Hometown honey Amy Fry scored her first pro victory at the ’08 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure Championship on May 3, surprising absolutely no one who’s been paying attention to current action in the figure ranks. Second was Nicole Wilkins, who’s now earned Olympia qualifications in both the fitness and figure—also not a shock to this reporter—while Teresa Anthony, flying under the media buzz, picked up the third Big O slot in her pro debut.

Nineteen built-by-barbell bodies lined the stage in the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial auditorium for Jim Manion’s annual event, held in conjunction with the NPC Pittsburgh Championships. It was the first show since the Figure International—and since the athletes received a letter from the IFBB Pro League (of which Mr. Manion is the chairman) asking them to tone it down, physiquewise. The perceived wisdom in the press pit was that the ladies had complied. I was too focused on trying to photograph them to notice at the time, but in comparing photos from the two shows—and allowing for differences in lighting, cameras and other relevant factors—it appears that they did, somewhat, starting with Fry, whose six-pack and shoulders were not quite as etched.

Heather Mae French brought a beautiful presentation to the stage and finished fourth, making this the breakout competition she’s been seeking since she hit the pros a couple of years ago. Fifth went to veteran Shannon Meteraud, whose lean, not-too-hard and not-too-soft body may have been at its best ever. There’s little doubt that both those athletes will get their Olympia qualifications by season’s end.

Other ladies who caught my eye included Heather Green, Catherine Anderson and Huong Arcinas. As they finish sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, I guess you could say I agreed with most of the panel’s choices. Bernadette Galvan and Allison Williams rounded out a strong top 10.

As mentioned above, Fry was the hands-down favorite to win this show (she placed third here last year), and not just because she comes from Pittsburgh. The prediction was a “well, duh”—she was coming off a third-place finish at the International and outranked everyone else in the lineup. Any hometown advantage was backed up by the package she brought to the stage.

Many of the women who came to quarter-turn in Pittsburgh were headed next to LosAngeles for the IFBB California Pro Figure Championship on May 24 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City. That’s Memorial Day Weekend, which has become a huge time for physique festivities in the L.A. area, including the Cal Pro, the accompanying NPC California Championships (now open to United States residents from all 50 states) and the Muscle Beach International Classic in Venice on May 25 and 26.

At the Cal I’ll have a real photographer or two on hand, so I can concentrate on looking at what I’m looking at and get a better handle on the Goldilocks factor—as in who’s coming in not-too-hard and not-too-soft but just right.

For info on the Cal, go to www.MuscleContest.com. For more on the Muscle Beach events, check out

www.MuscleBeachVenice.com.

Captions (from top):

• Class dismissed. Hometown honey Amy Fry did her homework and got extra credit.

• The first callout could have been the winner’s circle shot: Amy Fry in the center, with Nicole Wilkins in the second-place position and Teresa Anthony on the other side, in third. I was so impressed with Teresa, I thought she’d be the runner-up—another example of why I don’t get good marks at reading the judges’ minds.

• Petite powerhouse. At 5’ Heather Mae French proves that you don’t have to be tall to look tall.

• Ask Shannon Meteraud how she got in such great shape and you get a quick answer: “Mother of two.”

• Heather Green, also a mother of two. Wow. Maybe there’s something to that.

Talk about it’s all being good. The ’08 New York Pro Fitness, held April 12 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan, produced gobs of encouraging results—both for the fans and for the numerous athletes who caught the spotlight at the annual Steve Weinberger–produced competition. First on the list was the always-engaging Heidi Fletcher, who earned her first-ever pro win after taking second at this show in ’06 and ’07. Also popping into view were second- and third-placers Trish Warren and Nicole Wilkins, who snagged their first-ever Olympia invites, but more on them in a minute.

Fletcher, who was 15th at the ’07 Fitness O and fourth at the post-O West Palm Beach competition, wisely skipped even thinking about the Fitness International in favor of focusing on New York. With the absence of heavier hitters in the lineup (Julie Shipley-Childs and Tracey Greenwood took top honors in ’06 and ’07), it was Heidi’s time to shine. Based on the photos, she looked lean and curvy, maybe even a little more conditioned than the tight package she brought to the O last year. The judges placed her second in both physique rounds as well as in the 90-second routines. Winning the show round, the two-minute routines, brought her to the end of the evening with a comfortable 36-point lead. Go, Heidi! We’ll see you at the O.

The 14-woman lineup was long on ladies with strong routines who are not as proficient in the physique rounds, at least not at present. Warren and Wilkins, who finished just a point apart, were notable exceptions, with each taking first in one of the physique rounds and third in the other. For Trish, who earned her card at the ’02 Fitness Nationals, made her pro debut a couple of years later in figure and then finally hit the pushups-for-pay arena in 2006, it was a tall leap from her previous fitness outings. From 12th at the ’06 Europa Pro Fitness to seventh at the ’07 N.Y. Pro to second here, she more than earned her rep as a body—and routine—to keep your eye on.

Wilkins took a more accelerated pace to get to the Olympia invite list. After an 11-th place landing in her pro debut at the Figure International last month, she proved that her double-dollop-victories at the ’07 Team Universe—overall trophies for the T.U. Fitness Championships and the Figure Nationals—were not just random acts of kindness by the judges. The fact that she held her own in the routines against some of the performers I’m about to mention, placing third and fourth in those rounds, says it all.

Nicole Duncan and Bethany Wagner made my ones-to-watch list when they won their classes at the ’06 Fit Nat’s and ’07 T.U., respectively. In New York they landed second and third behind Fletcher in the long routines, not too shabby when you consider who didn’t leave the venue with a top routine score.

I have to admit, if I’d been making predictions for this contest, I’d have picked Russian sensation Oksana Grishina for an Olympia-qualifying top-three spot, maybe even for an upset victory over Fletcher, the favorite. Good thing I didn’t. Yeah, I’m familiar with the perceived wisdom that Grishina’s physique just isn’t competitive right now, but what was up with her score in the long routines? Not to take anything away from the above-mentioned athletes—and Kendra Elias—all of whom got better marks than her in the performance round, but if Oksana’s routine was good enough to be valued third behind Jen Hendershott and Kim Klein at the International, how could she drop to seventh in this company?

File that under topics to pursue in the near future.
Photos (from top):

New York’s a lucky town for Heidi Fletcher, who will make her third Olympia appearance in September.

Trish Warren carbs up—and shows off her abs—at the ’06 Cal Pro Figure. A couple of months after this shot was taken she switched back to fitness.

Nicole Wilkins also has reason to love New York. She cleaned up at last summer’s Team Universe—on the very same stage.

Here’s something that’s been gnawing at my mind since the big weekend in Columbus, Ohio. What exactly is up with the IFBB Amateur Arnold International competition? Not that I’m suggesting there was anything wrong with the event, which was promoted for the second year by Bob Lorimer and Mike Davies as part of the humongous Arnold Sports Festival. As far as I can see it was a whopping success, attracting some 225 physique athletes from around the world, including a spectacular crop of winners. Is it just me, however, or does it seem as if there were two different amateur events taking place on February 29 and March 1?

How I became aware of the dichotomy is one of those tales we pundits like to tell. On a shuttle bus full of competitors and officials (and media members) riding from the Veterans Memorial Auditorium to the Doubletree Hotel, I was chatting with Albert Busek, a distinguished member of the European muscle press and a very-long-time friend of the legendary bodybuilder for whom the weekend in Columbus is named. Albert, who had attended the amateur competition earlier in the day, was enthusiastic about how excellent the international field had been and expressed great surprise that the American athletes had not been stronger. It could be that he was rubbing it in just a bit.

As I hadn’t seen the results yet, we moved on to other things. Still, I was puzzled as to what all the fuss was about. After all, it was just a midlevel contest from the standpoint of NPC competitors, wasn’t it? I had forgotten that I’d asked the same question when I’d heard that the Arnold Amateur was going international in its second year. Why would people want to come all the way to Ohio to get onstage at that show? The answer should have been obvious, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

In practical terms, when the promoters—and IFBB President Rafael Santonja—went worldwide with this event, they effectively jacked up its status far beyond its humble beginnings. Whether that message sank in for the NPC rank and file remains a question mark. The international teams, buoyed by the notion of either competing at the prestigious Arnold Sports Festival, getting their pictures taken with Governor S or simply getting some big-time publicity in the Western Hemisphere, brought their top amateur bodybuilders, including European and World champions. The U.S. entries, on the other hand, included some excellent bodybuilders, but they were not exactly the class winners from last year’s Nationals; so it should have come as no surprise that they got creamed. (The situation was different for fitness and figure, where the U.S. and Canadian athletes ruled, although why that was is a topic for another day.)

Maybe it’s also no surprise that the bodybuilding lines were drawn where they were. Elite-level amateur physique competition on this side of the Atlantic (and the Pacific) seems to be much more pro-card oriented than it is over there (and there). In other countries the top guys and gals keep going back to the European Championships, the Asian Championships, the South American Championships, the World Championships, et al., and many never make it to the professional ranks. In the U.S. a class win at the Nationals gets you the right to apply for a pro card, and for the most advanced warriors and warriorettes it’s all about the path to the flex-for-pay ranks.

One could argue that the former approach is more in keeping with the spirit of sport—well, amateur sport—and the latter is more of that crass commercialism one hears so much about. I suspect that somewhere, somehow politics is at work as well. The question is, Will the highest-ranking homegrown amateur bodybuilders step up to the plate and stop off in Columbus on their way to where destiny leads them next year, or will they leave all the glory to folks like Mari Segura of Mexico, the ’07 North American champ, who won the ’08 Amateur Arnold title in women’s bodybuilding, and two-time World Amateur champ Robert Piotrkowicz of Poland, who came in second in the Arnold men’s superheavyweight class?

What if anything could the promoters do to sweeten the pot? I’m making no predictions, but it’s definitely a story to keep your eye on.

Photos (from top):

Mexico’s Mari Segura, eligible to apply for pro status after her overall win at the ’07 North Americans, entered the Arnold Amateur International and picked up an overall win there as well.

Canada’s Allison Ethier, a well-known athlete who’s come over to the IFBB from another organization, took the fitness overall at the Amateur Arnold. Look for her to make a pro-card run at the Canadian Championships later this season.

I swear I feel like Sally Field at the Oscars (“You like me! You really like me!”). Dr. Z. Catherine Navarro and Nancy Di Nino have invited me to become a regular contributor to their “Living Beautiful Radio” show. I’m not sure what my duties as “official news and contest correspondent” will actually involved, but I’m fairly certain the upcoming New York Pro Fitness on April 12 will be a hot topic of conversation in the next couple of weeks.

Here’s the press release issued by Nancy and the doc:

For Immediate Release
Ironman Senior Editor, Ruth Silverman joins LBR As The official “News & Contest Correspondent”

Living Beautiful Radio, hosted by Dr. Z. Navarro and Fitness Personality Nancy Di Nino, is proud to announce the addition of IRON MAN magazine’s Senior Editor and Women’s Pump & Circumstance Columnist “Ruth Silverman as LBR’s official Women’s News and Contest Correspondent!

“Ruthless Ruth” Silverman brings over 15 years of industry knowledge and is known for her contributions to women’s physique, contest coverage and news with her Pump & Circumstance column.

“We are thrilled to have Ruth join forces with us. This collaboration only empowers our network and our mission to further recognize and promote the women of our sport,” say Dr. Navarro and Nancy D.

The show, which airs on WWNN 1470AM Radio Palm Beach Florida, has become a popular hour among women in search of the latest news and stories affecting the modern woman and those who embrace a lifestyle of health and fitness.

Worldwide broadcasts are available on www.LivingBeautifulRadio.com.

Photo: Nancy Di Nino (left) and Dr. Z. Catherine Navarro (right) presented their first Living Beautiful Award to Fitness Pro Julie Palmer last summer. The honor came with a lovely trophy as well as a check for $1,000.

Readers familiar with Pump & Circumstance in IRON MAN may recall that I’m not keen on rumors about things that allegedly occurred when I was not in the room. That goes for everything from gerbils up movie stars’ behinds to those secret meetings the judges are always holding to decide how they’re going to fix the results. It still amazes me how fast the flimsiest statements can become fact these days, courtesy of Ye Olde Internete. So when Bodybuilding.com Webcast co-hosts Nancy DiNino and Chaundra Tangi stuck a microphone to my head near the end of their women’s-night-at-the-Arnold coverage and asked what was up with three-time defending Ms. International Iris Kyle’s not being announced in the top six, I was very careful.

I’d been backstage in the large combination media and pump-up room watching on a monitor with a crowded contingent of press folk and interested parties when the finalists were announced. (Ironically, I was looking for Chaundra and Nancy, or I’d have been in my seat out front.) The buzz blitz was immediate, and someone who appeared to have come from the actual backstage area said Iris had been disqualified.

As (in alphabetical order) Lisa Aukland, Dayana Cadeau, Cathy LeFrancois, Yaxeni Oriquen, Betty Pariso and Brenda Raganot were posing down their hearts out above me, I finally located the ladies deep in the catacombs of the Veterans doing audio commentary on the Webcast feed with only some tech guys and computers for company. Starved for news and with time to kill while the judges were voting, they looked to the fresh blood for answers.

And so I described what we suspected, but did not know: basically that the judges may have seen something that they thought detracted from Iris’ appearance. My comments were full of “may-haves,” pointing out that I hadn’t spoken with any officials yet. With still more time to kill, Di Nino bore in (What can ya tell us, Iron Woman???), and with still more cautionaries about the reliability of said info, I mentioned the possible disqualification. Secure that I’d done due diligence, I went on with my life.

Not so fast, Grasshopper.

An hour later I was sitting in Morton’s with my girlfriend Cynthia James, a.k.a. C.J. the suitmaker, whose day backstage plying her stitch-in-time skills had been longer than mine. By now we had the score sheets and I’d talked with a couple of judges: Iris had finished seventh, out of the money, and the disqualification story was exactly that. My video wrap-up would have the correct info, and in the meantime we were two slugs into a couple of really nice glasses of wine when C.J.’s cell rang.

A text message from a friend wanted to know what was up with Iris being disqualified. No, she texted back, Iris finished seventh. Within moments the cell was alive again. No, insisted, C.J.’s friend, she was disqualified. It was reported on Bodybuilding.com and by Shawn Perine at FlexOnline.

So much for due diligence. Oh, well, at least I was in good company.

While C.J. was texting that the score sheet trumps whatever her friend thought he knew, I couldn’t help marveling at the human capacity to believe something just because someone said it on the Internet—and to hear only certain key words. The key words coulda, shoulda, woulda were passing through my mind as well, along with a plan for getting the correct info out there as quickly as possible.

There was more, but you get the idea. As the saying goes, lesson learned. The rumor mill at warp speed is too fast for me. Next time I’ll keep the big, fat, juicy rumors to myself.

To hear watch a replay of the Bodybuilding.com Webcast, click here:

http://webcast.bodybuilding.com/fitshow/2008arnold/replays/2008arnold_finwomen.html

Photos (from top):

Dayana Cadeau, Lisa Aukland and Yaxeni Oriquen—“As the top six were posing down their hearts out above me.…”

Bodybuilding.com’s Nancy Di Nino and Chaundra Tangi. They made me dood it.

Oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow. Coming back down to real life after another fabulous Arnold Sports Festival weekend was a particularly dramatic adjustment this year. Was it the freezing weather, the extended visit back east or a bug that that caused a total collapse upon return to sunny (and I mean sunny Southern California)? The weekend itself was nonstop fun, as always, and the women’s competitions brought an excellent mix of the expected and the unexpected.

Regarding the controversial results at the Ms. I (and having spoken with several members of the panel), I believe that the accompanying photo illustrates why Yaxeni Oriquen was the judges’ choice, period. History shows that when Yaxeni looks this good, she wins, and it held true in Columbus.

Still the decision was close—just two points. The panel took note of the brevity of runner-up Dayana Cadeau’s suit at the judging but did not mark her down for it, according to one source. More likely it was a note for the future. To see what the heck I’m talking about, check out photos in the Ms. International galleries.

http://contests.ironmanmagazine.com/index.cfm?go2=contests_year&ContestYearID=787

As for Iris Kyle’s controversial seventh-place finish, there was plenty of second-guessing as to whether that was the correct way for the judges to “make their statement.” In retrospect I can see the point: Give someone else a chance to finish in the money and earn a ticket to the Olympia. As it turns out, that person was Cathy LeFrancois—and who among us won’t be thrilled to see that body onstage at the big show?

The decision also made Yaxeni, not Iris, the all-time Ms. International record holder with four wins (the two had been tied at three apiece with Vickie Gates and Laura Creavalle). Iris was philosophical. “I stepped on my own toe,” she said. “I’ve been up and down and all a round, and I’m still the same person.” She just hoped that people would treat her the same.

She’s still Ms. Olympia too, but clearly, it’s going to be an interesting year. No question that the symmetrical and muscular Ms. Kyle will be looking to have an improved presentation the next time she hits the stage.

Nostalgia factor. Iris was onstage again the following night, but not in a bikini, when a slew of former ASC and Ms. I winners helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Arnold Classic and Ms. International bodybuilding competitions. Posing beside giant cutouts of themselves their title-winning form, the champs, in addition to Iris (’04, ’06, ’07), also included Creavalle (’90, ’94, ’95) Anja Schreiner (’92), Kim Chizevsky (’93, ’96), Yolanda Hughes (’97, ’98), Gates (’99, ’00, ’01) and Oriquen (’02, ’03, ’05, ’08). Afterward an impromptu photo session ensued in the pump-up room, and there was much merriment.

Photos (from top):

Yaxeni Oriquen hits one for the road before the start of the Ms. International finals.

Cathy LeFrancois

Laura Creavalle, then and now.