FMS @RP2018: Queen Alina - Reaction

Where should I start? wondered Alina in the immediate aftermath of her victory. Adrenaline rush, feelings of elation, chills, tears, enthusiasm, such a mixture of wonderful feelings. I am so overwhelmed I couldn’t even sleep last night.



Truth be told, I wouldn't expect the new #1 Female Bodybuilder in the world to sleep much the night after, though exactly what I imagine her doing all night is probably best left unsaid. Alina, we do know, graced the after party in a tight (what else could it be?) black one-piece, tiara still on. What we don't know is when (or indeed if) she left.



I'm hoping Alina will get it, wrote one chat room lurker before the show started. It'll piss Margie off and she'll come back next year as massive and ripped as ever.

I have to admit, my own foresight for Female Bodybuilding doesn't stretch quite that far ahead, but at least he was pleased with the result. Five or six years ago an Alina triumph at the Olympia would have been met with (metaphorical) dancing in the streets by the female muscle lovin' community. That's not been the case with her Rising Phoenix win though. Fine - I guess, was how Implants and Muscles greeted the news. [Sheila] Shoulda won, but what do I know? I'm just a pervert into muscle women.



Others were not so modest about their judging qualifications, nor - it seems - very clear about how many women actually get to finish first. [Alina] Has no calves and [was] not so dry - top progress but for me not place one, observed one (apparently highly knowledgeable) forum head. Margie and Sheila is [sic] for me first place.

Alina is AMAZING but I agree, reads one response. It's almost like the judges were taking her injuries into account and grading on a curve. Or, they thought she was so phenomenal from the knees up that she won regardless. Who can say?



Well, the judges could probably tell you if you asked them nicely. Her lack of calves is the result of an injury apparently, I'm not up on all the facts. A lot was said about them after her win in Tampa in early August, and again there has been a lot of focus on them (or the lack of them) since the weekend. However, while I thought there might be some controversy if Alina won, I imagined conspiracy rather than calves would be the cry.



After all, Alina is as close to the centre of the Wings of Strength world as it is possible to be. There's even an enormous Alina at WoS headquarters - making it, whether or not other FBBs hang there as well, FMS' official Most Desirable Workplace in the World. It was bound to look like a fix to someone, and here he is - Who are the judges? "outraged" demands to know. Does Jake Wood have a big say in these things?



Yeah, man. He set the whole thing up just so his girl could win...

Nonsense of course, but you can see how the right combination of great ignorance and a little information could lead a weak mind to that conclusion. Jake was, in fact, at pains to thank the judges on Saturday night "for making sense of everything going on on stage for us. Without them," he continued, "we'd all just be..." I didn't actually catch exactly what he said - "running around" is what I heard, but I'm not sure.

Might be a good competition for WoS to run that. Perhaps the first prize could be a day at the WoS booth with all the ladies (or better still a month-long internship at WoS headquarters!). Simply complete the following sentence in no more than 12 words: Without the judges at Female Bodybuilding contests, we'd all just be...



Driving off into the sunset with Alina in her new Corvette?

Oh wait! That's probably what Jake did!



Big cheque she won too. Big enough to wear it seems.

All of this moaning, however, is fake news really, just a lot of wind (as my ol' Nan - God rest her soul - used to say). The vast majority of fans and Alina's peers (ie. the women who really know what's going on) have been falling over themselves to congratulate her. Along with all her fellow competitors on the night, Dana Shemesh, Jessica Martin, Cristina Maffeis, Ekaterina Grima, Hannah Hallman, Jeannie Paparone, Zoa Linsey, Kennedy Ledgerwood, Noelle Rockwell, Janine Lankowski, Christal Cornick, Valentina Mishina, Aleesha, and of course, her friend, countrywoman and 2018 Hottest Hard Woman in the World Oana Hreapca are just some of the thousands - literally thousands - who have left messages of congratulations for Alina on social media in the last couple of days.



I do have a soft hard spot for Valentina's touching tribute: You deserve it, my Queen. But if you had to pick one of them to express the sentiments of all, it might be this one: CONGRATULATIONS, Alina. In my opinion, you absolutely should have been a World Champion before, but what matters is you are FINALLY a World Champion... NOW.



Enjoy!

Place Your Bets! (And Take Your Seats)

Pro Female Bodybuilding's biggest night of all is almost here. Extreme weather may have caused a venue change to the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, but as scheduled, tomorrow at around 5pm UK time the prejudging will begin, followed by the finals from around 1 in the morning. Get all your jobs done, get some kip while you can, and get comfy. Digital Muscle will once again be broadcasting the entire Arizona event.

We previewed the show before the official line-up was announced - see Save the Date (Part 1) and (Part 2) - and of the 22 qualified women we featured over those two posts, only Tara Silzer and Amanda Smith do not appear on the official scorecard.

Maybe next year?


The "Big Four" - the last time: Rising Phoenix 2016

One the great strengths of the Rising Phoenix since its inception has been the lack of a clear favourite. It's been a genuine contest every time, and this year is no exception. Ruth Silverman, in her preview for Digital Muscle, reckons there are "four serious title contenders", and overall, those forum posters who have expressed an opinion agree.


Margie - winning @RP2016

No prizes for guessing who comes first on the list!

The winner of the first two RPs is back again after a year of "retirement" in 2017. She qualified without any fuss at all in Toronto, simply overwhelming the rest of the line-up, however this will be a much much tougher test. This year she has neither the momentum that carried her from her Tampa win in 2015 straight to the inaugural RP title, nor the advantage of having only one contest to prepare for as was the case in 2016. Still, she definitely has an aura about her these days, and if you follow her Instagram, you'll know she's in absolutely jaw-dropping shape. Comebacks are never easy, but Margie is definitely the most fancied horse at the starting gate. [what? - ed.]


Helle - winning @RP2017

Reigning champ Helle Trevino is the most popular choice for runner-up, though some predictions on the forum (whose first rule is) place her 1st, others as low as 4th. In her favour is the only one contest to prepare for thing, against her is the fact that the last time she beat Margie was Chicago in 2015 - and by the end of that season it was Margie who was beating her. She was, without question, a worthy champion last year, but needed a Head Judge tie-breaker decision to beat Sheila Bleck. The general consensus is that she probably won't win for a second year running, but will once again be - as she has been at every RP - the best she can be and in the first callout.


Queens of Tampa - Sheila 2017, Alina 2018

3rd and 4th will, according to the forum heads, be between the other two "contenders": last year's runner-up Sheila Bleck, and the one-time Iris challenger and Tampa Pro champion Alina Popa. Interestingly, no one has predicted Sheila to win, and of these "Big Four", Alina has the biggest spread of predicted placings - from 1st to 6th(!). Neither of them, it seems to me, have been especially lucky in the past - Alina's repeated futile attempts to snatch Iris' Ms Olympia crown, Sheila's two 2nd place RP finishes in 2016 and 2017. Alina tends to do worse than forum types imagine she will do, but Sheila better, so if there is to be a "surprise" winner, I'd bet on Bleck.



Jill & Jay (Chicago, 2018); Isabelle (Omaha, 2018) & Virginia @RP2017

Other than those four, Jill Blondin, Jay Fuchs, Isabelle Turell, and Virginia Sanchez all get "votes". Ruth Silverman - and let's face it, she knows more than the collective "we" put together - thinks Virginia and Britain's Wendy McCready most likely to repeat their top 6 placings from 2017. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Pauline Nelson, who didn't place last year, and who I think is as good a dark horse bet as any. [ah! we've returned to the equine motif I see - ed.]


The darkest of horses?! - Pauline (Tampa, 2018)

I'm SO excited. In a perfect world FMS would be hosting a "Watch the Rising Phoenix" event in some swanky Central London private venue, a place where we could all meet up and show our appreciation all together... but second prize isn't too bad - by accident rather than design, the wife is out of town. For the second year in a row on RP weekend I've got the house all to myself, so however predictable or not the result proves to be, I intend to enjoy myself to the full. It's definitely going to be a BIG BIG night!


Helle v Sheila: Rising Phoenix 2017

As we (and, I dare say, you) are going to be rather busy this weekend, there won't be any posts. FMS will be back on Monday - news from Arizona, and tales of the live feed.

Enjoy!

Tampa: Motion

Some remarkable bodies doing some remarkable things is perhaps best to describe how NPC News Online's Tampa Fitness Backstage edit begins. Breathtaking stuff, but then there's a bit of a lull in the middle section - remarkable bodies not doing much more than listening to music and/or taking selfies. Then, quite unexpectedly, there they are - the FBB line-up about to take the stage. The big finish, you might say!



Hopefully, longer backstage edits of Figure, Physique and FBBing are to come, and hopefully too Maximum Muscle Report - who have footage of the evening show - will soon have all the FBBing and Physique routines up. For today, we've selected four that (at the time of writing) are already there, starting with LaDawn McDay.



LaDawn's 3rd place was the curious judging decision of the day. Nothing in her contest history suggested she would end up ahead of Kim Buck and Lisa Cross, so we were eager to see her routine for clues as to why this time was different. Kim Buck's routine is not, as yet, available, but we can compare 3rd place LaDawn with 4th place Lisa.



Lower down the placings, the most anticipated return to competition was Angela Salvagno's. It's a slightly odd experience to see her wearing something that she doesn't aggressively remove by the halfway stage, but we'll have to get used to it.



And we finish for today and this week with another come back Queen, and the champ on the night. Classy and poised as ever, Alina nevertheless came back with a little extra, something else - two things to be precise - we'll also just have to get used to.



Check out NPC News Online for more backstage edits (soon?), and Maximum Muscle Report for more of the FBB routines, as well as breathtaking Fitness performances.

Enjoy!

Tampa: Reckoning

So, yesterday's post - which you would have read after the event - was written last Friday - before any of the results were in, after I'd seen prejudging pics from the Figure and Physique divisions, but before any of the Female Bodybuilders had got on stage.

In the post I made a few predictions, or perhaps observations would be a better word. The main three were: 1. Autumn Swansen looked amazing; 2. Angela Salvagno - sensational during prep - sadly appeared not to have made the show; and 3. FBBing was probably going to amount to a showdown between Alina Popa and Lisa Cross.

Well, now we know... How did I do?

1. AUTUMN SWANSEN LOOKED AMAZING



I was hardly going out on a limb, but - in a line-up of 35, remember - immediately noticing just how back-to-her-best Autumn was does give me a little bit of hope that I do talk sense from time to time. And - surprise surprise - the judges agreed with me!




It's not all about the placing, she wrote after disappointments earlier in the season in San Jose and Chicago. It's about the progress. Well, it all came together for her in Tampa, and Autumn got to go home with some money and a very big sword indeed.



Her routines are always a pleasure. If only there was video...



No wardrobe malfunction this time!

2. NO ANGELA



My assumption seemed reasonable at the time. Despite looking ridiculously ready about a week and a half before the show, Angie has had her health problems over the past few years, it didn't seem beyond the bounds of possibility that she'd be struck down as she attempted to peak. On top of that, there wasn't a single pic of Angie at the athletes' meeting or the check-in. She's hardly known for being camera shy, and there was also nothing from Tampa on her social media. So, I put two and two together...



BOOM!




How wrong I was! Here she was, back on stage for the first time since 2015, and back as a Bodybuilder for the first time since the same Tampa Pro seven long years ago. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been so happy to be wrong. Angie, however, had mixed emotions. Everything was great except my placing, she said (on her updated after Friday Instagram). I still have carb issues, which killed my conditioning. She's not going to make us wait seven years again though. I’m back and I will not give up. I will get into the condition and have the size I need to compete at the top, she promised. I'm Angela Fucking Salvagno and I will be back next year!!!



Believe!

3. POPA-CROSS SHOWDOWN



Not a one-two, but a one-four. If I'd predicted one or the other would win there'd be a big green tick above. Instead, I confidently imagined they would take first and second. So, with Pauline Nelson getting the runner's-up prize and (more surprisingly given her previous placings this year) LaDawn McDay claiming 3rd, it's a big red cross.




Alina was, understandably, over the moon. For all her achievements, for all her fame and for all her many many fans, the premier Female Bodybuilder of the last decade had never won a pro title before last weekend. This is a special night for me, she wrote, holding her sword aloft (and incidentally, doesn't it look a lot smaller when she holds it than when Autumn does?) It's always a wonderful feeling to be a champion.



Quite honestly, I'm surprised she can remember the feeling. It's been, in fact, ten years since at the World Amateur Championships Alina was actually judged the winner of a contest rather than been declared the should-have-been winner by us adoring fans.




A new experience for Alina, then, and a new experience for us as well - enhanced Alina on stage. The tut-tutters had already aired their views on the forums long before this show - "She was much better without implants," and so on. And there's also been doubt expressed in the wake of her victory that she'll be able to compete with Helle and Margie at the Rising Phoenix. Alina, it seems, has come back to a backlash!



I'd advise those making predictions about the Rising Phoenix to proceed with caution! And anyway, Alina's back poses have hardly "lost" any shock and awe, have they?

So, to answer the question posed at the beginning of today's post, how did I do? Well, I got 1/3, which is even worse, according to the Meat Loaf scale, than "not bad".

I've got to cheer myself up somehow, and trawling through the many many images of the show seems like a good way to do that... More from Tampa on FMS tomorrow.