Anytime anyone mentions Brazil, most everyone immediately envisions exotic beaches with thong bikini clad girls parading along the expansive Brazilian shorelines. And there's Rio, Ipanema, Carnival, and those distinctive green and yellow national flags flying everywhere.
And, of course, in our world there's that trio of heavy hitters in Physique – Mello, Malacarne, and Nascimento along with 2012 Bikini Olympia winner Nathalia Melo. But if you've ever attended a Brazilian national bodybuilding championship, you quickly realize this huge South American country is stock-piling female bodybuilders with impressively muscular physiques.
The most recent example is Anne Freitas who won the 2012 Battle of Champions in her pro debut and has been a top-ten finisher in the last two Ms. Olympias. But there are others, many others. And at this year's Toronto Super Show another of Brazil's fast rising stars surfaced to join this growing band of colorful females. Her name is Simone Oliveira and in her pro debut she walked away with the title.
Now in it
s fourth year of including women's bodybuilding at the Toronto Super Show promoted by Ron Hache, all three previous winners (Brigita Brezovac, Lisa Giesbrecht and Jennifer Abshire) have become representative pros and all have competed at the Ms. Olympia. This year a field of 14 contestants including five from the host country produced a competitive nucleus that collectively competed for $6,000 in total prize money and an automatic qualifying berth at this year's Ms. O.
A Brazilian Statement
Many are finding that Brazil may well be an awakening sleeping giant in women's bodybuilding and Simone Oliveira is the latest example. And a graphic example at that. Small in stature but plugged into a level of complete muscular development throughout her structure, she bears a striking bodily resemblance to Cathy Lefrancois – especially in front double biceps poses. At 37, she has been weight training since she was 14 years old – and has had running and mountain biking in her athletic background – all of which has added to her muscular cultivation.
Making her pro debut at this Toronto event, she has come a long way since placing 10th at the 2012 Arnold Amateur Classic – although those who saw her compete at that contest felt she was dramatically underrated. Her victory at this show should solve that problem in the future. For her pro debut efforts, Oliveira accepted a check for $3,000 and the cherished goal of qualifying for the Ms. Olympia in September. Next, however, Oliveira has a date with the Omaha Pro in Nebraska on June 7th. There she will meet with country mate Anne Freitas in an attempt to grab the top two placings for the homeland.
The final point tallies showed Oliveira winning comfortably, but in reality she was pressed all the way by eventual runner-up Alana Shipp. Now living in Texas, Shipp was born in Barbados, grew up in New York, and more recently lived for five years In Israel while her husband worked for the US Consulate in Jerusalem.
Bringing one of the shorter contest resumes to this contest, Shipp was maki
ng her pro debut a solid one after winning the NPC New York Metropolitan, and the middleweight class of the NPC Nationals last year. A former U.S. Marine, the 31-year-old Shipp will also enter the Omaha event and take aim at upsetting Oliveira in the rematch. She pocketed $2,000 for the runner-up finish and collected four points towards the Olympia Qualification Points Series.
Also making her pro debut (how many times have you seen three contestants place in the top three spots in their pro debut?) was Spain's Virginia Sanchez. From Madrid, Sanchez brought plenty of muscle that was well-shaped and well-presented. With exceptional biceps she has also made solid improvements over the past three years. A masters runner-up at the 2011 IFBB European Championships, Sanchez placed sixth at the Arnold Classic Europe in 2012 and followed up that placement by winning the same contest last year and thus earning her pro status. She easily rates as a world class competitor, and here she earned $1,000 in the process.
At the risk of being redundant, fourth-place finisher Margie Martin was also making her pro debut. Again, what are the chances? One might ask where are all the veteran pros who are interested in qualifying for the Olympia? Martin earned her pro card by winning the NPC USA heavyweight class last year, and her overall look of even development and solid muscle shapes kept her in the judges’ sightline. Some fine tuning in her contest prep and she can move up. Still, her presence was good for two points in the Point Series race.
To illustrate just how legitimate the top five was at this event, the fifth position went to Canadian Lisa Giesbrecht. Giesbrecht was the 2012 winner of this contest and followed with a 13th-place finish at the Ms. Olympia the same year. At 5’8” she shows pleasing structural lines and muscle shapes. She is a former BC Provincial overall champion and earned her pro status by winning the heavyweight class at the 2011 Canadian Nationals in the masters class. So, anytime you have a former Olympian in the top five, the top four placings were far from a 'gimme'.
Outside the Top Five:
6- Christine Envall, Australia 55
7- Melody Spetko, Canada 60
8- Wendy McCready, England 84
9- Nancy Clark, Canada 97
10- Joanne Williams, Canada 100
11- Tananarive McGowan 101
12- Emery Miller, USA 118
13- Sherry Gray, USA 128
14- Tonia Moore, USA 134
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