The weekend of May 9-10 in Dallas welcomed thousands of fans and athletes to the Europa Games Expo and IFBB Europa Supershow staged by the promotional team of Ed and Betty Pariso and Scott Templeton. With inclement weather making flight and ground transportation arrivals a challenge, not to mention an added tornado passing through the Dallas area on the day of prejudging, none of that dampened anyone's enthusiasm for the enormous two-day event held at the Dallas Convention Center.
The Pro Women's Physique Division Provides a Supershow Highlight
Last year this contest was held late in the season (August 16-17) and provided a steppingstone for winner Dana Linn Bailey to qualify for the Physique Olympia she would eventually win. Thirty-one contestants entered that contest, and this year's second annual pro Physique portion of the Europa event again welcomed a large and competitive entry list of 25 contestants ranging from those making their pro debut to competitors who competed in last year's Physique Olympia – and all collectively representing 13 states and five foreign countries.
With New York's Steve Weinberger serving as head judge, the prejudging saw many call-outs as Erica Blockman, Desunka Dawson, Beni Lopez, Juliana Malacarne and Sabrina Taylor stepped forward for the first look by the judging panel. As the call-outs continued, Chris Aceto mentioned in the RX Muscle Livestream commentary, "I love this judging, they're really working them hard." To be sure, the judging process was thorough and fair, and in the end it brought out the best of the field to represent the top five placers.
The Cream Rises…
Taking a firm stance in her run for the top spot, Brazil's Juliana Malacarne brought a somewhat scaled down version of her look from last year's Olympia finish to draw the lion's share of the attention. With strong genetics and round voluminous muscle shapes that fit her bone structure to a tee, Malacarne is, and has been, one of the best balanced physiques for a very long time. After winning the 2006 IFBB World Amateur Championships in the Bodyfitness division, Malacarne finally found her niche in this division winning the New York Pro Physique Championships in 2012 and 2013 after years of being hammered mercilessly in the pro figure division for being too muscular.
Along with Dana Linn Bailey, Malacarne stands as one of the sport's most popular and admired competitors. After winning the World Amateur Bodyfitness gold medal, a European judge related that Malacarne was the best pure overall female physique he had seen since Juliette Bergmann in the mid-80's. Strong praise indeed.
The Dallas judging panel saw it that way too. Malacarne scored a unanimous win to put her back on the winning track. And now with just a week to go, she'll attempt to defend the New York Pro title she has held the past two years. Her Europa prize money totaled $3,000 to go with her automatic qualification for the Olympia in September.
Chasing Malacarne with her own brand of physical quality was Californian Sabrina Taylor in second. With less muscle volume than Malacarne yet streamlined in her overall physical structure, Taylor finished up as a unanimous runner-up placer. For Taylor, her finish here is on the heels of back-to-back victories at the LA Grand Prix and the Emerald Pro Cup with five solid months to prepare for the Olympia and an attempt to improve on her 13th-place finish last year. Her runner-up check for $1,500 added to her growing 2014 total. Taylor and Malacarne were the only two competitors in this field with Olympia experience, but several challengers managed to make their presence felt throughout the prejudging call-outs.
Finishing third was Texan Beni Lopez. A pro since 2007 when she won the lightweight class at the NPC Nationals, from 2007 until 2010 the diminutive Lopez competed in pro bodybuilding events hanging on for muscular life in fields of women who were much bigger than herself. At 4-11 3/4 Lopez was also the smallest contestant in this event, but she more than made up for it with nice muscular detail and excellent conditioning to draw the judges' attention.
A certifiable veteran of the pro Physique division, Lopez competed in the 2012 Desert Muscle Classic (the first-ever pro Physique event) where she placed fifth. Coincidentally, Lopez made her pro debut at the Europa Supershow in 2008 where she placed sixth in the bodybuilding division. Her third-place finish here earned her a check for $500 and her first prize money at the pro level along with three points towards the Olympia Qualification Series.
Just three points off Lopez's pace was fourth placer Erica Blockman. From Oregon, Blockman was fresh from placing third at the Emerald Pro Cup and showed much of the same stage savvy that helped Lopez earn her placing. A spitfire who is always anxious to entertain, Blockman is another of the smaller contestants – at 5-1 – who find ways to strip away any thought of being height or weight challenged. She earned her placing by offering a complete and well-prepared package while earning another two points towards her quest to earn Olympia qualification.
Rounding out the top five and making her pro debut a strong one was Texan Desunka Dawson. With striking features and pleasing structural lines, Dawson left many pointing to her as a dangerous challenger in the not-too-distant future. A former figure competitor who finished eighth in her class at the 2007 NPC USA, and as far down as 14th at the NPC Europa Supershow, her move to the Physique division last year worked like a charm when she earned her pro status by winning the overall Physique title at the IFBB North American Championships. In September of last year Dawson was named NPC 'Athlete of the Month', a recognition that may also serve as a starting point to her future potential. Here, Dawson finished just three points behind Erica Blockman.
Outside the Top Five:
6- Gloria Faulls, Sicklerville, New Jersey 30 
7- Jessica Gaines, Copperas Cove, Texas 37
8- Ida Sefland, Denmark 41
9- Tish Shelton, Chickasaw, Alabama 43
10- Olga Balyakova, Moscow, Russia 51
11- Heather Barbee, Nashville, Tennessee 54
12- LaDawn McDay, Detroit, Michigan 62
13- Susan Graham, Wenatchee, Washington 64
14- Rita Rae, Las Cruces, New Mexico 69
15- LaDrissa Bonivel, Chicago, Illinois 76
16- Stephanie Willes, Las Vegas, Nevada 79
16- Jessica Bowman, Hagerstown, Maryland 80
16- Ayanna Carroll, Glen Burnie, Maryland 80
16- Cassandra Floyd, Norcross, Georgia 80
16- Hannah Hallman, Marietta, Georgia 80
16- Jayla McDermott, Trophy Club, Texas 80
16- Nuria Novoa, North Shore, New Zealand 80
16- Minna Pajulahti, Nokia, Finland 80
16- Donna Pohl, Montgomery, Texas 80
16- Elizabeth Schneider, Dallas, Texas 80
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