FigureRX Contest Preview: 2007 Tournament of Champions Pro Figure
September 17th, 2007
By Stephen Bierer and Danielle Rouleau
The pro figure lineup for the Tournament of Champions in Los Angeles is one of the best of the year, thanks to the talent pool in California and the proximity of this show to the Olympia on the calendar. The TOC not only represents the final opportunity to qualify for the 2007 Olympia but it features one of the top figure competitors in the country defending her title as well as several notable IFBB professional debuts.
At FigureRX we're excited to finally have an opportunity to talk about Biotest-sponsored star
Gina Aliotti, who will be emerging from her off-season and defending her title on her way to the Olympia. Gina is arguably the best (along with Valerie and Jessica) of the talented class of 2005, and she was also one of the youngest ever to qualify for the Olympia. She placed 6th at both the 2006 Olympia and the 2007 Arnold, and now at the age of 23 we expect her to move up and begin to challenge the entrenched veterans. There are no noticeable flaws in Gina's physique but we like her best when she is tight around her hams and glutes, and we expect her to come in well enough to win this show while leaving a little bit of opportunity for micro-refinement the following week.
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------------------------------------------Gina Aliotti
We were also pleased to hear that
Paola Almerico will be making a last minute trip to California, after placing 6th at the Atlantic City Pro. Paola has a beautifully muscled and symmetrical physique but was holding some water in New Jersey and also had some difficulties with the cut of her one piece suit. It says a lot that she still placed well in spite of these things, and with all of them rectified we believe she will challenge very hard for the top three in Los Angeles and may even find herself out West for two weekends in a row!
MaryJo Cooke is another athlete who has already qualified for the Olympia and who has an enviable track record on stage. We didn't feel that she was quite ready when she won her pro card at Junior Nationals in 2006, but at the time the politics seemed lined up in her favor. In the past year, however, it is apparent that MaryJo has done some things to put on some size and we approve of the changes that she has made. After placing 5th here last year in her debut she finished in the runner-up position at the 2007 California State Pro and the 2007 Colorado Pro. Based on that contest history and her recent improvements we would expect her to place in the top three in Los Angeles.
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-------------Paola Almerico-------------------------------MaryJo Cooke
One of our favorites,
Nancy Georges, will be making her pro debut three weeks after winning her pro card at the North Americans in Cleveland. She's carried a pro quality physique for a while, put pro debuts have different judging standards (based on historical analysis) and it's most likely that she will deserve better but work her way into the top five. Very few athletes have finished above 6th in their pro debuts but if anyone can do the impossible, which would be winning an Olympia qualification in a pro debut, it would be Nancy.
The wild card of the night is fitness competitor
Tanji Johnson, who will be competing as a pro in figure. We're not sure of the reasons behind this, but the move seems a little odd given the differences in physique criteria between figure and fitness at the pro level and the need for Tanji to be ready for the Fitness Olympia. Tanji is also a huge supporter and ambassador for fitness, and has done a lot to increase the fitness competitor numbers at shows over the past couple of years. She came in softer for the Europa but her physique was hard, symmetrical and top notch when she won the fitness title in Little Rock (we thought her back and her quads looked their best ever). If Tanji can duplicate what she did last month, coming in softer for the TOC and then tightening up to rock the stage with her conditioning and hardness at the Olympia we believe she will do very well in both contests. In either case, there is tremendous respect for Tanji at all levels and we would not expect her to place lower than 5th in Los Angeles, as a basic professional courtesy.
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-------------Nancy Georges-------------------------------Tanji Johnson
Australian
Arina Manta is another one of our favorites, she is able to combine size and shape with gorgeous curves and a beautiful face - and on top of that we think she has some of the best hamstrings in all of pro figure. She also has some of the best posing suit selection out there, and we like the side stance she employs to show off her arm and ab development. For anyone to compete after a fourteen hour flight is admirable to us, and we hope that Arina is able to be just as successful on stage as she is as a fitness model.
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--------------Arina Manta---------------------------------Meriza DeGuzman
Two other 2007 pro card winners making their pro debuts are Californian
Meriza DeGuzman and Floridian
Allison Jones-Williams. Allison and Meriza are both personal trainers, and Allison went pro at USA's while Meriza achieved her pro card at Nationals in New York. We first noticed
Sheri Salvadori as she was moving up the ranks in Florida in 2004 and then she went pro by winning the overall at the Masters in 2005. Sheri presents a nicely symmetrical physique with standout quad and shoulder development.
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--------Allison Jones-Williams---------------------------Sheri Salvadori
Heather Mae French is an athlete with a somewhat unusual posing stance that we actually thinks works for her on stage. This Colorado native placed 12th at the Colorado pro, and we like her upper carriage area (chest, delts, upper arms and related tie-ins). Unless this athlete pool expands significantly she could achieve her best pro placing here.
Susanne Bock from Germany is already qualified for the Olympia by virtue of her second place finish at the Netherlands Pro, and it will be interesting to see the level of muscularity that she presents in Los Angeles.
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----------Heather Mae French----------------------------Susanne Bock
We're glad to see
Chrissy Garcia back on stage, she has had some success in her home state of California and placed in the top ten at the 2006 San Francisco Pro. We have a lot of respect for Oregon's
Kristi Tauti and have been following her career since she won her pro card at Nationals in 2006. Kristi has excellent presentation and she is a high-potential competitor who has been working to add size since she competed earlier this year (placing 9th at the Jan Tana and 11th in Colorado). Kristi is not yet fully confirmed for this show (but we want to send her some FigureRX respect even if she ultimately decides not to compete).
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--------------Chrissy Garcia---------------------------------Kristi Tauti
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