Articles The Wennerstrom Report Leila Thompson Soars to the Physique Olympia on the Wings of Strength
As if it wasn't enough reason to celebrate the July 4-5 weekend with fireworks on the birthday of American Independence, promoter Tim Gardner found another good reason as he staged the huge Wings of Strength Championships at the Holiday Inn's Tinley Park Convention Center in Chicago. Billed as 'Showtime in Chicago', this 2014 event – led by title sponsors Armored Nutrition and P28 High Protein Bread – is now in its third year with a full slate of IFBB Pro events along with the NPC Tim Gardner Chicago Extravaganza.
Even forme
r Ms. Olympia legends Lenda Murray and Kim Chizevsky were on hand to lend added prestige. Needless to say, this year's gathering was enormous, and within the women's pro division the Women's Physique contingent put on quite a show of their own. Showtime in Chicago indeed!
Pinder… Thompson. Thompson… Pinder… A Spirited Race to Victory
What a difference a year can make. On July 6, 2013 Jamie Pinder was busy winning the Wings of Strength to qualify for the Physique Olympia. It was only her fourth contest. In that same field was another relative newcomer from North Carolina making her pro debut. Her name was Leila Thompson and she finished 12th. It would be the only show she entered that year. Some might even call it a dry run, but it provided her with the experience to learn more about how to proceed in this still new division. Meantime, Jamie Pinder moved on to place 12th at the inaugural Physique Olympia.
Fast forward to July 5th, 2014. The WPD field at the Wings of Strength offered up 17 contestants with several quality individuals to challenge for a top-five placing, a coveted automatic qualifying spot at the Olympia, points towards the Qualification Series and $3,000 in prize money to the top three placers.
Within the mix was defending champion Jamie Pinder and 2012 Wings of Strength winner Nola Trimble. And also back for another try was Leila Thompson looking to erase the memory of the 12th place finish from 2013.
Entering this event, Jamie Pinder was arguably the odds-on favorite to defend her title at this contest. Few would have bet otherwise. She was, after all, the kind of competitor who showed very few flaws. She was absolutely beautiful from head to toe and wasn't missing any bodyparts – all of which were well-detailed. If anything, Pinder had softened her overall look slightly from the razor-sharp detail she had displayed in 2013, although she still maintained the glorious quad separations that draw so much attention to her legs.
Pinder’s story of progression to a level worthy of Olympian recognition is stunning to say the least considering she began by entering the 2011 NPC Atlantic States where she placed seventh… as a BIKINI competitor. In 2012 everything changed when she switched to the Physique division, winning the NPC New England and followed by a runner-up placing in her class at the NPC Nationals – good enough to secure her Pro status. The rest is 'current' history. She won the Wings event – her pro debut – and it was off to the Olympia. This year things would be a bit more difficult… compliments of Leila Thompson.
Flying solidly under the radar as the unknown entity with the coming of the 2014 competitive season, Leila Thompson made the switch to Physique in 2013 after competing in Figure events as an amateur. She made a clean sweep last year winning the NPC North Carolina, NPC Mid-Atlantic and NPC Junior USA (where she turned pro) before making her pro debut at the Wings in Chicago. Her 12th place finish went virtually unnoticed, although her basic potential and overall physical qualities did not.
Purists saw that there would be better days ahead for Thompson, but those days didn't happen immediately. Earlier this year, Thompson entered the Optimum Classic in Louisiana and was buried in 16th place. That was on May 26th. Three weeks later on June 20th Thompson rocketed to a runner-up finish at the Greater Gulf States – again in Louisiana. By then she was as buffed and shiny as a new Ferrari. The runner-up finish gave her Olympia qualifying points and mega-motivation to put on another coat of polish. So when the date came for her Wings of Strength return, she was ready.
The first call-out of prejudging brought Pinder and Thompson to the middle of the lineup and the battle was on. There is an age old adage in boxing that to beat the champion you've got to knock them out. These two were throwing muscular haymakers, and both, in every way, appeared ready for the Olympia stage. Only one would be the automatic choice. And as the judges shuffled competitors, 
Thompson seemed to gain an added level of stage presence. That presence carried over to her routine in the evening and by contest end it was clear the pendulum had swung in her favor.
The final tallies show Thompson winning by three points, and the point spread between the duo also showed the decision was not unanimous. Clearly the judging panel smiled on both competitors. But Thompson would earn the win by a close three points with pinpoint conditioning, nice overall structural balance, excellent detail in all her bodyparts, and a stage presence that seems to grow with each passing contest.
Now Thompson is suddenly an Olympia qualifier, and has been a quick study on what she will need to make a strong first impression come September in the biggest contest of her life. As for Pinder's runner-up placing, she now joins the ranks of those racing for enough points to qualify for the Olympia. However, with at least three more contests left on the competition schedule before the Olympia, Pinder has time to push the reset button on her game plan. But the clock is definitely ticking.
Chasing the leaders was eventual third-placer Sandra Lombardo from Freedom, New York. With a similar rollercoaster turn of events that led to this contest as Leila Thompson experienced, Lombardo also placed tied-for-16th at the Optimum Classic in May before seeing her fortunes turn dramatically with a runner-up finish at the Toronto Super Show a week later.
The combination of improvements Lombardo had made between those two events stuck with her here as her placing was pretty much set in stone after the first call-out. Looking in every way like a very positive work in progress with plenty of potential to fill in the gaps as her career efforts continue, Lombardo has already seen what can be achieved… and how things can change. Turning pro after winning the 2012 IFBB North American Physique title, it was just a year earlier in 2011 when she stated, "As long as I continue to place well at the national level, or if I am advised by the judges otherwise, I'll stick with Figure." Uh… onward and upward Sandra!
Literally coming out of nowhere was fourth-placer Pam Slemmons. A longti
me competitor primarily in Figure, she turned pro in 2005 after winning the overall Masters division at the IFBB North American Championships. But after a pair of unremarkable finishes at the Pittsburgh and New York Pro events in 2007 she dropped from the scene… until now. Talk about flying under the radar! Years earlier, Slemmons competed as Pam York and as a Figure competitor she carried what was considered to be too much muscle on her 5’5” frame. It appears she has found more fertile ground to compete on now and a top-five placing in a field like this has to be motivating as well as fulfilling. Slemmons' score of 21 was six points ahead of Lombardo's pace at 15.
Also nabbing a spot in the first prejudging call-out was New Yorker Tammy Patnode. A bodybuilder at heart, Patnode enjoyed a successful amateur career with top-three placings on several occasions at the national-level including an overall win at the 2007 NPC Junior USA, a runner-up LW finish at the 2008 NPC Nationals and a pair of LW wins at both the Masters and Open IFBB North Americans where she captured her pro status. But the pro level has been much tougher sledding for Patnode, both as a bodybuilder and more recently in the Physique division, so it had to be gratifying for her to finally get some judging love in good company.
As a Pro Bodybuilder and Physique competitor, both of Patnode's best finishes (a 7th in Bodybuilding and 9th in Physique) had come from across the border from her Lake Placid home at the Toronto Super Show in 2011 and 2012. So her 5th place finish at this event has helped turn the corner in her efforts to remake her Bodybuilding physique into a 'Physique physique'. In big letters, can you see the t-shirt now? “Finally, I'm a Physique physique!” Yep, and just four points behind fourth placer Pam York Slemmons. Gotta love it.
Outside The Top Five
6-LaDrissa Bonivel, Chicago, Illinois 29
7- Margarita Charaim, Gurnee, Illinois 37
8- Jen Louwegie, Marshall, Minnesota 39
9- Tish Shelton, Chickasaw, Alabama 46
10- Kimberly Baum, Oswego, Illinois 52
11- Nola Trimble, Chicago, Illinois 55
12- Olga Belyakova, Russia 57
13- LaDawn McDay, Michigan 67
14- Cassandra Floyd, Georgia 68
15- Tiffany Justice, Illinois 77
16- Jessica Bowman, Maryland 78
17-Tracy Mason, Michigan 79
Factoids:
Five competitors fro
m the state of Illinois made up the largest contingent within this class of 17.
Russian Olga Belyakova missed out on adding additional points to her Olympia Qualification total. She ranked second with 8 points before this event.
Michigan's Tracy Mason was the veteran performer of this class, having first competed as a bodybuilder at the NPC Missouri in 1986. In 1987 Mason won the MW and Overall titles at the NPC Michigan. Most interesting is the fact that the 3rd place finisher in the HW class that year was an aspiring young bodybuilder named Lenda Murray! It would take Murray four tries ('85,'86,'87 and '88) to finally win the HW class at the NPC Michigan in 1988. Rapidly after that, Lenda Murray became a superstar moving on to win 8 Ms. Olympia titles.
The Wings of Strength was the 13th Pro WPD contest of the year. It was a lucky 13 for Leila Thompson and an unlucky 13 for Jamie Pinder.
The 'Best Poser' award and a $500 cash prize in this division went to Chicago local LaDrissa Bonivel, much to the approval of the hometown crowd.
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