10 Years at the Arnold Classic: 2017

DUAS CAMPEÃS BRASILEIRAS



As we saw yesterday, in 2016 Brazilians ruled the Arnold Amateur show in three of the four divisions without making much impression in the pro contest. A year later, and there may have been fewer Brazilian women on the amateur podium, but Brazilians could celebrate both the amateur Physique champion - Priscila Cavilha (above) - and a surprise new Ms Physique International - Daniely Castilho (below).



Following Juliana Malacarne's inaugural 2015 win, Daniely became the second Brazilian winner in the three years of the Physique International on her Arnold debut. With Juliana not bothering and Dani Reardon absent injured, the contest was pretty open I suppose, but there were few who expected a woman whose only previous pro outing had been to finish 5th in Puerto Rico the previous year to emerge victorious.



Still, a routine that Arnold himself decides is worth filming up close for his "personal collection" (talk about the perks of being the man) must be a routine with a chance of winning, and so it proved. And I don't think it's a bad thing if the Arnolds - for any of its "International" contests - throws up different winners to the Olympia. In 2017, this happened in three of the four divisions, and the show was more interesting for it.

YER MS INTERNATIONALS



Of course, the one division where no one expected or got a new champion was Fitness. Oksana was crowned for the fourth consecutive year - and possibly, it seems, for the last time. She's not on the competitor list currently available for this week's show, so the retirement announcement(s) she made last year should apparently be taken at face value, which makes this week's Fitness International a very hard contest to predict.



In Bikini, the 2016 runner-up Angelica Texeira, became the 2017 champion, and she went on to win her first Olympia title later in the year. And in a very high quality Figure line-up, the then reigning Ms Olympia Latorya Watts, rising star Cydney Gillon and the ever classy Candice Lewis-Carter were all in contention.



On this occasion, the judges were unanimous in giving it to Candice - (finally) Ms Figure International at her fifth attempt - with Cydney runner-up and Latorya in 3rd.



"The Freaky 3", as we like to call them here at FMS, would go heel-to-heel twice more over the course of 2017, soon after Columbus in Australia with Candice winning again, Latorya 2nd and Cydney 3rd; and ultimately at the Olympia, where Cydney won her first big title, Latorya 2nd and Candice 3rd. You'd be foolish to bet against the same top 3 again this week, though in what order is a much less easy call to make.

FIGURE PHENOMS




And while we're on the subject of Figure (now there's a sentence guaranteed to make a few of you exit the blog!), this may well have been the line-up that convinced FMS editorial that we should be paying a whole lot more attention to the division in general. Packed with gorgeous women with deliciously muscular physiques, it's incredible how far Figure has come since 2008 (our first post of this series) when you compare.



That is, of course, future Ms Figure International (and Olympia) Nicole Wilkins on the left, finishing 11th at the 2008 Arnolds - remember that back then there was also a "one-piece" round. On the right, Swann De La Rosa, 11th in 2017, not a "one-piece" in sight but plenty of ripped muscle. If only they'd let them flex just a little bit...




That would make dredging through the 600+ photos you can find at Eastlabs' gallery (of the amateur Figure classes and overall alone) even more exciting, though coming across gems like Argentina's Analía Galeano (3rd in her class, not the most balanced physique I grant you but what about those muscles at the top of her legs?!), or Donya Jackson from the USA (looking every inch a pro in the making), or Hungary's luciously leggy Eszter Urbán-Zsilák, or the Overall amateur winner Mou Cong - the first Arnold Amateur winner from China - makes it plenty exciting enough already.

PHYSIQUE DREAMS




But if Figure's not your thing, and even if you still pine for the days of the Ms International (let it go, would be my advice, it's gone, and let's face it you are probably not pining for the Iris-dominated last few years of the Ms International anyway), then perhaps a look back at the Physique International of 2017 is in order.




At the time, FMS was probably guilty of focusing a bit too much on Autumn Swansen's wardrobe malfunction and Brooke Walker's naughty moon pose (both understandable, I feel) and not enough on the quality of the line-up in general.




In a 30-woman field, it was a breakthrough show for runner-up Sheronica Henton, a sign of the stellar year to come for Arnold veteran Heather Grace, and Arnold debuts to remember from the shredded Tome Ameko, gorgeous Jacquita Person-Taylor, thick Margarita Zamalova, ever-smiling B Barnett and many more.




And as with some of the Figure galleries, I've had plenty of fun looking back at the pro Physique ladies doing their thing, and come to the conclusion that Brooke Walker may well feel the Arnold judges owe her a win. She won't be lining up this week, however, and neither will Daniely Castilho be defending her title as far as I can tell. Also absent are the two women who pushed Juliana at the Olympia - Heather Grace and Jennifer Taylor. So it's wide open again. Shanique Grant or Natalia Coelho to confirm the rise of the too-shredded-for-Figure phenom? Or will Kira Neuman come in with that top 3 Olympia package and take it? We will have hundreds of new images to trawl through (and know who won) by this time next week...

BRITISH INTEREST?



Yes, and very positive immigration stories they were. The "technically" British Geraldine Morgan was unplaced at the Physique International - our only pro on show, while previously Hungarian now approaching National Treasure status Katalin Jasztrab excelled in both her Open (3rd) and Masters (2nd) amateur Figure classes.



But it was burlesque performer by night, Fitness superstar by, er, evening, Kate Errington who produced the best, most patriotic performance of the whole weekend.



Kate became the second British woman to win a title at the Arnold Amateur when she won the Fitness class. Yes, she only had to beat two other women, but beat them she did. And Kate went on to do very well throughout 2017, so much so that this week she will be making her pro debut at the Fitness International, our only pro representative.

So that's that. 10 years at the Arnolds. Bodybuilding gone - even though it wasn't looking as unhealthy as perhaps those who plotted its downfall would have you believe. Physique on the rise - line-ups fantastic in number and quality, though it has to be said the amateur show has not been responsible for producing much of the pro talent we now see. And Figure transformed - less "one-piece", and more more muscle. Fitness is now an Adela-free and Oksana-free zone, so is currently genuinely up for grabs, while Bikini is... well, Bikini. This weekend the only place we'll see Bodybuilders is at the Expo. But there'll be muscle, and FMS will be on the trawl again...

And you have TWO days left for HOT and HARD 100 voting!

Don't be that guy who didn't vote saying, "I can't believe [insert name of favourite FBB] is only at number [insert number greater than 2] on your list!" after the event.

Make sure you vote first and then complain.

10 Years at the Arnold Classic: 2013

PHYSIQUE PIONEERS



We would not see Physique at the pro show for another couple of years, but 2013 was the division's debut at the Arnold Amateur. As tends to be the case with a brand spanking new division (a female one, anyway) there was a pretty wide range of looks for the judges to choose from. None of the women were very muscular - former Bodybuilders bronzed Brazilian Maria Rita Penteado and sexy Suzy Kellner (both above, 2nd and 6th respectively in the tall class) probably displayed the most muscular, conditioned packages - some of the women (who we won't feature thank you) would better be described as "chubby" (or if we were feeling more generous, "curvy"). Overall, the standard was far below what we would expect in a top amateur show these days, but at the same time the 30-woman line-up was not without its treats...



Mavi Gioia (11th, short), Ida Sefland (4th, tall) and Kristina Dybdahl (2nd, short) chief among them. The judges set the trend for fairly random decisions in the WPD that continues to this day, and this resulted in Brazil's short class winner Danielle da Silva outpointing tall class champ Mica Schneider (now an IFBB pro) for the Overall title.



It was a start.

And ps. I haven't gone for the "relaxed" pose for all the pictures out of choice. This is - apart from some pretty shaky truth be told shots from the routines - what we have to go on. Was there less posing then, a sort of Figure-style walk to do? Can't say I know how the contest was run and what (if any) compulsory poses they have to do now were performed by the women that day. Can anyone shed some light on this?

THE LAST HURRAH: PART 1



It wasn't only the Ms International that breathed its last at the 2013 Arnolds. Amateur Female Bodybuilding was also seen for the last time that year. Unsurprisingly, we'd seen bigger - in number I mean - line-ups (just 5 Lightweights and 8 Heavyweights turned up for the wake), but they were nevertheless line-ups that us fans would kill for today in the majority of early season IFBB pro shows, let alone an amateur one.



Above (top) Silvia Matta (4th, clearly overwhelmed with grief for the fate of her division), Nina Midling (3rd) and Singapore's Joan Liew (2nd) all had more than a touch of class about them, but it was Kashma Maharaj, competing for the US Virgin Islands, who dominated the Heavyweights. This was Kashma's career highlight (so far), since then she's never looked so good. And although she's had plenty of other problems to deal with, you've got to have sympathy for an up-and-coming FBB (possibly the up-and-coming FBB as far as us fans were concerned) at a time when serious doubts first started to be raised about whether there would be anything for her to come up to.



Croatia's Branka Njegovec - the Lightweight and Overall winner - has had a similarly torrid time since this moment of glory. Too Lightweight to compete effectively with the pro FBBs on stage, Branka has been found herself at the more muscular end of the Physique division over the last couple of years, gaining favour with judges occasionally, but mostly slumming it outside the top 10 at most of her pro outings. I suppose at least she might be able to take some comfort from knowing that technically he's still the reigning Arnold Amateur Female Bodybuilding champion though!

ALL CHANGE



With both the Fitness and Figure champions of the previous few years sitting out the Arnolds this year, there were new champions in both divisions. Tanji Johnson took advantage of Adela Garcia's absence to beat Oksana for the penultimate time (she would repeat the feat at the Arnold Classic Europe later in the year and never again). In Figure, Candice Keene took over from Nicole Wilkins, but perhaps the most notable Figure placing was that of Candice Lewis-Carter, who was awarded 4th.



Truly, here was the shape of things to come in her division.

THE LAST HURRAH: PART 2



As Arnold joked with Iris afterwards that there were now two seven-time champions on stage, not even the most seasoned commentators suspected what was about to happen to the second most prestigious pro Female Bodybuilding contest. In fact, it wasn't until June that the cancellation of the Ms International would be announced, so as Iris waved her check around and she thundered off stage, who knew this was the last time she nor any other Female Bodybuilder would be able to compete there?



As had become customary. Yaxeni and Debi fought it out for the placings immediately below Iris. Both seemed to have improved on their "best ever" 2012 physiques, with Yaxeni's superior stature once again getting the judges' nod in their mini-battle.



Below the top 3, Steve Wennerstrom noted that places 4 to 6 were taken by women who, "in keeping with the name of this contest made for a glowing example of the international treasures that have continued to infiltrate the ranks of the pros" - Brigita Brezovac, Cathy Lefrançois, and Brazil's Angela Debatin respectively.



Not since the days of weight classes had the latter placed so high, but after this show she struggled to rediscover the top 6 form she showed here, eventually switching to the Physique division in 2016 where she has found no great change in placings (so far).



Kim Buck was 7th, and Russian Olga Puzanova 8th on her Ms International debut. Tazzie Colomb, the woman with the longest competitive career in this field, sizzled on the Arnold stage for the last time in 9th, and Jeannie Paparone and the Ms International's first and last Greek, Elena Kavva, filled the final two spots.



Later that year we were signing petitions, there were howls of protest from Female Bodybuilders - though not the last Ms International, it was noted - all over social media and beyond, and even a film was made about Irene Andersen's search for answers as to why. Of course it all fell on the ears of those who had already decided the women's fate. Yes, we have, in the main, come to love Physique, and yes, in time, Wings of Strength resurrected pro FBBing, and touch wood (geddit?) it continues to grow, slow and steady. But lest we forget, back then these were some very dark days indeed.

BRITISH INTEREST?



Having had just two different British women compete in the preceeding five years, this was a bounty indeed. Melissa Haywood, who I think I'm right in saying was the British Bikini champ at that time, placed 4th (out of 22) in her Bikini class. Nina Ross would go on to become Britain's first ever IFBB Bikini pro and Olympian, but back in 2013 she was to be found in the Figure division. Here she placed 6th in her class.



2013 also saw the first Arnold appearance of an even more familiar body and face - Rosanna Harte. Like Nina, Rosie has gone on to get her pro card and been to the Olympia since, greater success coming after a switch in division. At this contest though, she was still competing as a Lightweight Bodybuilder, and placed 3rd.



And last but not least of our fantastic class of '13 British four, Kizzy Vaines was once again our sole pro rep, and was once again placed a career-high 7th in Fitness.