NOLA TRIMBLE
Physique? Again?! Is he going soft on us?
No, I still love the big girls, but Nola deserves a mention. To win the first two professional shows that you compete in is quite an achievement it seems to me, and that is what Nola did in 2012. And furthermore, they were two high profile, very competitive shows. And she's a trained fire fighter. And she did a tour of duty in Iraq in 2010. So relax, there are big girls on their way.
NPC USA Championships
TIERANY CHERTIEN
There's something very familiar about Tierany. The body shape, the conditioning, the full muscle maturity. It's almost like she's from the same gene pool as Lesa Lewis or Heather Foster. We foresee success for her as a pro in the very near future...
CBBF Canadian Nationals
JOANNE WILLIAMS
The Canadian Nationals is, in my opinion, one of the great amateur contests. The roll of honour reads a bit like the file list in my special 'Favourites' folder. 2002 Marnie Power, 2003 Helen Bouchard, 2004 Louise St Pierre, 2005 Autumn Raby,
2006 Nicole Ball, 2007 Nadia Nardi, 2008 Athena Signakis, 2009 Lyris Cappelle,
2010 Melody Spetko, 2011 Fabiola Boulanger, and now, in 2012 Joanne Williams. And I for one don't think she'd look out of place in a line-up with her predecessors.
NABBA Worlds + WBPF European(?) Championship
ELENA OANA HREAPCA
The Queen of Abs became NABBA World Champion back in June, completely outclassing the field. Unfortunately, it's quite hard to find images of NABBA shows sometimes, so we'll have to settle for screen caps this time. But however blurry they may be, Oana's abdominal defintion is always razor-sharp! Check out the third picture down where she's posing with the other winners. The guy on the right seems a little distracted by the divine eight-pack only feet away from him.
And then there was this...
Possibly the greatest mismatch ever seen on a bodybuilding stage, Oana and a woman who had once had a gym membership slugged it out for the WBPF title...
WPBF is the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation, a mainly Asian-based group that seems to be spreading its wings into Europe in an east to west direction, backed by Emirati money - the Manchester City of physique federations, perhaps.
Anyway, you have to feel sorry for both of contestants here, but Oana does look great. It was soon after her NABBA win and she still had the conditioning. But I think we can all agree that she needs to stop competing against the cleaner's girlfriend, and start competing in bigger shows in 2013.
IFBB Wings of Strength Chicago Pro
MONIQUE JONES
Mmmmmonique has seemed destined for great things for a couple of years now. To me anyway, there's something about her frame that says future Miss Olympia, genetically it seems she has a lot of latent potential there that hasn't been brought out yet. It feels like her first pro win was long overdue, and she delivered in Chicago, then Mmmmmonique and those big dark eyes came in 7th at the Olympia later in the year.
Arnold Classic Europe
JACQUELINE FUCHS
How much do we love the Arnold Classic Europe? The cream of European bodybuilding all on the stage together with a few South Americans thrown in. Last year there was much teeth-gnashing as Elena Shportun defeated Katka for the title (see October 2011 post) and would you believe it? Katka comes back in 2012 and is runner-up again! Always the bridesmaid...
But this time there hasn't been any whining about stoopid judges getting it all wrong, because this time the winner was Jacqueline Fuchs. And you don't say that Jacqueline didn't deserve to win because if you do she WILL find out where you live and she WILL NOT stop until she finds you and gives you your punishment...
Arnold Classic Europe
SUSANNA TIRPAK
And while Jacqueline was winning the bodybuilding, a vision of Central European beauty was winning the shorter of the two physique classes. I'll say it again - how much do we love the Arnold Classic Europe?
Miss International
YAXENI ORIQUEN
It's a testament to Yaxeni's exemplary record of consistency and success that she finishes 3rd at the Miss Olympia (her lowest placing since 2009) and we think it was a bad year for her. But back in March she won Miss International for the fifth time in all and the first time since 2008. One of the all-time greats, yes, but also still one of the very top bodybuilders competing today. Write her off at your peril.
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