Denmark's IFBB Physique pro Ida Sefland did, like 36 of her fellow Physique International competitors, place tied 11th and consequently missed out on performing her evening routine.
She was robbed, and I can't help feeling that we, my brethren, were robbed too.
The good news is that when Ida competes, she tends to compete a lot in one season - she did an impressive five shows in 2014 for example. So this may not be the only chance we get to see this oh so sexy muscular beauty prepare and compete this year. I hope.
There was, I imagine, a bit of a queue to get up close and personal with Dani.
Even if the result of all that waiting in line was a picture of you and the goddess that leaves you - no matter how stunning you might be in real life - looking a bit, well, ordinary.
Because Dani, from any angle, was looking exceptional, arguably in her best ever shape. A shape good enough, remember, to take home the (not very big) cheque for 2nd place.
So good in fact, she was freaking herself out!
And adding yet more to the mountain of adoration she receives from the female muscle lovin' community. [I'm] Lost for words... claims one fan, before proving they are, after all, actually not. So gorgeous & built to the hilt! they continue. What a dream girl...
Also prowling around the Expo for HD Physiques was Katie Lee, interviewing various gorgeous women with greater or lesser amounts of muscle before rather rudely outflexing them as she signed off. Here the vision that is Diana Schnaidt gets "katied".
Known at the time as Lenore Kaiser, this good thing in a small package won her pro card way back in 2013 at the NPC Nationals. That was her second year as a Physique competitor, having previously competed for (rather more unsuccessfully it should be said) in Figure.
Doesn't seem like your type, my editor noted. Bit too nipped and tucked, no?
I admitted that yes, perhaps Lenore had fairly obviously been subject to the surgeon's knife at some time, but I also pointed out that among the tied 11th crowd, she had just about the best conditioning of all. And anyway, I added, what's not to like about a woman who can't resist hitting a roaring full-on most muscular for the cameras backstage? Thumbs up!
And she calls herself "Lil' Bam Bam". She's from Texas (I am a sucker for that accent), and despite appearances is in her mid-40s. Almost 25,000 Instagram followers can't be wrong!
Not your type?
Look harder. Check the blurb on her website. You might find you change your mind.
With voting for the FMS Hot and Hard 100 2016 well under way - see here for more details - today we have two gorgeous pro Physique women who made the list in 2015.
Perhaps their Arnolds' shape might help them make the list again...
Toni West
In 2015, Toni was #70 on our Hot and Hard list (and had been #95 the year before).
As high as 4th at the Ms Olympia three years ago, Toni had to settle for joint 11th place in Ohio this year, and - as you can probably tell from our selection of pictures - got more love from the snappers backstage than on it. Will she get some from FMS readers again?
Minna Pajulahti
Minna just made our Hot and Hard 100 last year, appearing at #93 having been as high as #29 the previous year when she was still competing in Fitness. Will the flexible Finn's brand new Physique division muscles impress FMS readers into voting for her once again?
Here she finished - yes, you guessed it - tied 11th.
A big thank you to everyone who has voted so far, but don't panic if you haven't - the closing date is much later this year, APRIL 15th to be exact, so you still have plenty of time to compile your list of up to 100 of your favourite Hot and Hard women and send it in.
New to me though she won the overall amateur title this time last year, Mexico's Gabriela de León made a bigger impression on this fan than on the judges - she finished outside the top 10. By the way, this meant she was scored as tied 11th with no less than 36 other women and didn't get to perform her routine, which doesn't make the organisers look good at all.
Still, she didn't seem too upset about it, beaming away back and on stage, and making friends with Yeon Woo-ji - also a former overall amateur winner at the Arnold Classic Europe.
Two familiar faces from the Physique International.
Also lurking among the pros were (left) a scarcely credible 53-year-old Valentina Chepiga and former bodybuilding biceps queen Klaudia Larson - who is a mere 44-year-old!
As promised earlier in March (see AC Appetisers), over the next week or so on FMS we'll be bringing you more from the recent Arnold Classic. And there is plenty to choose from because there were not only 36 WPD amateurs competing in three classes, but also and a truly mind-boggling 47-strong line-up of pros fighting for the Physique International title.
Autumn Swansen emerged as the winner of the pro event.
Brazil's Fernanda Gutilla took the overall amateur title.
But aside from the winners, who else impressed the FMS team?
Tune in tomorrow to find out, and in the meantime, enjoy some edited highlights from the Physique International routines of the top 10 finishers. As well as the funky and gymnastic fantastic Autumn, there are (in order of their placings rather than the order they appear) Dani Reardon, Mindi O'Brien, Tamee Marie, Jacklyn Sutton Abrams, Gillian Ward, Susan Smith, Tarah Mitchell, Akane Nigro, and Mikaila Soto.
This month in the US, the very gorgeous IFBB Figure Pro Cydney Gillon - a two-time Chicago Pro champ and two-time Olympia contestant nonetheless - is one of the castaways in the new series of Survivor (CBS, first episode Feb. 17th, apparently).
DOWN UNDER
With women-only contests, the ultra-swoonworthy bodies of competitors like Kayla Rassatti, Taylor Smith, Chleo Van Wyk and Nicky Foord, and, most recently, news that scenes backstage at shows there are reminiscent of the last days of Rome (or perhaps a Friday night get-together at Michael Barrymore's), I think it's fair to say that Australia has been seriously upping its female muscle game in recent times.
LOVE 8th - 14th February
IN THE CITY OF LOVE...
The women arrived first for a short briefing, then the fans arrived and they had five minutes to talk with the women and introduce themselves. Then the women started warming up, the photos started, the fans were amazed. And then the show started... Daily FBB Clips
"I'M IN LOVE" (PART ONE)
As well as attracting declarations (plural) of love, [Physique champ Susan Smith] has also attracted offers (yes, plural) of marriage, and even a lengthy quotation of a Commodores lyric!
HAPPY ST. VALENTINA'S DAY
A Russian St. Valentina, Valentina Mishina.
SHE LOVES IT
When I first started lifting weights, this pose became one of my favorites mainly because of how the traps look but now I have biceps and shoulders (I did not when I first started training!) I've had many people tell me this particular pose is not "feminine" or a woman can't or shouldn't do this pose. Still doing it, because I still LOVE it. Ariel Gail
THE NAME IS LOVE...
Hasina Love, NPC Physique/Bodybuilding Competitor
"I'M IN LOVE" (PART TWO)
Chunky muscle Dane Mia Sand is - currently - G[irls] W[ith] M[uscle] fans' Most Loved. The pics here are just some of the many of Mia to have attracted "I'm in Love" comments (with or without apostrophes and other punctuation).
CATHY 15th - 21st February
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. Cathy LeFrançois
23rd February
(MOVING) PIC OF THE DAY
24th February
(TRANSFORMATION) PIC{S} OF THE DAY
Brittany Fields, clinical research scientist, figure competitor, and stone cold muscle beauty, a year ago and now, as she prepares for an upcoming contest.
25th February
PIC (AND TUBES) OF THE DAY
New British sensation Mass - sorry - Maz Burn.
26th February
PIC OF THE DAY
I am so taken with this woman (and this picture in particular) that the next time someone asks me what exactly it is I like about female muscle, this will be my answer.
27th February
PIC OF THE DAY
Size has very much mattered to Rachel Reid over the last year or so as she moved up from Figure to Physique with startling results. In turn this has lead to the size of her female muscle headed following growing just as her muscles have. Exponentially!
28th February
PIC(S) OF THE DAY
This time next week the Arnold Classic will be coming to its conclusion, the first event of the IFBB calendar for the year. Of course the IFBB events aren't the only events worth following, and IFBB pro women aren't the only competitors who deserve our love, but as a curtain raiser to the new competitive year it'll do very nicely, and FMS fave Gillian Ward - for one - seems to be gearing up very nicely indeed.
Gillian's rippling pectorals bring us (almost) bang up-to-date with FMS. Explore the first couple of weeks of March at your leisure, in fact why not explore the months reduxed over the last 10 days while you're at it. And think about who has rocked your female muscle lovin' world since last May. And then, sit down, and make a list...
VOTING FOR THE FMS HOT AND HARD 100 NOW OPEN
And will remain open until Friday 15th April (coincidentally, my birthday!), after which I'll need a couple of weeks to get the votes counted up and the Hot and Hard 100 Countdown posts prepared. Will Shannon triumph again? Will Aleesha win this year? Could Alina return to her 2014 position as the Hottest Hard Woman in the World, or is this year perhaps Dani's year? Only you, the lovely FMS readers, can decide.
