WINNER: Fitness
FIONA HARRIS
Canadian fitness winner Fiona Harris is now anticipating her third consecutive appearance at the Fitness Olympia. Words cannot express how excited I am to win, how shocked, she told RxMuscle, no surprise when you learn that this was her first win as a pro (a common theme among the Chicago champs this year, we will find).
Apparently, raising her game in the "Routine Round" was the key to her win. Typically Fiona doesn’t fare as well in the routine rounds, Hardbody News reported, but not on this occasion. The former gymnast won both the routine round and the "Physique Round". In fact, she finished way ahead, the clear winner on the judges' scorecard. For her to take the win in both rounds is a huge improvement, the report continues, and "a huge improvement" is probably just what Fiona will be looking for in Vegas in September, as her previous Olympia finishes have been 12th (last year) and 14th.
From start to finish, the events of the weekend far exceeded my expectations, Fiona told her Facebook followers a few days after her victory. To earn my first IFBB Pro Fitness win and a qualification for the 50th Olympia is truly a dream come true.
WINNER: Figure
CYDNEY GILLON
Here at FMS we're not always the most attentive of the brethren towards the wonderful women who compete in the Figure division, but we have never been able to ignore Cydney Gillon's tiny waist, nor her beautifully broad shoulders. Do you see the V? How much more V could she be? And nor are we immune to this former collegiate athlete's many other qualities either, not least that absolutely dazzling smile.
It's been an eventful few months for her. She called time on her athletics career, graduated, and was also featured right here on FMS for the first time - in April, see Mirror, Mirror, and a couple of more recent posts featuring the beautiful Ms Gillon. Now she has her first pro victory in her second pro year, and can look forward to her Olympia debut. Perhaps not quite as good as being on FMS again, but definitely better than the proverbial poke in the eye, and I'm sure it won't be the last time.
In the Figure division, we saw rising star Cydney Gillon shine her brightest yet, Hardbody News said. Gosh, if she starts to shine any brighter (sorry to go on about it and all, but that smile must light up whole auditoriums), we're going to need darker shades than the ones we've got. The 21-year old has huge potential, Hardbody News reckons. We'd better get down to Specsavers before she does us permanent damage.
WINNER: Physique
LEILA THOMPSON
Edging out last year's Chicago physique champ and FMS fave Jamie Pinder (don't fret, we'll be all over Jamie later in the week), Leila Thompson is the third first pro title winner, and will make her Olympia debut this year. I've not even ever been, Leila (pronounced Lee-AY-la, apparently) gushed to RxMuscle after stepping off stage.
She won because of pinpoint conditioning, nice overall structural balance, excellent detail in all her bodyparts, and a stage presence that seems to grow with each passing contest, according to Steve Wennerstrom, and I am not going to argue with a man who wears a stetson. And her win is all the more remarkable when you consider that this time last year, she was going home having finished down in 12th!
Leila says, I'm going to take a week off, enjoy some food... Then get back at it.
WINNER: Bodybuilding
MARIA RITA BELLO
And finally, Rita Bello may be going to her second Ms Olympia in a row, but she'll be going for the first time as a pro champion. The woman dubbed "The Argentinian Anatomy Chart" triumphed over 18 other women - a big big line-up in every sense.
The man in the stetson (I've got to get me one of those) has nothing but praise for the 50, yes, 50-year-old Argentinian. For the last 17 years, she has brought the same level of muscular definition to each contest she has entered. Virtually every part of her structure is lathered with highly defined groups of muscle tissue. Her back, real delts, triceps, gluteal tie-ins and pecs that are striated right up to her clavicles are all primary focal points of her physique. Even in repose, she appears flexed, he says, adding that in the decades that have passed since women's bodybuilding has taken hold, few, if any women have displayed her level of chiseled muscularity.
So, that's three from three for South American female bodybuilders in this year's pro shows, a good week for Argentina all round, and a great week for Rita Bello, Leila Thompson, Cydney Gillon and Fiona Harris. All four of them Olympia bound.
Congratulations to them on their first pro wins!
And we'll be in Chicago all week. Enjoy!
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