Arnolds 2016 Review: Amateur Physique (Medium)

Familiar and not so familiar names and bodies turned up in the "medium" - up to 168cm - Physique class at the recent Arnold Amateur. In reverse order, the top 5 were...

5th
GIUDITTA MAGAZZINO (Italy)



Readers (with all their knowledge) may remember Giuditta from a good few years ago when she modelled for Robby Brand and Her Biceps. Well, this is Giuditta as she is now. At 50!



Back then, of course, Giuditta was a bodybuilder, and had no other option - watch her routine from the 2008 Santa Susanna here to see how little her physique has changed.

4th
JOAN LIEW (Singapore)



Joan has history with the Arnold Amateur. So much history in fact that she once competed in the Bodybuilding division. Those were the days! Well, that was 2013, anyway. She was a heavyweight then, and after that in the tallest of the three Physique classes - winning in 2014 and coming 3rd last year. Now, suddenly, we find her in the "medium" (ie. up to 168cm) class. Has she shrunk, or have the heights changed?



Is it my imagination or is Joan a bit bigger up top this year, a bit enhanced around the pecs? If so, I'm pleased to see she doesn't seem to have felt the need to upsize the posing suit as well, leading to a bit of a struggle which the posing suit wins. But only just.

3rd
HRONN SIGURDARDOTTIR (Iceland)



Perhaps an unfamiliar name, Hronn has been causing a bit of a stir on the forums of late, not least because of her penchant for dressing up in super-hero themed gym wear and then kicking it like, well, like a super-hero. Like Wonder Woman, for instance.



She's been at the muscle game a while. As long ago as 2008 she was showing off her posing skills on her YouTube channel - a clip which you can still see here. I do the music myself and collect parts from my favourite songs and mix them together on my PC. I also compose the dance moves myself, and I hope you like it. she says. Well I like it Hronn. Very much!

2nd
LIUDMILA GOSHKO (Russia)



Dubbed "Oh my" Goshko on FMS when she finished runner-up to Cris Goy Arellano in the tall class at last year's European championships for her pectacular chest development, Liudmila was another woman who had apparently shrunk and ended up flexing it in the medium class in Ohio. Apparently a bit less bronzed than we've seen her before, and perhaps therefore a bit less ripplely in the pec department, nevertheless I'm finding that I'm more and more impressed by this beautiful woman every time I see her in competition.



And it seems I am not alone. The statuesque Liudmila has impressed our readers enough to appear more than once on the lists of early bird Hot and Hard 100 voters. Don't forget to compile your own list and send it in before April 15th. Ten days left and counting!



1st
MARJORIE BECK (Brazil)



Another class, another Brazilian winner. Marjorie added another gold here to the one she picked up at last year's Arnold Amateur UK and her 2015 World Championships' silver. And she has, it turns out, quite a story to tell. Married very young she was unhappy to find her husband "admiring other women" and started to train, seeing results almost immediately. At first she was somewhat embarrassed by her new ("freak") muscles and hid them under baggy clothes, but at the same time found her ever-growing strength very exciting.



Six years ago and after 14 years of marriage she divorced, and it was then that she started to think about competing when she joined a renowned Sao Paolo gym. And ever since then, she hasn't looked back. Being on stage is my escape, she says. It is magical and wonderful.

And you can read more about Marjorie on RxMuscle.

Class action from IFBB TV.



Tomorrow, the last of the Amateur Physique class - the tall ladies.

Enjoy!

Arnolds 2016 Review: Amateur Physique (Short)

With 21 of the 36 Physique competitors, "up to 163cm" at the Arnold Amateur was certainly the biggest of the three classes. It was also, in my opinion at least, the best of the three classes in terms of quality with plenty of prime muscle all the way down in the placings.



The class also provided the eventual overall winner, Brazil's latest female muscle bomba, Fernanda Gutilla, adding this title to her 2015 Arnold Amateur Brazil win. She led a Brazilian class 1-2-3 ahead of runner-up Evelaine Rocha and Priscila Cavilha, 3rd.


Evelaine Rocha (left) and Priscila Cavilha

The fourth woman of what previews called the "Brazilian Armada" in the short class was the very sexy Camila Rodrigues, whose lovely glutes, lovely calves, lovely abs and 10th place finish is just one indication of the overall quality of the field as mentioned above.



And either side of Camila in the placings were the thicker, harder, more defined mature muscle charms of Germany's Saundra Griffin - check the veiny lats - (12th), and Americans Erin Duggan (11th, despite some top 5 shoulders), and muscle sexy Ivette Sheek (9th).



Norway's Ariell Rosenblad and her big bright smile and her bright red hair was awarded 8th place, and the exotically-named Gama Zaledor from (the exotic) country of Nicaragua placed 7th with possibly the most charmingly decorated belly button in the whole show.



Into the top 6, and we find a name which has just started to crop up recently on the forums along with some rather exciting images such as this instant classic - Allison Sinisi.



Great abs, great smile. Believe the hype!

And the non-Brazilian top 5 finishers were (left) Mexico's Ivonne Garcia Wigueras - reminds you of Marina Lopez, don't you think? - and Canada's Claudia Martellino.



And here's a five-minute edit of the ladies in action.



Tomorrow, we go all the way up to 168cm. For real.

Arnolds 2016 Review: Backstage Pass

Winners

The Dominator: Oksana Grishina (left, of course) took the Fitness crown, her 8th win in a row by my reckoning - and since then she's added a ninth, the Arnold Australia. The last time she entered a contest and didn't win was at the Arnold Europe way back in October 2013!



Autumn Swansen was a Fitness competitor then, only unveiling her new Physique self for the first time last year at the St. Louis Pro. She won there, placed 5th at her first Olympia, and now has the Physique International title. Little wonder she can't seem to stop smiling.



Also on a roll is Latorya Watts, who added the Arnold title to her Olympia win last year. Here she is "goofing around" (as they say) backstage with 3rd place Gennifer Strobo.

Costumes

Fitness babes all dressed up.



Giorgia Foroni (left) and the (runner-up to Oksana) gorgeous Whitney Jones look resplendent, but without question the outfit of the night was Michelle Blank's...



Horny devil?

The Bikini Girls



Sometimes FMS feels perhaps we should give them a little more attention.

Nice Work If You Can Get It



Judging by this pic, only women need apply to apply backstage.

I could go either way on this. It's a) a totally sensible policy that keeps the likes of C. Moore well away from the talent, or b) an utterly disgusting example of sexual discrimination.

Backstage Beauty

Jill Dearmin & Beni Lopez



Yeon Woo-Ji & Jehina Malik



Tonya Hooker & Susan Smith



Backstage Muscle

The Physique top 5, 4 most musculars - with a special mention for a really really great effort from Tamee Marie (far left) - while Autumn Swansen, even after the show, doesn't take a chance with such an illegal pose. Attention to detail - it's what makes a champion...



GRRRRRRR!

Arnolds 2016 Review: British?!

The sizzling Geraldine Morgan once again turned up at a pro show, dazzled with her beauty and finished way down in the placings. Well, she finished tied 11th anyway.



But while I never need an excuse to post something about Geraldine, it didn't escape my attention that she was listed as competing for the United Kingdom on the official scorecards.



Geraldine is, apparently, British now. UKIPs take note. Immigration is GOOD.



And sometimes, it's GREAT.

Arnolds 2016 Review: 40+

Three women from the pro show with age on their side.

LaDrissa Bonivel 41 years young



Apparently, LaDrissa is a regular at comic conventions. She began competing back in 2005, but it was only after switching to Physique in 2011 that she gained her pro card, with the highlight of her career so far being consecutive wins at the 2014 and 2015 San Jose Pro.

Interestingly, it's been said that she "resents" being called a bodybuilder, so I should probably steer clear of talking about the beautiful body this native of Chicago has built for herself.

Sherri Gray 45 years young



Everybody's favourite triceps was "too muscular" for Figure when she started competing back in 2007, so she switched to Bodybuilding. Ironically, she's been competing in Physique over the last couple of years but without much success, so she's probably still "too muscular"!



Results don't define her though. I'm a lifting Mum, she says. Like a normal Mum, only much cooler. And she had "a blast" at the Arnolds. Regardless of how I place at a show, my favourite part is seeing friends I've met over the years and meeting new ones!

Follow a cooler kind of Mum on Instagram.

Tracy Hess 50 years young



I like being an athletic woman, says Tracy Hess, and I love Physique because it's more athletic, more about symmetry, and more feminine [than Bodybuilding]. Die hards may well disagree with that statement but even the most ardent female muscle hater would have a hard time accusing the gorgeous, glamorous Tracy of lacking in the femininity department.

And as I could only turn up a couple of pics of her from the show, here's some more of the gorgeous, glamorous and thoroughly athletic Tracy from her YouTube channel Zone2bTone.

She must be lying about her age!



Enjoy!