10 Years at the Arnold Classic: 2009

NORMAL SERVICE IS RESUMED...



No 'bumps', no 'distortions'. Or at least none that the judges took offence to anyway. Iris Kyle became Ms International for the 4th time at the 2009 Arnold Classic.

BUT HOW DIFFERENT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN



Iris' physique was, for me (and I know nothing), at its most epic at that show. If ever she looked like she ruled as she did, it was then. But at the same time I'm looking at the women who she beat that day (and pretty much every other day too), and I can't help wondering, what if...? What if runner-up Debi Laszewski or 4th place Heather Policky had got the nod that day? What if Yaxeni - who placed 3rd but for my money looked miles ahead of her 2008 Ms International self - had defended her title?



When the perceived foregone conclusion was always, without exception, realised, all but the biggest Iris fans simply got bored. Would it have made a difference to what was about to happen to pro Female Bodybuilding if the Ms International had started to crown different winners? Debi went on trying for years after this, but for Heather this was the penultimate show. She could have won here, she could have won the Olympia.



Would she have continued if she'd won either? Would it have given the division the shot in the arm (if you'll excuse the expression) it so badly needed? Would it merely have meant a year or two extra at the Arnolds before it was axed, or would it have made absolutely no difference at all? One thing it might have done is to have given the Ms International an identity distinct from the Olympia. But it never happened.



Iris had become, to all intents and purposes, invincible.

BIKINI BOW



No pro Bikini division, but for the first time Bikini at the Arnold Amateur. There were two classes: Gia Allemand (left) won the A class, Ali Sonoma the B. I guessed Ali won the Overall "posedown" between the two. And believe it or not, I guessed right.

Sarcasm aside, this meant that in the pro show there were three different female classes (BB, Figure, Fitness) and in the Amateur show four. For the men, on the other hand, there was just one choice whether pro or amateur - Bodybuilding. Compare that to now with the 212 and the Classic Physique and Physique and they've probably thrown another one in by now as well and called it Model Physique or something. This is definitely one of the stories of the last ten years (at the Arnolds and elsewhere), albeit one we are less interested in - more choice for the boys, much the same for the ladies.

WHERE WERE THEY THEN?

NICOLE WILKINS - Fitness (8th)



JULIANA MALACARNE - Figure (13th)
HEATHER GRACE - Amateur Figure D (2nd)



I think it's safe to say that in both cases improvements have been made!

Note the one-piece is still in effect.

AUTUMN EDWARDS (now SWANSEN) - Amateur Fitness C (Winner)



As above, improvements have been made!

YES, YES, BRING ON THE AMATEURS!



There was quality on display in every class in the Female Bodybuilding division at the Amateur show. Tellingly though, little of that quality went on to bigger and better things, and apart from one notable exception - Rita Bello (above) - none of these magnificent women are competing as FBBs anymore if they are competing at all.



In what we now realise was her customary mind-boggling, groin-activating shape, Rita won the Heavyweight class that year. She needed to be that good to leave gorgeous Geraldine Morgan (3rd, now a consistently unsuccessful Physique competitor) and the much-missed-in-my-house runner-up Alevtina Goroshinskaya in her wake.



Rita was joined in the Overall posedown by the Blonde Bomber herself, Lightweight class winner Johanna Dejager - and I would bet that guy whose head is obscuring your view probably still replays in his head what his front row seat allowed him to see multiple times per day. He'd be rich if it were possible to make videos of memories...



Meanwhile, among the Middleweights, 2008 Lightweight winner Joanne Stewart looked like she'd found an even finer razor with which to sharpen her conditioning but only finished 3rd, one place ahead of Finnish behemoth Salla Kaurenen.



The Middleweight and (I imagine slightly controversial given Rita's impression of a living anatomy chart) Overall winner was the undeniably gifted Elena Shportun. Seriously, if that guy could put his memories on film, he'd be minted for life!

BRITISH INTEREST?

Still a negative on that, I'm afraid.

Far From Routine: Artists

One of the many indicators that attitudes among most of the (male-dominated) federations to female bodybuilding are 'wrong' has, in my opinion, been the demise of the routine. Once upon a time, they were so much more than just a race to get through as many poses as possible before the music was cut and the next competitor ushered onto (and then just as quickly off) the stage.

Now a minute long if you're lucky, competitors were once upon a time given a full three minutes each. Women like Diana Dennis, rarely hitting a traditional pose in the course of her routine, made them into true performances, with all the artistic connotations of that word. There are still some true artists out there, Sheila Bleck, for example, commissions original pieces of music for her routines and gives each its own unique muscle flexing choreography, but she is very much in a minority.

I think it's a real shame that this aspect of the female bodybuilding show has declined in importance so much. Competitors' muscularity and proportions have already been judged by the time the evening show comes around. What's the point of a routine if it's just a quick run through the same poses we've already seen in previous rounds? And furthermore, if these federations are, as they claim to be, so concerned about competitors' femininity, why are they deliberately downsizing the one part of the contest where feminine expression is most possible and desirable?

I don't think it's a coincidence that the vast majority of the routines nominated by you lovely readers date from the 1980s, 1990s and the first few years of the new millennium, before, I would argue, the rise in new divisions (male and female) squeezed all the time out of the female bodybuilding evening show. These days, the biggest show is in the Fitness division, but though we might gasp at the truly amazing athleticism you see there, it just isn't the same.

So, as my little reminder of what once was, and what could be again, today FMS presents three of our collective favourite artistic posers. One reader choice and one FMS pick for each of the two women we'll see in competition, plus a guest posing routine nominated by one reader which I'd never seen before and which will, I reckon, leave you quite nostalgic for the days when every routine was an event.


CLAUDIA MONTEMAGGI

With her background in ballet and gymnastics, her stunning Italian beauty and her physique worthy of two Ms Olympia appearances, it's no surprise Claudia's routines have proved memorable. Does sex appeal have anything to do with it? wonders Eurosport commentator Simon Reed - perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not - just moments after a close-up of Claudia's crotch in the first of our two Montemaggi classics. The second was nominated by a reader who wanted to thank FMS for posting the clip in April 2013. I've never heard a routine get such an ovation, he says.

Swell Pick
1989 World Games



Reader Request
1991 Ms Olympia




DIANA DENNIS
Guest Posing

Proper theatre, with costume, prop and a beginning, middle and end. By 1999 Diana Dennis may have been well past her prime as a competitive bodybuilder, but as this clip amply demonstrates, she was still taking guest posing to new heights. I don't mean to be rude or to labour the point, but compare this to a much more recent Monique Jones guest posing routine here. Monique is huge and her outfit is fun and everything, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Monique's turn, but I'm hypnotised by Diana.




ELENA SHPORTUN

I'm just a fan, says the woman who captured the first of our Elena Shportun clips. I went to the 2006 and 2007 World Champs and shot this. Checkout the ab roll at 0.39! Best posing routine ever! she says. "She" happens to be Johanna Dejager and she also claims that the following year Elena returned with an even more ripped look. Sadly, no footage of that routine appears on Johanna's or anyone else's channel as far as I know, but the following 2009 Oslo Grand Prix routine is also one that lives in the memory. In her time she was in a class of her own with her posing, reckons our nominating reader. The aforementioned Sheila Bleck apart, I have to agree.

Reader Request
2006 IFBB Worlds



Swell Pick
2009 Oslo Grand Prix




Tomorrow, in our final installment, your three most nominated routines...

The Russian Horde Hoard

hoard /hɔːd / noun a "wealth deposit", a collection of valuable objects or artefacts


Ludmila Tuboltseva

Today, FMS opens up its hoard of Russian female muscle old and new.



наслаждаться!


Olga Tupisyna - the Russian Laura Madge?!


Beautiful Natalya Yariz


Nastya Goveeva


Marina Alf, Maria Stukova, Evgenia Vasilyeva

RUSSIA IN MOTION #1
Daria Diossi WFF Universe 2015



Yes, she won. And the NABBA Universe (see FMS passim).


Anastasia Motorina, Olga Shestoperova


Queen of Fitness Oksana Grishina

And next, the face (and body) that launched a thousand "Barbie is a beast" stories!


Julia Vins (see also previously on FMS).


Yulia Ushakova


Ekateina Gamagina - yes, that's her back!


Irina Mishina aka Irina Veselova


IFBB pro Olga Puzanova

RUSSIA IN MOTION #2
Elena Shportun IFBB Worlds 2006

One of our most valuable Russian artefacts. Pure female muscle gold.



More of Elena's ever memorable performances can be found here, here and here.


Elena Volkova


Always had a soft (/hard) spot for Nelli Tsyshkevich


Prime Russian female muscle beefcake Liudmila "Oh my Goshko!" Goshko and those astonishing pecs of hers, as seen last year at the EBBF European Championships.


Beautiful (I may have used that adjective before today) Olga Belyakova


Yulia Kalinova - now that is ripped!


Russia's got Bodyfitness with the stunning Antonina Lazukova, the very perky Lyudmila Nikitina, and the obviously rather excitable Natasha Markelova.


The mighty Alevtina Goroskinskaya


Say hello to Lyubov Dreskova, I'm sure we'll be seeing her again.



And for our last muscle beauty in pictures, probably my favourite Russian - despite the fierce competition - the former NABBA Ms Universe, MIA since her (one and only?) Physique appearance at the Arnold Europe a couple of years ago. It's the magnificence of Maria Bulatova (formerly known as Maria Kuzmina). *SWOOOON!*



But we leave you today with some immortal muscle sexiness.

RUSSIA IN MOTION #3
Victoria Zabourdieva NABBA Worlds 2002 & 2003



She finished lower in 2003 (4th) than she had in 2002 (3rd). Go figure!