The 2013 Olympia Women’s Prejudging is now history and there were some tremendous shakeups in many of the innumerable divisions. Starting off the morning festivities was the always popular Fitness Physique Round callouts which account for 25% of the competitor’s scores. 7x Ms Fitness Olympia Adela Garcia returned with a physique that has rivaled her past best and, from the callouts, it appears as though the judges have placed her right back at the head of the pack. Following Garcia will most probably be Bethany Cisternino who many in the crowd believed would walk away from this prejudging with the lead. Cisternino has a tiny waist and amazing flow to her beautiful physique. She has the “freshest” look of the entire lineup and I only see her moving upward as time progresses. Tanji Johnson, the 2013 Ms Fitness International winner looks to be a solid 3rd here, while 2012 Ms Fitness Olympia runner-up Oksana Grishina had to settle for 2nd callout (like she did last year). With 75% of the scoring still to be determined in the Fitness Routine Round, look for Grishina to climb way up in the lineup tonight at the finals with what will probably be the best routine of the evening.
In the Bikini division, reigning Ms Bikini Olympia Nathalia Melo looked to be the woman to beat with a combination of fantastic conditioning, incredible curves, and the best glutes in the business. However, the judges passed over Melo as well as Arnold Bikini International Champ India Paulino in favor of an apparent top 3 of Ashley Kaltwasser, Stacey Alexander, and Yeshaira Robles. Kaltwasser has a very exotic fresh-faced look with a feminine but extremely athletic-looking physique. All her curves are in exactly the right places and the judges seem to be swaying in favor of making her the newest bikini queen. Yeshaira Robles, arguably one of the most beautiful competitors, seems to have a lock on 2nd with a petite, yet very sensual, overall look. Alexander should snag third with a combination of great stage presence and a super tiny waist. Crowd favorites, Justine Monro and Nathalia Melo, seemed a wee bit too conditioned for the judges likes this morning. Are we witnessing a change in the bikini ideal? Tonight’s evening finals are sure to tell the full story.
In one of the most anticipated battles of the weekend, the Figure Olympia lived up to everything it was billed to be. Candice Keene, coming off wins at the Arnold Figure International (where she beat reigning Ms Figure Olympia Erin Stern), Australian Grand Prix and New York Pro (where she beat Nicole Wilkins), had to be the Olympia favorite coming into this morning’s prejudging. Wilkins, however, stepped up her game and came in way more conditioned than we’ve seen her in a while. Meanwhile, Keene’s conditioning was less than her best; potentially leaving the door open for a very close battle. With Stern, Keene, and Wilkins all sharing the “center spot” in the comparison round, the judges seemed to have left the door wide open for tomorrow night’s Final Round where a full 50% of the score remains to be determined. At this point in time, it appears as though Wilkins has the edge with Keene a close 2nd and Erin Stern nipping at her heals. And Heather Dees seems to be a solid 4th after the prejudging round.
In the first rendition of the Womens Physique Olympia, pre-contest favorites Juliana Malacarne, Karina Nascimento, and Valerie Gangi were nowhere to be found in the top 6 callout. Instead, the judges opted for the less-muscular, more streamlined, looks of the figure-turned-physique athletes. Leading the pack appears to be Tycie Coppett who brought a small waist, fantastic conditioning, and classic lines (without excessive muscularity). While the crowd may have favored the social media mega-giant Dana Linn Bailey, Coppett’s shape and structure were just too much for Bailey’s straight up-and-down legs. Bailey, with devilish good looks and incredible stage presence; however, brings a level of excitement to the division that it so desperately needs to catapult it into the limelight the other women’s divisions now share. While I’m a fan of muscle, I feel the judges have drawn a very wise line in the sand and have definitively defined what is and what is not acceptable in the way of muscularity, conditioning, and overall look in the Womens Physique Division.
Prior to 8x Ms Olympia Iris Kyle stepping onstage at today’s prejudging, she knew she had the opportunity to establish an unprecedented record in bodybuilding history. No one in the sport of mens or womens bodybuilding has ever won 9 Olympia titles. Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney, and Lenda Murray all have 8 wins. Coleman was stopped in his tracks 2 times by Jay Cutler from winning number 9, and Murray was halted by Kyle, herself, from taking her 9th Sandow. Knowing this story all too well, Kyle sequestered herself in her own bubble of solitude for the last 8 weeks—answering no phone calls, texts, or emails. And whatever she did while training in isolation surely worked because Kyle metamorphosed into a shredded, mega-muscular, physique Goddess. This perfectly peaked package enabled her to dominate the Ms Olympia prejudging round; placing her in a solid 1st place going into tonight’s finals. While Alina Popa brought her best to the stage and actually had the opportunity to be compared one-on-one with Kyle in the final callout, the reigning Ms Olympia let the entire industry know, loud-and-clear, why she’s the best in the business. While Popa sits clearly in 2nd, Debi Laszewski is holding down the 3rd position, Juanita Blaino and Yaxeni Oriquen are fighting it out for 4th & 5th and Brigita Brezovac is solidly in 6th.
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