2001 IFBB Ms. International/Arnold Fitness Expo By -jabber Preamble: Ah, my yearly trek to Ohio. I've been to this event back in '95, then again '99, '00, and now '01. What better reason to go to Ohio other than the Ms. I/Arnold Fitness Expo? Come to think of it, what other reason IS there to visit Ohio? lol From me sharing part of the plane ride there with Monica Martin to part of the plane ride home with Suzan Kaminga, not a bad weekend at all. Harried but good. If I got 1/3 accomplished of what I planned on, I'm being generous. Luckily a portion of those things accomplished included actually seeing the show. Overall Atmosphere: Basically the Arnold Fitness Expo events are spread over two different venues, both in downtown Columbus, but a distance away from one another. Going on basically all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Convention Center is literally the best damn usage of $10 you can find, the Arnold Fitness Expo. And Friday is the best day simply because for that $10, you get to see the prejudging for the Ms. International and Fitness International for no extra charge. Over at the Veteran's Memorial west of the river on Broad St. - walking distance if you like the cold - is the Ms. I/Fitness I Friday evening, and the men's show prejudging and finals on Saturday, as well as the banquet Saturday evening. Due to some constraints beyond the scope of this review, I was only at the Expo for a good portion of time Friday, with limited time on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, thank PriceLine for keeping me up in the air literally all day. :-) But I saw enough to deem this yet another great weekend for female muscle. This was the first year I actually got a seat (and a darn good one at that) at the Friday prejudging. Since the Arnold Classic had added a gymnastics event that started before 11:00 am on Friday, it was a little known fact that at 11:00 am, you could either enter the main Expo through the main doors with the throngs of other folks waiting (truly the sheer number of folks in this crowd is a tribute to the popularity of fitness - certainly why else be in Columbus, OH in the winter (or any other time)?) or go into the gymnastics event - and then go from one room to another also at 11:00 am (that line had maybe 20 folks at most). Okay, next year, there will be 400 on that line now. lol On with the show... Of predictions and men: I'd posted the following to the www.arnoldclassic.com guestbook: My predictions? Ms. International: Brenda Raganot, lightweight, Amy Pazzo, heavyweight (and they armwrestle to determine overall :-) ); International Fitness: Jenny Worth; Arnold Classic: Ronnie Coleman (since I don't see the more symmetrical Flex Wheeler on the list)---if I was a bettin man. :-) -jabber ·· jabber@flash.net 2/24/01 7:10:41 AM What's humorous about this is I'm supposed to know about FBB's right? And less about fitness and the men's show. But humorously I nailed the fitness show and the men's show predictions! :-) On with the show... Fitness International: Let a lover of fitness competitions write this part of the review. Oh wait, silly, there is no such thing. :-) 22) Beth Horn 20 tie) Julie Palmer 20 tie) Christina Kelstrup 19) Christine Bergeron 18) Carla Sanchez 17) Lisa Lowe 16) April Carpenter 15) Stacy Simons 14) Cynthia Bridges 13) Laura Makowski 12) Allison Bookless 11) Elizabeth Streeter 10) Nicole Hobbs 9) Melissa Frabielle 7 tie) Mandy Blank 7 tie) Shena Forkner 6) Kim Chizevsky 5) Timea Majorova 4) Jennifer Hendershott 3) Adelina Friedmansky 2) Kelly Ryan 1) Jenny Worth Okay, I cannot tell a lie, although there were lots of very attractive women on stage for the Fitness I, I paid little attention to this show. At the prejudging, when they came out with their one-piece long-sleeve black leotards, I up and said to the folks I went to prejudging with, okay, I've had enough - and circulated, only to return when the FBB's came back out. And the routines that were at the beginning of the evening show? My date for the evening show literally caused me to miss the whole darn fitness comp. I told her if we missed the FBB portion, she'd have to start flexing herself though. :-) Just some brief comments here. This was the very first time I saw 19th placer Christine Bergeron from Canada in person; very pretty young woman (okay the traditional male inside me had to say that) in nice hard condition. Dare I say more attractive than most who finished better than her? 18th placer Carla Sanchez, ahemTOOSOFTahem. 15th placer, the double-jointed Stacy Simons always gets attention, and has some of the biggest best lats ever seen in any fitness competition she enters. 11th placer Elizabeth Streeter (along with Christine Bergeron) is another one of those very attractive fitness types that should have mainstream appeal, too. Tre'd mentioned in his review the most disappointing moment was someone we'd never heard of getting implants. Well, I'm gonna say (as it was difficult to tell), it looks like 7th placer Mandy Blank has also gone the route of implants. I toyed with crying, inflicting bodily harm onto myself, and screaming at the top of my lungs, "Why?", but instead settled for a low "tsk, tsk". Damn, now THAT is depressing/disappointing, her claim to fame was small natural breasts, now she cannot even claim that. A moment of silence ya'all. 6th placer Kim Chizevsky, a what the f^&* is in order. Although she looked better than in her transition stages (which me living in Texas I'd seen at some shows she's been in attendance at), certainly her symmetry and appeal was inferior to Ms. Bergeron and Streeter (to name two) and from all accounts (I did not see this at all) her routine was jerky and not befitting a 6th place finishing. ahemPOLITICSBSahem 5th placer Timea Majorova is a competitor in search of a look. Just like a box of chocolates, you never know what look you're gonna get when she enters a contest. Although a bit "streamlined" was the feedback I'd heard about this "look" of hers, I preferred this hard defined look to a previous appearance where she was too soft - regardless of look, she's always an attention-getter. 4th through 1st placers Jen Hendershott, Adela Friedmansky, Kelly Ryan, and Jenny Worth all looked like they were vying for best abs contention with the winner being, well - all were incredible - and that's the reason I enjoy these competitions, indeed. I presume Ms. Ryan and Ms. Worth had predictably stellar routines as we've come to expect from these very accomplished professionals. Lightweight Ms. International: 10) Monica Martin 9) Peggy Schoolcraft 8) Raejha Savary 7) Jennifer McVicar 6) Yaz Boyum 5) Denise Masino 4) Cathy Lefrancois-Priest 3) Angela Debatin 2) Brenda Raganot 1) Dayana Cadeau No matter how good the abs are on the fitness competitors, I attend for the FBB's, although the judging may get one angry, these women (as were the Heavyweights) were phenomenal. It was good to see 9th placer Peggy Schoolcraft return to competition after what seemed like an absence. She'd talked about coming in ripped and not conforming to the new standards. The problem with that is I don't know if anyone knows what those new standards are nor know how to uniformly apply them - certainly the judges are clueless. Peggy WAS in great condition, but she was hardly the only woman on stage in great condition. 8th placer Raejha Savary (formerly Douziech) from Canada was a phenomenally attention-getting entrant to this show, having just gotten her Pro card at the '00 Canadian Nationals. Hard, conditioned, muscular, AND quite attractive in a traditional sense - I almost would've put her in the top 3 here. 7th place Jennifer McLost, er McVicar? We need Provincial judges because no way was this very attractive young lady a better FBB than Ms. Savary - I scratch my head. 6th placer Yaz Boyum brought a nice balanced massive lightweight package to Columbus - her first Pro show I believe after winning the LW Nationals in '99 in Orlando. 5th placer Denise Masino, as usual showed off a tremendous back and left bicep, but her legs and quad sweep were off for her. 3rd placer Angela Debatin I would've put in a solid 2nd, and would not've gotten upset if she won this class. Indeed, she's worked on her somewhat awkward posing (when she first came on the American scene) and was literally phenomenal. Some folks think I'm biased but... I still thought 2nd placer Brenda Raganot should've won the lightweight. Her biceps were better than at the Ms. O '00, yeah her legs were not the best I've seen her legs, but - her symmetry and grace, well, to say she had the most artful aesthetic lovely package on stage that day was certainly the way I felt. No, I saw no reason to waste my vocal chords booing Ms. Raganot's 2nd place finish, but Dayana Cadeau getting 1st place I think blind-sided most folks. She did look good... for her - whatever that means - okay, she had a good quad sweep, but... Congrats to Ms. Cadeau, but it would be nice if the judging was fair. Onward... Heavyweight Ms. International: 12) Pauliina Talus 11) Carmen Cotter 10) Paula Suzuki 9) Th-resa Bostick 8) Amy Pazzo 7) Tazzie Colomb 6) Gayle Moher 5) Betty Pariso 4) Yaxeni Oriquen 3) Lesa Lewis 2) Iris Kyle 1) Vickie Gates >From seeing how thick and great Ms. Talus looked up close the next day at the Expo (not only her legs, her biceps are intense, too), amazing she finished dead last at 12th. 11th placer Carmen Cotter (who I saw at the '00 Jan Tana looking a wee bit harder) exhibited the strange phenomenon of appearing softish all over except her abs. Personally I didn't complain. :-) If one didn't care about the lower body meshing with the upper body (as you may think with the winner of this class), hands down 10th placer Paula Suzuki was awesome! Coming in as usual with streamlined smaller thighs, calves, hard glutes, but with the best upper body on stage, I was riveted watching this incredible competitor. If all we are about is upper body mass, pose for pose she could/would blow away the winner of this class. Politics be damned. My original prediction of Amy Pazzo in the heavyweights I re-evaluated upon seeing the field. I'd based my prediction upon what the new standards "may" want, which is a not "too" big heavyweight who is attractive, blonde, but quite massive in her own right. Judging be damned, 8th placer Amy was a nice very attention-getting package, without the controversial hairstyle she sported last year (which I personally didn't have a problem with). 7th placer Tazzie Colomb has a right to be upset as there weren't 6 better than her in this show. I think Tazzie tried a "middleground" between conditioning and mass, but the judges seem more concerned with politics. Truly a shame as this is an insult to these dedicated accomplished athletes. Let politics determine the nutrition sponsorships, NOT a friggin' bodybuilding contest. A slightly softer heavier version of "local" Gayle Moher gave her 6th place. 5th placer Betty Pariso certainly wins the award for most changed look, slightly darker straight hair, well, she actually had a pleasing balanced physique in Columbus, IMO. One of the best competitors, IMO, 4th placer Yaxeni Oriquen never seems to come in at her full potential however. I'm hoping when she does (at the JT this year I presume) the judges WILL notice. Actually not a bad finish as this was a great field of FBB's. 3rd placer Lesa Lewis, a young lady in search of a look it seems, sporting lighter colored hair than usual, she actually looked stellar on stage, to me, she was top 2 here. 2nd placer Iris Kyle, if it wasn't for poor eyesight or more likely politics, deserved to win, pure and simple. The negatives (a slightly harsh facial look at the '00 Ms. O) she's worked on and came to Columbus with the best most complete package in the Heavyweights bar none. Working smarter SHOULD be rewarded. Okay, at the Ms. O, she was given runner up because yeah, yeah, Valentina Chepiga is prettier, more marketable, yada, yada. But can the same be said about 1st placer Vickie Gates? As usual, she had a stellar upper body and great biceps though. Congrats to Ms. Gates on her victory. Overall Ms. International: Well I was about to leave the auditorium here, as to me, in both weight classes, the 2nd placers (Brenda and Iris) were the ones who should've been in contention for the overall - hey the judges are consistent if not accurate (what's the old joke about the difference between precision vs. accuracy? a bullseye never being hit but a cluster elsewhere is precise but not accurate :-) ). Someone suggested for the overall, it should be determined by push-ups. Well as Vickie got down and started doing push-ups, Dayana, although not deep, started doing one-arm right-arm push-ups one for one with Vickie's two-arm variety. I would've liked to see them finish that to exhaustion, but that's me. Vickie won the overall. Okay... Onward... Overall Observations: As I'd stated earlier, I spent less time than I wanted to at the Expo this year for a couple weird reasons, but... I spent enough time to see a few very noteworthy folks there, along with some very noteworthy impressive unknowns. Among the non-unknowns, was Sarah Dunlap, who plans on entering a bodybuilding competition soon. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it just last year at the Arnold Expo when she was this thick-armed grappler? This year, she was sporting some very impressive honed chiseled abs. One of the most impressive women seen at the Expo bar none was the FBB formerly known as Nikki Fuller. :-) Unlike some FBB's who haven't competed in years, Nikki Fuller was looking absolutely phenomenal sporting some of the thickest chunkiest biceps ever seen. She seemed impressed that I'd seen both of her recent TV appearances "Just Shoot Me" and the Jenny Jones "Boney To Buff". Folks, I don't rant and rave about many, but the statuesque Nikki Fuller's appearance and condition truly makes up for many of the former FBB's who currently look like a shadow of their former self. As usual, Theresa Hessler and her abs were there. :-) Dawn Sutherland, a black British FBB, seemingly not well known on either side of the pond, also was noteworthy looking - classy, refined, and oh yeah, muscular abs and arms. Natural FBB Samantha Madsen was again at the Ms. I, looking easily large enough to compete with those "un-natural" FBB's. lol An off-season but very attention-getting Suzan Kaminga was spotted. I took a few photo-shoot style pics of her - hopefully they did her justice. Brief spotting of Yvette Bova (at the Muscle Elegance booth), she shared the stage with Nikki Fuller on that Jenny Jones "Boney To Buff" episode. Yvette looked a bit more muscular than she did on the TV show. Had a tip-off from a friend of mine that an older natural competitor named Rita Kaya would be at the Expo at the Beverly International booth. While she was quite popular as a salesperson, she was a bit on the shy side - but this seemed refreshing. Hopefully our paths will cross at the upcoming Jr. USA's in Hartford, her highest level contest to date. Saved one of the best I'd seen for last, nearing the end of my time at the Expo, met up with Debbie Bramwell, a relative unknown who I had the pleasure (with Nercy from Builtmore.com) to do some work with last December out in Southern California. One look at her right rear bicep and you will realize WHY this is definitely "one of the best". Whew! It's always nice to run across familiar faces, too. Although I could probably mention plenty I'd hoped to spot there but for whatever reason our paths never crossed (something to do with that 1/3 accomplished thing. :-) ). On the non-bodybuilding front, two fellows who caused a traffic jam were the Steiner Brothers - first spotted Scott Steiner (with a custom-made jacket on for sure), then his older brother Rick. Far from the tallest guys on the WCW, these guys were NOT short, I'd guesstimate Scott at about 6'2" and someone I would NOT argue with even if I was right. :-) One thing that was a bit disappointing at the Expo this year was I saw literally NONE of the FBB's circulating who competed. Certainly some of them may have been discouraged/ dissatisfied with their placings (as was I), but... This is a great place to see and be seen, and well, I'm just voicing my disappointment here. I'm sure I'm not alone here. Did see a few FBB's at the banquet Saturday night though. Since the women are not the "stars" of the weekend, like they are at the Jan Tana, this banquet pales in comparison, but Saka and Sondra Faas, who accompanied me, certainly got their fair share of attention indeed. Two other FBB's of note I spotted at the banquet were Lesa Lewis and Amy Pazzo (the ONLY time the whole weekend I saw them other than on-stage - they must've been in a Mayonnaise Jar on Funk & Wagnalls porch the rest of the weekend). And seeing Jenny Hendershott's etched abs on stage at the banquet when she danced, ah, that was memorable, too. A very memorable weekend, well worth the trek to the little city of Columbus, Ohio. See you there, next year. Until next time, I remain... -jabber