Tonight’s Jacksonville Pro Show proved to be the most hotly contested IFBB Figure and Bikini competitions of the year thus far. 35 figure pros and 18 bikini pros came out to fight for a top 3 placing and the Olympia invite that comes with it. With the Olympia weekend just seven weeks away, the opportunities to earn a bid are getting scarce and everyone without a ticket to Vegas is coming to battle.
While the weather was balmy and wet, promoter Dexter Jackson made the humidity a secondary consideration with his top notch accommodations and show venue. The show was quick, efficient, and everyone from the fans, to the judges, to the media was able to enjoy the show. With the intangibles all lined up by Dex, it was time for the competitors to make the show worthwhile and they did not disappoint.
The IFBB Figure division has become a tough prediction this year. New faces are shaking up the lineups and the depth of every show makes it nearly impossible to have a pre-show favorite. Interestingly, the Jacksonville Pro proved to be unpredictably predictable. The well-deserved winner for the second consecutive show was Candice Keene. I don’t know what she changed or figured out, but she found “it” this summer. Poise, beauty, and a perfect blend of symmetry and muscle make her a top 5 threat going into the Olympia. Second place went to veteran Alicia Harris. Hard to believe I can call her a veteran, but with 3 years of stage experience she is a young face with a lot of experience. While her 
Arnold Classic appearance this year was disappointing, Alicia is a rising star and hitting her stride just in time. Always gorgeous and well presented, the key for Alicia is conditioning and she has it. Third place went to Bombshell Gen Strobo who redeemed her fifth place finish at the NY Pro. Gen was full and balanced, so we can assume she was eating her waffles and everything else in sight (check out this video with Gen to see what I’m talking about). Gen has been gracious enough to track her journey to the Olympia here on Rx Girl and it provides some great insight into the world of a top competitor.
The top 5 was rounded out by Ava Cowan and Stacey Thompson. Ava was making her pro-debut and her off stage popularity made her a favorite coming in, but she just wasn’t quite ready to win a pro-show. A fourth place debut is still a great accomplishment and she is just a few small tweaks away from the top 3. Stacy Thompson meanwhile was not on my radar to crack the top group. The first lady to ever be crowned a bikini pro, she made the switch to figure and with good reason. She has great lines and nice balance of muscle and conditioning without being too hard. Special recognition also goes out to Kat Ramirez who made her way into 7th in her second pro show. This was the best version of Kat yet and she appeared full and shapely, just like the judges asked her to after the NY Pro.
So only one new trip to the Olympia was awarded and it went to Alicia Harris (Candice and Gen were already qualified). I’m sure we will see many of these ladies next weekend in Dallas at the Europa Supershow fighting it out once more.
The new bikini division has really grown into its own and it’s only been 6 months since the first pro competition. Any one doubting or hating this division just needed to spend 30 minutes in Jacksonville tonight watching the action on stage as 18 fit and gorgeous women twisted and turned.
Pre-show favorite Jaime Baird had her hands full with a new face and a familiar face. The new face was Alison Rosen, who just turned pro last week with an overall win at the NPC USA Championships. Wasting no time, Ali was right back on her diet and ready to hit the pro-stage. She stunned the judges and crowd alike with her beauty and stage presence and walked away the winner for the second week in a row. Bikini is proving to have no veteran advantages and the new pros are coming in ready for the pro-stage. The Olympia is going to be deep and wide open with new faces like Ali and Nicole Nagrani winning the mid-summer shows.
Second place went to Jessica Putnam, the figure champion of this very show in 2009. She said she loved training for bikini and the freedom on stage, so the change was natural. Her first time on the bikini stage was a success and the only criticism of her physique was that she didn’t quite have the curves and booty to hang with Ali.
Third place went to Jaime Baird, whose beauty and stage presence is tough to match. Jaime has had a long run this season and she seemed a little worn out for Jacksonville. A little break before the Olympia might be just what Jaime needs to get back to 100%. Even at 90% she beat 15 other ladies and put on a clinic in stage moves. Fourth place went to Jessica Jessie, who already qualified for the Olympia in Hartford. Jessica was her usual bubbly and fun self, but her physique was outmatched by three amazing ladies. Fifth went to Dina Al Sabah, who showed improvement from her figure debut but still needs to bring some more flair to the stage to crack the top 3.
Next week’s Europa Supershow also features bikini, so we can expect to see a lot of the same ladies along with some new west coast faces. There are two more shows before Vegas and that means 6 more Olympia bid available.
Check out Rx Muscle’s full contest play-by-play, photo gallery, and winner interviews for more in-depth coverage of what went down in Jacksonville.
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