FigureRX Contest Report: 2007 IFBB Tournament of Champions Pro Figure
September 22nd, 2007
The 2007 IFBB Tournament of Champions is yet another high quality show put on by Gary Udit, and represented the final opportunity to qualify for the Olympia the following weekend. One of the cool things about shows in Southern California is they place the sponsor ads directly behind the athletes on stage, so we get a very different look with the contest pics. Almost every athlete came in at or above expectations - the field was absolutely incredible. Given that a lot of the top athletes had already qualified for Las Vegas, this contest served as a tune-up for many and a small indication of what we might see next week. It also meant that there was only one qualification available at this show.
We're not exaggerating when we say that
Gina Aliotti could not have looked much better for this show - she dialed in everything almost perfectly, leaving room for just one more week of refinement so she can come in at her personal best for the Olympia. Gina had it all on this stage - perfect shape and lines, muscle mass and fullness, vascularity, conditioning and a beautiful tan and presentation. Gina defended her title here fairly easily, and her showing confirms our prediction that she will battle the veterans for a potential top three placing in Las Vegas.
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-------------------------------Gina Aliotti at today's pre-judging
MaryJo Cooke took the second place position, after a lot of judging scrutiny and several close comparisons among the top seven. Like Gina she is already qualified for the Olympia so this was a tune-up for her and an opportunity to collect some prize money. We're pleased that MaryJo has continued to put on size and she looks solid and tight from the rear, but we'd really like to see her continue to bring her legs up and especially her calves. But she's moving in the right direction and consistently placing near the top at pro shows.
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---------------------------------------------MaryJo Cooke
One athlete who we overlooked somewhat in our preview came in with an impressive pro debut and earned a spot at the 2007 Olympia. Local Californian
Meriza DeGuzman came in tighter than we've ever seen her, and her back profile from her lats down to her hams was one of the best on stage. It's rare to see ratios like this on a shorter competitor, and Meriza has the abs and legs to go along with her overall symmetry. We'd like to see a little more arm and delt size, but she is ready to step on the Olympia stage.
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------------------------------------------Meriza DeGuzman
Tanji Johnson actually came in looking a little better than we expected, she was much more conditioned than at the Europa and we can see that she will be coming in hard and tight for the Fitness Olympia. We don't envy anyone who has to go out and do a world class routine with that little body fat!! Tanji's upper body looks as good as we've ever seen it, and her midsection does as well. We'll be modifying our Olympia predictions accordingly.
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---------------------------------------------Tanji Johnson
For the second show in a row,
Paola Almerico's call-outs didn't seem to match her final placing, but we do know that the difference between 2nd and 5th place was a whisker at this contest. We were personally disappointed to see Paola fall just outside of an Olympia qualification, because she belongs on that stage with the beautiful, symmetrical package that she presents. She had the second best midsection and overall figure shape on stage tonight, and at
FigureRX we feel she should have placed higher.
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---------------------------------------------Paola Almerico
The most improved competitor at the Tournament of Champions was
Heather Mae French, who vaulted herself into the big leagues for the first time with this showing. Heather's back was etched and she has improved her hamstrings and upper quads considerably - when you see the little bump between the side glutes and quads you know a competitor not only has solid muscle but is also in great shape. Heather's unorthodox posing style also helped to show off her beautiful leg lines.
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------------------------------------------Heather Mae French
FigureRX favorite
Nancy Georges also placed lower than she should have, given that the judges ended up allowing a new pro card winner to make the Olympia in her debut. Nancy brought her usual regal and statuesque package to her debut near her home town, and we are predicting a trip to the "O" for her in 2008.
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--------------------------------------------Nancy Georges
Australian competitor
Arina Manta looked her best ever, her conditioning was on and we love the shape of her legs for this show. She also has a rock solid carriage area, with one of the best upper chests on stage tonight. Arina had a long trip to get here and we hope she has a wonderful week and enjoys the Olympia.
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----------------------------------------------Arina Manta
Chrissy Garcia is another competitor who brought a very lean, conditioned look to the stage in her first show of the year. We admire her a lot, especially how she reaches out to newer competitors and offers assistance. Chrissy has a great trainer (you know who) and also recently helped put on the NPC show that bears his name. We hope that Chrissy hits the stage more often in 2008 ... and that we can pry her away from MD long enough to stop over here and say hello.
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---------------------------------------------Chrissy Garcia
Sweden's
Anna Larsson is simply a stunningly beautiful woman and at this particular show she brought the physique to match. We've learned a lot about her thanks to our research for this show, including the fact that she once won the world championship in Tae Kwon Do (after winning the Swedish championship at age 17). She also appeared as "Blade" on the Swedish version of The Gladiators. We're going to start keeping tabs on this impressive athlete and model and, by the way, at TOC she had some of the best back definition on stage.
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---------------------------------------------Anna Larsson
Sherie Salvadori sported an excellent midsection but needs to come in with a little better quad conditioning. German competitor
Susanne Bock has trimmed down somewhat to get ready for the Olympia and we think that will be of benefit to her.
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---------------Sherie Salvadori-----------------------------------Susanne Bock
We want to give a special shout out to
Allison Jones-Williams after her first time competing in the IFBB, hang in there girl! It's tough to travel a long way for a pro debut, especially with so many local California competitors who are already well known by the judges. We're looking forward to hearing about Allison's next steps, and in the meantime please take a look at her web site at
http://livingdreamfitness.com/. We also must say that we really like
Alejandra Abdala's physique, it's clear she used to be a bodybuilder as she is solid all over with beautifully shaped legs. Alejandra needs to continue to refine and streamline her physique for figure in order to move up.
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----------------Allison Williams----------------------------------Alejandra Abdala
Aida Aragon-Tinkle is a beautiful competitor and we especially like her side abs and calves, while
Yamanaka Kiyoka has the figure V-shape but needs to add a little size to her quads and improve the conditioning of her midsection.
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-------------Aida Aragon-Tinkle-----------------------------Yamanaka Kiyoka
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Visit Team FigureRX NPC Figure Star Danielle Rouleau at
http://www.DanielleRouleau.com!!!
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Anyway, between him and my fiance, I got myself together and here I am. Look out for November 3. I'll be stepping on stage at the Sacramento Pro.