2009 Olympia Blog

Well, well, well…where do I begin with this? Let see, it seemed that the majority brought their A-Game to the show, which should come as no surprise. Everyone who has checked out my postings know I’m a fan of fitness and figure, so I’ll talk about that.

But first…I gotta give it up for a future hall-of-fame bodybuilder, Ronnie "Big Ron" Coleman.

The man is a straight-up bonafide superstar and one of the reasons bodybuilding is the reknowned spectacle sport that it is today.  He took his body and turned it into a machine and went on to win the Mr. O title from 1998 until 2006, where he was defeated by Jay Cutler, who successfully defended his title this year. He decided to make the 2007 O his final Olymipa, officially ending an era. He placed fourth, but the way the crowd reacted, you would think he was the champion. In many ways, he is. He entered the world of bodybuilding as a man…he leaving it as a legend. Thank you, Ronnie. We’ll never forget you…

With that being said, on to my thoughts on the Fitness and Figure O:

Fitness Olympia

WOW! Those are the only words I can say when talking about the fitness routines they did. This is one sport that doesn’t need to fade out. These women put on a fantastic performance every time they go on stage. I’m surprised this sport is not more mainstream than it should (Maybe a little thing called American Gladiators will help them along…Hint-hint! BTW, a shout-out to everyone that tried out and I hope to see you on TV soon!). The physiques were obviously…incredible.

There was one that that bugged me…a lot. The exact top six from the 2007 Olympia were THE EXACT TOP SIX FROM THE 2006 OLYMPIA..IN THE EXACT SAME ORDER!!! WTF?!?! I’d expected as least SOMEONE to break the top six, but for them to make it in the exact same order?!?! Maybe I’m making too big of a deal out of this but that’s just me. Before you think I have a problem with them, I don’t. I just like some variety in contests, that’s all. Especially in big events like this.

Okay…enough with my ranting. On to the competitors themselves:

Congrats are in order to Adela for sucessfully defending her title, making her only the second person to win back-to-back Fitness O titles (the only other person has been Susie Curry, and she went on to win the title four years in a row).  Like I said before, look up the word fitness in a dictionary and you will see Adela in there.  Apparently the only reason Kim didn’t win this year was because Adela wanted to retain more that Kim wanted to win it, and she wanted it badly. One day Kim will have her place in Olympia history. It would be a crime if she didn’t. The woman with the most retirements ever (HAHA) Jenny Hendershott delivered one of the funniest routines of the year, mocking the once-great Britney Spears. Dang, why couldn’t MTV get Jenny for their VMA opening act? She was actually fun and entertaining to watch!  Tanji shut up all the critics that said that she wouldn’t be ready for the top FITNESS event after doing a FIGURE event a week or two before. She could be a elite star when it’s all said and done. Tracey Greenwood and Julie Palmer are both examples of what awesome muscularity, great stage presence, and entertaining routines are all about.  Both of them love the business, and hopefully one day both of them will hold some major gold soon.

I didn’t know what the big deal was with Oksana bacause I’ve not seen her perform. Well after seeing her routin…I’m sorry, I meant her performance, I can see why she’s a big deal. She was awesome! She was different from everyone else, in a good way. She also delivered in the physique category as well. Getting a seventh is pretty respectable for an O debut. Some more exposure in the States and she could nabbed her a few titles here within the next few years.

Julie Lohre is quickly becoming a favorite, and I can see why.  She’s entertaining, and brings a good physique to the stage. Her football routine…in the words of WWE star Carlito, "Now that’s cool!" I just have one question: Will she decided to put her fitness career on hold for a shot at the NFL. She can throw a football better than some of the pros, ya know! LOL. I expect her to have a good future in fitness as well.

Now to MY all-time fav: Julie Shipley-Childs. She is someone who I felt got cheated out of a higher spot. She dropped from seventh last year to ninth this year. I’m trying to think of what went wrong. Was it her routine? She brought a brand new routine, which we could very well see again in 2008. Was it her physique? She packs a lot of muscle, but she carries it well. Was it her color? The tan didn’t seemed too dark to me. So what’s…or who’s left then? Obviously the judges decided on who would get what BEFORE the event, or they drunk some hard stuff before "judging". Whatever they were having, I’ll pass. Thank you.

Someone who was easily top-ten material and didn’t get it was Heidi Fletcher. Admit it, Heidi was BUILT at the Olympia. Her conditioning was spot-on with the top girls, yet she was in the later callouts. Huh?!?! 15th place?!?! Again, do directly to the source of the stupidity: the judges.  Knowing Heidi though, she’ll suck it up and move on with a focused mind come 2008 season.

The fitness field was incredible this year, and if thing keep progressing like this, the sky’s the limit for these athletes.

Figure Olympia

It seems while this was the biggest of the female categories, this was also one of the most interesting yet confusing of the entire show.

Jenny Lynn had to have looked like a freaking pig in order to lose her title this year…she didn’t. She looked great, not Hollywood like last year, but great nethertheless. Many people though thought that Gina Aliotti should have won the title. Gina was on at this show, showing off a beyond-impressive physique…and at only 23 no less! All I have to say on that is…Gina is very young and has a good amount of time to take home a major title. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I can’t see how Sonia Adcock got thrid place. I just don’t see it. If someone knows, can you help a brother out? Thanks!  What can I say about Miss Jennifer Gates? This girl was just hoping for maybe a top-ten spot. She understood that she was just a rookie. But WOW! She made a statement at the O, and the statement was: My name is Jennifer Gates. I’m the future of figure. Fear me!  After people saw her on stage at the O, a few even saw her as the runner-up. Some are even saying that if she keeps this up…she will be the NEXT FIGURE O CHAMPION! Stranger things have happended in this sport, ya know. Definitely the 2007 Rookie of the Year without a doubt!  Amanda Savell is an intense competitor, and the sport of figure could be built around her easily.  Her vascularity and muscularity, as well as her unique Southern style, has made her a fan favorite, and rightfully so.  She could very well be the next Figure International champion. Hmm…Amber might have made somewhat of a mistake returning to the stage, as she dropped from the runner-up spot to sixth place this year. OUCH! She looked good, though. I actually had her in the top three.

Now for the suprises…

Monica Brant in…SEVENTH PLACE?!?!?! Man, the chances of her winning a figure title seemed to be winding down year after year after year, with this being her worse placement in God know how long. This was the only thing that bugged me more then the Julie Childs thing and the fitness top six thing. I know that Monica is a trooper and is arguably the most gracious competitor in the history of the sport, but one has to wonder…could it be time for Mo to hang it up? I mean she’s done everything under the sun to please the damn judges, and it’s gotten her nowhere. I mean what else can she do? She’s only human after all…

Valerie…Valerie…Valerie.  Here’s someone who I’d marked down as the person that would get a definite top 5 spot. She placed in the top 5 at the Arnold (where many people thought she should have won there) and went on to win every other competiton she was a part of this year. Yet at the O, she placed ninth?! Again, blame the judges for their incomptence. Sonia over both Mo and V-Dub…I can’t get over that, I just can’t.

I don’t understand what happened to Mary. She is the reigning Figure International champion, and she got 10th place. I did expected her to be higher than 10th. She did seemed somewhat off, but looked good nethertheless. No doubt she will look for some retribution as she will find a way to return to the O stage next year.

The rest of the ladies were on their game as well: Andrea Dumon nabbing a last-minute spot to the show and looked great, Shannon Meteraud bringing a built body back to the O, completing her comeback as she was off having a couple of youngens, Natalie Benson gained a lot of fans in her O debut, Latisha Wilder AGAIN being overlooked at the big dance.

There ya go. My thoughts on the Fitness/Figure Olympia, who went big, who got broke, and everything in between…as well as a shouout to Big Ron and some ranting on the judges and their "judging system".  Until next year, peace!!!