2008 Arnold Amateur Figure - Class D Preview
FigureRX Online Magazine Volume 3
February 10, 2008
Official 2008 Arnold Amateur Figure Class D Preview
Class D now has 22 competitors and may grow more as we expect a couple more athletes to move down from E. This competitive class features one our favorite amateurs from the State of Florida, a multiple-show winner from the Northeast, a gorgeous crossover from bodybuilding, an Emerald Cup class champ, and two muscular Texans. Our spotlight athlete, local Columbus athlete
Charity Tinsley, is ready to emerge at the national level.
Class D Old Height Class: Over 5'4†and up to and including 5'5†(18 athletes)
Class D New Height Class: Over 5'4†and up to and including 5'5-1/2†(22 athletes)
The original competitor lists used the old height classes, but all athletes will be measured and placed in the new height classes on site. We have already moved several competitors from Class E to Class D and the list and preview that you see below has been adjusted to the best of our knowledge. If we have not been able to reach someone to make an adjustment we will make the correction in the contest reports!!
FigureRX Class D Spotlight Athlete - Charity Tinsley
Our spotlight athlete for Class D,
Charity Tinsley, has the type of physique that we'd like to see rewarded more often at the national level. She did not place at North Americans last year and was 7th here at the Arnold Amateur, but she impressed with a total package that included amazing abs, quads, biceps, back development, presentation, and a little bit of a dramatic flair on stage. Look for more about Charity in our contest report after the show.
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NPC Figure Arnold Charity Tinsley Columbus Ohio
One athlete who we know will be challenging to win this class is Dixie Reynolds from northern Florida. Some competitors bring a total package and also know how to win, and Dixie has put together an impressive winning streak in Florida. She has had the legs, glutes and abs to stand with the best for a while now and has been working to put on the arm and delt size to have an impact nationally. Based on her latest progress pictures taken on February 22nd which you can see
here we are locking in our assessment and predicting an excellent placing for her at this show.
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NPC Figure Arnold Dixie Reynolds Panama City Florida
Jumping *two* classes from B to D on the competitor lists is
Andrea Swanson from one of our many suburbs here in Chicago. Andrea's training journal on a "competing network" has been so detailed since November we feel like we've been in the gym with her, and since we have a detailed knowledge of her physique objectives we can say that she's there and we're hugely impressed. Andrea has an extremely tight waist, solid muscle all over, and what we will refer to as undeniable bootyness. The goal has been to streamline her quads without losing the glutes. This talented competitor will be bursting onto the national scene this year with the improvements that she has made, starting with a solid top five finish in this height class.
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NPC Figure Arnold Andrea Swanson Bloomingdale Illinois
Karin Kimura was an amazing bodybuilder, and now that she has defied the recent trend somewhat and has moved to figure, we think she will be increasingful successful at her new sport as well. Karin is an expert trainer with the extensive knowledge basis neessary to refine her physique, and we believe that she is also an NGA judge. In 2007, Karin won Class D at the Emerald Cup, placed 16th at Nationals (where substantive muscle was heavily penalized) and 13th at the USA's. She undoubtedly has the presence and structure to do well but it will be a function of her ability to continue to streamline, as well as the direction of the judging.
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NPC Figure Arnold Karen Kimura Boise Idaho
Another Texas athlete,
Kendra McAdams, has been highly successful at every level and we would not expect anything different at the Arnold. Kendra finished 3rd at last year's Junior Nationals and she has some champion delts, back and triceps. If she can streamline her quads like she did last year she can even challenge for the top three in this quality group.
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NPC Figure Arnold Kendra McAdams Mesquite Texas
We think that
Tiffany Reffner has a great upper body, a beautiful presentation and a great overall shape, and in 2007 she was able to take 3rd place in Class B at the 2007 NPC East Coast Tournament of Champions and 11th in her class at Figure Nationals. If she is able to show a little more size in her legs to match her upper body size and conditioning she will do very well here.
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NPC Figure Arnold Tiffany Reffner Hagerstown Maryland
We last saw
Laura Bailey from California at the 2005 Junior Nationals, where she showed off some great ratios and a killer quad sweep. We'll be looking to see what changes she has made since then. Here's a modeling photo of Laura from 2006 (
LINK).
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NPC Figure Arnold Laura Bailey Bakersfield California
We have a feeling that
Kia McKay is going to roll into Columbus and turn quite a few heads, not just because she lives in the Tampa area but because she is moving steadily toward realizing her potential. Kia is a great makeup artist, stylist, and tanning specialist, and she has looked awesome at Model America and Model Universe events.
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NPC Figure Arnold Kia McKay Brandon Florida
Another competitor who is NPC Texas tough is
Rachelle Stephens, who won Class C at the 2007 Lone Star. Rachelle has some serious muscle with some great arms and delts, and she placed 16th at last year's USA's.
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NPC Figure Arnold Rachelle Stephens Weatherford Texas
Heather Wilson is a top fitness model and the only Canadian in this height class. She has competed extensively in Musclemania and the OCB, and she has the legs and glutes that give away her many years as a track star specializing in the sprints. Heather also has developed one of our favorite backs in the class.
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NPC Figure Arnold Heather Wilson Scarborough Ontario Canada
Our northeast champion is
Katerina Tarbox, who has taken class wins at the 2007 King Kamali and the 2007 Kim Klein / Empire State (both in medium and masters). Katerina has classic figure lines and we noticed that when she creates the illusion of more upper body size with increased vascularity and fullness on stage she really stands out.
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NPC Figure Arnold Katerina Tarbox Warwick Rhode Island
When we see
Suzanne Barlas we really think she should be a feature model for abs for steel, since she has some of the best in figure. She has an extensive contest history but to learn more about her we recommend checking out her Arnold issue article in the Beverly International newsletter (
Page One Page Two Page Three Page Four).
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NPC Figure Arnold Suzanne Barlas Crownsville Maryland
Alice - 2007 East Coast Tournament of Champions - NPC, Figure B, 4th
Kristy - Gold's Gym owner, 2006 NPC Southern States, Class C 2nd place
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NPC Figure Arnold Alice Simmons Great Mills Maryland Kristy McKinney Panama City Beach Florida
Heather - 2006 USBF North American, Figure Tall 2nd, YouTube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq7KKAhfh0o
Yolanda - 2006 Junior Nationals, Figure C, 11th
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NPC Figure Arnold Heather Payne Kristy Newark Valley New York Yolanda Tillman Lindenhurst New York
Daphne - 2007 Natural Ohio Class C 1st and Overall
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