Saturday, April 12th was a double whammy day for the IFBB Pro Women's Physique division with the Europa Show of Champions being staged in Orlando, Florida, on the east coast, and the LA Grand Prix welcoming a field of 10 contestants at the Veteran's Auditorium in Culver City, California out west. Promoter Jon Lindsay's Grand Prix event is now in its third year with previous winners Sara Hurrle in 2012 and Patricia Mello in 2013 both setting the stage for the beginning of a tradition of top flight winners at this event.
TAYLOR MADE FOR VICTORY
If there was one competitor at this event who truly felt at home, it was eventual winner Sabrina Taylor. Aside from her trek to Las Vegas last year to enter the inaugural Women’s Physique Olympia where she placed 13th, Taylor's four other Pro Physique division contests have all been at the Veterans Auditorium. In 2012 she placed third in her pro WPD debut at the LA Grand Prix, and then later in the year she won the Titan Pro which qualified her for the 2013 Olympia.
Last year she again won the Titan Pro (qualifying her for this year's Olympia), and has now added another victory at this year's LA Grand Prix. In baseball terms, Sabrina Taylor would surely call Veteran's Auditorium her "friendly confines" in the same way Chicago Cubs fans refer to their beloved Wrigley Field. Again, Taylor looked polished and contest ready helping create her unanimous point total for the victory. A veteran competitor with 15 years of experience, she was the short class winner at the NPC USA Fitness Championships in 2004 to go with many years of pro figure competitions on her resume… so the air of confidence she exudes on stage has come naturally for a very long time. Taylor collected $2,000 in prize money for her Grand Prix win.
Placing second to Sabrina Taylor was Venus Nguyen from Irvine, California. Nguyen is equally familiar with the Veteran's Auditorium stage, and more specifically this contest, as she is the only competitor who has entered all three LA Grand Prix events. In 2012 she landed 10th in a field of 16, but bounced back strongly with a runner-up finish last year. Here, she showed a better contest prep and overall look to defend her second place spot once again.
Last year Nguyen scored enough points with her contest entries (that also included a 5th place finish at the Optimum Classic) to qualify for the Physique Olympia where she placed 16th. With great genetics and a very well-balanced physique, closer attention to her level of conditioning could potentially jettison her to another Women’s Physique Olympia qualifying spot. Nguyen pocketed $1,500 for her runner-up effort.
From Los Angeles, Roxie Beckles made her initial entry of the 2014 contest season a solid one by claiming the third-place position here. With plenty of national-level experience as an amateur in the NPC, Beckles earned her pro status with a victory in her height class at the 2013 NPC Team Universe. Last year Beckles made her pro debut at the Europa Supershow in Dallas placing 11th, so several more entries this year at the many events yet to come will give a better indication where she fits in at the highest levels. Nevertheless, the points she gained from this finish will be valuable as the season wears on. And if her name sounds familiar, it should. Roxie's uncle is the legendary pro bodybuilder and judge Albert Beckles. For her third-place finish Beckles accepted a check for $500.
After turning pro with a class victory at the NPC Team Universe in 2012, Georgia's Candrea Adams entered four WPD contests in 2013 including the Show of Champions, Optimum Classic, Europa Supershow, and the Titan Pro where she scored a season high 6th place finish. Her fourth-place finish at this event is her best pro contest placing and provides her first points towards the Olympia Qualification Points Series.
Fifth went to Jill Rudison who can only be described as a glutton (and lover) of contest punishment. From Venice, Rudison's enthusiasm for contest entries in 2013 is nothing short of amazing. The pro WPD offered 13 contests last year including the Olympia and Rudison was on stage at no less than seven of them. At this Grand Prix last year she finished fourth. But in the remainder of her contests she placed anywhere from fifth at the Toronto Super Show to 18th at the Wings of Strength in Chicago. From coast to coast she was busy showing a well-balanced physique with nice muscle shapes at every stop while piling up the frequent flyer miles by the thousands. As a fifth-place finisher here, she piles up ONE point towards the Olympia Qualification Points Series. Somehow that seems a shame.
OUTSIDE THE TOP FIVE
6- Nathalie Falk, Chemnitz, Germany 
30
7- Loan Leonard, Sacramento, California 35
8- Katerina Kyptova, Czech Republic 40
9- Dona Pohl, Montgomery, Texas 45
10- Stephanie Willes, Las Vegas, Nevada 50
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