Nail Biting at Yuletide—The Arnold Classic/Ms., Fitness and Figure International Invite Lists Have Arrived

I can’t think of a year when Santa Jim Lorimer didn’t slip down the chimneys of the favored 15 in time for Christmas morning. Of course I’m talking about the 15 or so lucky competitors in each of the physique sports who will get to compete at the Arnold Classic and Ms., Fitness and Figure International competitions during Arnold Sports Festival Weekend, a.k.a. February 28 through March 2, 2008. It happened this year, though—Christmas came and went without a word—a delay that can only be attributed to the fact that there were so darned many excellent candidates.

While that’s no sweat for folks like Iris Kyle, Kim Klein, Gina Aliotti and anyone else who finished in the top five at the Olympia, plenty of the dozens of candidates who applied to Lorimer to get to enjoy the spotlight onstage at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio, have been sitting on their acrylics to keep from biting their nails, not to mention anything really good at the holiday table.

Sure enough, it’s the morning of December 26, and as I suspected, Santa didn’t forget. Here are the lists of athletes who got tapped for the big show. Good luck to all.

’08 Ms. International
Lisa Aukland
Tracy Beckham
Dayana Cadeau
Tazzie Columb
Iris Kyle
Kristy Hawkins
Rosemary Jennings
Debi Laszewski

Cathy LeFrancois

Mah-Ann Mendoza
Colette Nelson
Yaxeni Oriquen
Betty Pariso
Brenda Raganot
Annie Rivieccio
Antoinette Thompson
Betty Viana-Adkins
’08 Fitness International
Regiane Da Silva
Tina Durkin
Bethany Gainey
Tracey Greenwood
Oksana Grishina
Jen Hendershott
Kimberly Klein
Julie Lohre
Tanya Merryman
Mindi O’brien
Julie Palmer
Stacy Simons
’08 Figure International
Sonia Adcock
Gina Aliotti
Paola Almerico
Catherine Andersen
Natalie Benson
Monica Brant-Peckham
Amy Fry
Bernadette Galvan
Jennifer Gates
Deborah Leung
Juliana Malacarne
Kristal Richardson
Chastity Slone
Brenda Marie Smith
Briana Tindall
Valerie Waugaman
Latisha Wilder
Nicole Wilkins
’08 Arnold Classic
Melvin Anthony
Gustavo Badell
Adorthus Cherry
Toney Freeman
Kai Greene
Deshaun Grimez
Phil Heath
David Henry
Dexter Jackson
Johnnie Jackson
Victor Martinez
Desmond Miller
Ronny Rockel
Silvio Samuel
Branch Warren
Hidetada Yamagishi