2004 Pittsburgh Pro Figure: Fate of the World as We Know It?

Reported May 4, 2004

'04 Pittsburgh Pro Figure: Buffed in the 'Burgh

PITTSBURGH, Penna.'Jaime Franklin made a decisive impression at the Pittsburgh Pro Figure on May 1, earning her first pro victory with a unanimous score! A favorite to do well at this show after her fourth-place finish at the Figure International in March, the 5'3" Franklin was in mint condition and a clear winner, according to reports.

The place and show positions in this 26-woman horse race went to a couple of long shots. Veteran fitness athlete Shannon Meteraud, did the retire-to-figure trick this season, but with mediocre physique scores in recent competitions, you wouldn't have expected her to come in second in a body-rounds-only contest'especially with Mari Kudla-Donnelly, sixth at the International and fourth at the '03 Show of Strength, onstage. Meteraud looked great, however, and thundered ahead of Elaine Goodlad for the number-two spot. All three earned invitations to compete at the Figure Olympia in October. Goodlad's third-place finish was her best since last summer'and quite a birthday present for the curvaceous 5'7" Canadian, who celebrated her 40th by fighting off a slew of (mostly) much younger contenders here.

Zena Collins, a class runner-up at last season's NPC Figure Nationals, made a quick sweep through the ranks to take fourth in her pro debut, while hometown gal Sharon Kouvaras rounded out the top five'figuratively and literally.

'04 Pittsburgh Pro Figure
1) Jaime Franklin*
2) Shannon Meteraud*
3) Elaine Goodlad*
4) Zena Collins
5) Sharon Kouvaras
6) Mari Kudla-Donnelly
7) Amber Littlejohn
8) Michelle Adams
9) Allison Bookless
10) Melissa Frabbiele
11) Liane Seiwald
12) Latisha Wilder
13) Debbie Kruck
14) Alejandra Abdala
15) Mavis Tozzi
16) Christine Wan-Wyzik
17) Sandra Marie Delvecchio
18) Aja Perkins
19) Jennifer Devine
20) Kimberly Gatterer-Becker
20) Patty Garner
20) Nicole Pritchard
20) Aristea Rizos
20) Lisa Schaerer
20) Michelle Sharp
20) Louisa Kaiser-Wigand
*Qualify for 2005 Olympia

Speaking of the Olympia: The Fate of the World as We Know It?

The appearance and disappearance of a post on one of the better-known bodybuilding Web forums re the employment opportunities of a familiar physique-world figure was so fast, I forgot to blink. Could be the times are a changin' for a lot more than the biggest show in bodybuilding. Or not. The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. And from this humble Hollywood, California, habitat, the wind is blowin' from the suburban northwest.