. Looked great! Had great lines.
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Another "shorter" pro, her nerves seem to have gotten the best of her (she was shaking a lot, visibly nervous *or cold*). She was a little bit on the softer side if we compare her to past events.
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Polished, great presentation, awesome overall package. Her conditioning was right on point. She has really stepped up her game since winning the Europa Show of Champions last April.
We expected her to look amazing and she delivered.
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Coming from her 3rd place at the Houston Pro, she was very hard with amazing quad separation. She had incredible physique. But probably too hard for what the judges are looking for today.
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She had been working to bring up her quads and it seems to have paid of. Her midsection was a little on the softer than usual. She had also been working on her presentation and it really paid off.
She was cool, calmed and polished.
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Big upper body, probably too big (though it made for a great V-taper),and her suit was different/unique. She was probably too hard.
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GREAT back and V-taper. Her presentation was right on. She was polished and graceful.
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Incredibly rounded delts, perfect (esp given she had a baby 10 months again). There was no sign of a baby bump. Her abs were incredible.
She is probably the envy of a lot of women with and without children.
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Brought down her legs in terms of size and muscularity, but has more definition in her quads.
Beautiful presentation. She is definitely leaner.
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Great lines, didn't hold her poses long enough though.
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THICK, quad separation, Great suit, looks like she has a new tattoo on her arm.
She has brought her muscularity down some, her color was right as well in terms of tanning. Which really helped her femininity come through.
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Taller competitor, looks great. She has a polished look. Good presentation.
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- 1st Callout - Courtney, Ava, Erin, Felicia, Nicole
- 2nd Callout - Courtney, Latisha, Candice, Teresa, Cheryl
- 3rd Callout - Latisha, Larissa, Jen, Rosa Marie
- 4th Callout - Alicia, Monica, Natalia, Rosa Marie, Chelsea
- 5th Callout - Nicole, Ava, Erin
- 6th Callout - Felicia, Ava
Bodybuilding
Interesting new change in the structure of the competition: We now have the women doing both the quarter turns and the compulsory poses.
We have one new stand out woman to watch out for this time around: Sarah Hayes! She is making her pro debut after winning the 2010 NPC overall title.
The favorites going into this competition are Yaxeni Oriquen Garcia, Iris Kyle, and Debi Laszewski. Iris obviously being the most favorite.
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Soft, again. She hasn't brought her best package the last couple of shows because it seems she's started to favor size over conditioning.
Size isn't her issue anymore. She can start to work on getting a little bit leaner for the next show.
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Huge delts, small legs (but is also short, so she may have kept them small to stay proportionate), great structure.
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Great conditioning, could use more overall size.
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Really hard and SHREDDED, very balanced physique, great legs, nice glutes, thick, overall very aesthetic physique.
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Hard, thick and vascular legs (definitely her best feature), thick waist, striated chest, legs, glutes (AMAZING), her conditioning is ridiculous.
She was by far the most conditioned athlete on stage this afternoon.
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Great abs and legs, thick and wide back, crazy hamstring separation.
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Smaller than most of the girls up there but has a really aesthetic physique, little bit softer than the other competitors though.
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Definitely has the size overall, but she could use a little more size on her arms.
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She needs more size and conditioning on her legs, they came in a little soft and small, great back though.
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One of the best V-tapers in the sport, it's her show to lose, she looks softer than she has in the past, but in terms of size and symmetry she's got the best of both worlds.
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AMAZING legs, and her presentation/overall look is better than a lot o the others, brought great conditioning and her A-game, hard but feminine at the same time.
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CRAZY legs, back could use a little more density and thickness, legs are definitely the stand out bodypart.
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Great V-taper, legs could be more muscular.
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- 1st Callout - Alina, Yaxeni, Iris, Debi, Betty
- 2nd Callout - Jeanie, Tina, Cathy, Dayana
- 3rd Callout - Rita, Antoinette, Sarah, Maria
Fitness
No fitness routines today (because they switched the rules a little), but there WAS the swimsuit round. 50% of the score is now from a competitors' routine, which is different than past years where it used to be worth less (and the physique round worth more).
This makes it slightly more difficult to determine a winner because it will depend more on what the judges are looking for from a competitor's routine versus their physique.
The favorites in this category are Adela Garcia, Tanji Johnson (who's always consistent with what she brings) and Oksana Grishina (the new judging criteria gives her an advantage because her routines are always fantastic).
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Beautiful, great package.
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Nice suit, not as hard as she's been before (they might've asked her to tone it down, as she's now softer and more feminine).
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A dark horse that might sneak in, great physique.
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Her 4th place at the Olympia last year was the highest any Canadian athlete has placed in the fitness division, her physique looks more complete since she brought her legs up.
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Good lines, always consistent.
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Very soft from behind, she could use more conditioning all around.
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Tiny waist, but they may say her upper body is too big.
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Looks amazing, nice presentation.
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Way too soft, but looking forward to her routine.
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VERY lean, gorgeous, nailed her conditioning. Her presentation was great!
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Consistent with the package she brought to the Olympia, which was a good one.
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A little on the smaller side, nothing stand out, presentation was just ok.
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Her hair overpowers her physique a little (as funny as that sounds), tiny upper body. She has really good stage presence.
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Beautiful physique, perfect lines, nice legs, little more vascular than the other girls.
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- 1st Callout- Adela, Tanji, Trish
- 2nd Callout - Bethany, Oksana, Pamela, Tina, Regianne
- 3rd Callout - Myriam, Alison, Sylvia, Erin, Daniella, Nicole
- 4th Callout - Adela, Camela, Trish, Tanji, Bethany