BIKINI
With the conclusion of the 2009 NPC Nationals, the first year of NPC Bikini is officially in the books and it turned out to be a great addition to the NPC. This provides the less-muscled ladies with a place to compete and it helps the promoters build a bigger show. As the year progressed, the quality of the competitors has consistently improved with each contest and it's, now, safe to say that the bikini division is here to stay.
The last six IFBB Pro Cards of the year were given out tonight to a group of well-deserving competitors (check out photos of all the competitors here). The overall title went to the Class E champion, Jessica Anderson. A navy medic by trade, she was the clear winner with a great body, up and down, along with a sexy smile. Not too hard and not too soft with a cute little waist, she stood out in the lineup of class winners.
Her closest challenger was Tianna Ta, winner of class D and third place finisher at the 2009 Flex Bikini competition at the Olympia. This exotic beauty was striking from the moment she hit the stage. My only criticism is that she needs to tighten up her legs and butt to match her tiny and tight upper body. Mark my words, she'll be a pro soon enough.
The other class winners also fought through deep lineups to achieve their victories. Trina Goosby won the A Class and beat out a group of other girls that aren't tall enough for a roller coaster. She had a tight butt and the stage presence to get noticed.
Winning Class B was the first of two blonde winners tonight, Erica Reder whose polka dot bikini complemented a great body. She also had a hot 6 pack that could have faired well on the figure stage, as easily.
Next up was the Class C winner, Alea Suarez. She had a great physique and was the most muscular of the class winners. Perhaps her beauty and smile were enough to make the judges look the other way and I'm glad they did; her muscle was not overpowering and she deserved the win.
Last but not least of the class winners was Stefanie Lindsey, winner of the big girls Class (F). Tall and curvy with long blonde hair, she had the butt of the night and that's all I have to say about that.
Get ready for the IFBB debut of bikini next spring and look for these 6 hot national champions to be ready to mix it up on stage with the other newly crowned pros of 2009.
FIGURE
With over 200 competitors, the 2009 Figure Nationals was an endless sea of clear heels (check out photos of all the competitors here). As the winners were announced I couldn't help but be impressed with judging panel; they managed to weed through hundreds of shiny suits and pick the right winners in every class. The pre-judging, alone, took over 4 hours and there were so many great competitors it wasn't easy to pick out the top callouts. When all was said and done, 6 pro-cards were handed out and a new National Champion was crowned.
The A class winner, Kimberly Trowbridge, had the wow factor that you don't always see in the "tiny" class-- tight glutes, tiny waist, and delts that resembled Tamer El Guindy (see Tamer here).
The B class was won by Kathleen Tesori. Tesori had a very compact physique with just the right amount of muscle and of course the trademark of every winner-- a tiny waist. She had some of the tightest (and roundest) glutes in the show and set the standard for what a figure backside should look like.
The C Class went to the popular Ava Cowan; a defector to the NPC after much success in some other organizations. After a win last week at the NPC Eastern USA, Ava was a favorite to win here in Florida and she didn't disappoint. She had eye catching beauty to go along with arguably the tightest condition in the show.
Moving on to the taller half of the competition, Taylor Gallagher won the next pro-card as she came out on top of the D-Class. This lineup was tightly contested, but Taylor had the best balance. Some of her competition was harder, some had a better shape, but Taylor had just enough of everything. And I couldn't help but notice a resemblance to Heather Mae French.
Winning the E class was the stunning Mindy Smith. In only her second NPC show and under the tutelage of Kim Oddo, Mindy was the clear choice. She got pushed by the very tight Kimberly Sheppard, but in the end, Mindy was near perfect on this night and she's certainly ready to step into the pro-ranks.
Last to hit the stage was the F class winner, Holly Beck. This tall blonde had one of the tiniest waists in the show, which was enough to beat some of her more conditioned competition.
The overall was obvious to the entire Rx Muscle crew-- we finally picked got Figure correct - Mindy Smith was crowned the 2009 NPC National Figure Champion and it couldn't have gone to a more deserving competitor out of the 200+ that showed up this sunny November weekend.
For interviews with the all the overall winners, check out RX MUSCLE.COM.
