Well, you have asked for my favourites, so I'll tell you. Be warned though, C. Moore does not have too many surprises for you - all five of the women I've selected as my greatest of the century (so far) are probably on your list as well. If you have one.
Cathy comes first. My choice for 21st century Greatest will be last.
Some women achieve incredible contest glootage at maybe one or two shows in their competitive lives. Very few achieve it again and again in their career, and Cathy LeFrançois has arguably done it better than anyone for well over two decades.
But as groin-activating as contest shots of Cathy invariably are, C. Moore is probably not alone in treasuring Cathy's hotel room pre-contest gloot displays just that little bit more than any other images of her rear. And then there's that legendary clip of her...
Due to some work commitments and Mr and Mrs Swell's now annual sojourn to the South of France (not the bit that was recently on fire, thankfully), the FMS offices are going to be closed this week, next week and the week after. Nevertheless, as always, we don't want to leave you totally FMS-less, so we've lined up 21 Reasons, one daily picture (or two or three), plus one reason why we love doing what we do, as if we were explaining it to one not so convinced of the glory of the muscular female.
Enjoy!
#19 THE CONTEST
Some don't compete, but for many of the women we feature on the blog, and pretty much all of our personal favourites, the contest is the raison d'être, the moment their beautiful bodies reach "peak" condition, when they stand on stage, glammed up, tanned up, oiled up, and pumped up, and really feel like the muscle goddesses they are.
It's also my favourite time. From "12/10/8-weeks out" when they start to take off their layers in the gym and so on, right through to the post-show photo shoots, muscles swollen by massive celebratory meals, this is when those beautiful bodies are shown off in their fullest ripped and muscular glory. Preparing as the excitement mounts backstage; suited in the hotel room before, during or after; the "part sport, part erotic theatre" of the posing and performances. I love it all. It's kind of what I live for.
News that IFBB Figure stunner Cydney Gillon, a two-time Chicago Pro champ and two-time Olympia contestant (at the time that is, she had a great year in 2016, capped with 3rd place at the Olympia), is one of the castaways in the new series of the US version of Survivor kicks off a whole week dedicated to FBBTV on FMS.
The show started with posing, and then lift and carry, a wrestling demo, push-ups, and more posing. The women performed for the fans for three hours, and at the end, the girls danced. It was amazing, simply the best thing we had ever seen!
For those that have been asking what I want for my birthday, here you go.
All your gift cards and best wishes have been amazing! Thank you so much! However, what I truly need most right now is a little help funding my journey to Puerto Rico for my first event in my comeback. Donations of any size will be most appreciated.
In the end, this great and great beauty of the sport never made it to Puerto Rico, but Cathy did return to the stage in 2016. At the start of June in Toronto she placed 3rd.
The exciting news that a respected French production company had recruited two award-winning actors to star in a story centred on a British female bodybuilder named Lea Pearl got gradually less exciting as the year wore on and absolutely zero further news about the film emerged. Shooting was supposed to have started in September, and clearly didn't, but for a while at the end of February and into the first week of March, FMS wondered just who might be chosen to portray the "uncommon woman who’s sacrificed everything to master her body to the extreme..."
P.E.A.R.L. potential? Rosanna Harte, Linda Gartside, Louise Rogers, Lisa Cross, Jody Shuttleworth, Carly Thornton, Christal Cornick...
Tomorrow, it's March. Hot and Hard 100 voting and all...
And a champion in each of the last three decades no less. Lack of time prevents me from actually doing the research but other than Iris Kyle, I can't think any other female bodybuilders who have won major titles in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
If Cathy is able to make her comeback this year then, her track record suggests she would be a serious contender for any show she entered, and ultimately that would make her a serious contender for the big money Rising Phoenix title as well.
This week has all been about helping in our own small way to get her a few more donations, so before we see Cathy in her winning shape across those three decades, I'd like you to imagine that you had played a small part in getting her to these stages where she has triumphed in the past, that your little donation was partly responsible for the fact that this stunning woman was up there showing off her glorious body.
At her sixth Ms International, Cathy beats Karina Nascimento (3rd) and Denise Masino (2nd) (and a field of seven other women) to win the Lightweight title.
2008 NEW YORK PRO
Cathy begins a run of three consecutive titles in New York, rising to the top in a field of nineteen women and looking every inch the thoroughbred champion. I've said it before this week and I'm saying it again here - just look at those LEGS!
2009 NEW YORK PRO
The Queen of New York returned a year later to reclaim her crown with a unanimous decision from the judges. No one seems to have been surprised. I don't think there was anything better she could have done, said John Romano in his contest round-up. Her condition[ing] was spot on, she had striations all over the place, she was amazing.
2010 NEW YORK PRO
Her third win in New York was in stark contrast to her second. A clear winner in 2009, this time a thicker Cathy beat Sheila Bleck into second place by a single point.
2011 TAMPA PRO
Stunningly beautiful and displaying breathtaking muscularity from head to toe (once again - those LEGS!) Cathy proves she doesn't have to be in New York to win. She triumphs over a field of 20+ women to take her fifth - and so far last - pro title.
And we leave you with Cathy's routine from New York in 2010.
