Tampa, Florida, August 11: Ask any amateur bodybuilder about the anxieties of first reaching the pro level and what the future will bring, and most will say they only hope for the best and to be judged fairly. All realize that making a strong first impression is important. More often than not, and on many occasions the experience of making a pro debut can be a sobering one. Of those, some have even been driven away by an initial placement that leaves them numb and to the realization that the pro ranks are far more difficult than they realized. Others - made of stronger stuff - hold out with a deep desire and passion to succeed. Of those who stick around – and there are many – ultimate success is elusive. But every so often, the cream does rise to the top. A glowing example of that fact came by way of Texan Sarah Hayes as she landed the top spot at the 2012 Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships in the Audubon Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay Hotel.
Beautifully promoted once again by Tim Gardner, this event has genuinely taken hold. And now in its fifth year a tradition of excellence has been firmly established. With 27 contestants entered at this year's event, the winner would join former PBW champions Nicole Ball in 2008, Betty Pariso in 2009, Brigita Brezovac in 2010, and Cathy Lefrancois last year. All the aforementioned have competed in the Ms. Olympia on multiple occasions and points to the quality this event has drawn. Averaging 22 entries per year over the past five years, this year's field would compete for nearly $10,000 in prize money to the top five finishers. Along with the annual champions, there have also been several competitors who have entered this contest on multiple occasions – among them Florida's Bev DiRenzo who is the only competitor who has entered all five PBW events finishing as high as eighth in both 2008 and 2009 where she won the 'Best Poser' award.
….But Back to Sarah Hayes.
Sarah Hayes is still trying out her wings for full flight when it comes to the world of women's bodybuilding. But this weekend she took a major step from the days when she was placing fourth at a Figure contest in her native Minnesota in 2007. That's right, Figure. She entered the NPC Gopher Classic, but within a year she had already advanced to bodybuilding and won the HW & Overall 2008 NPC Gopher Classic with an entirely different look. Then came a move to Texas and her contest efforts were swift and convincing. In short order she won heavyweight and overall titles at the 2009 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic, NPC Lone Star Classic and NPC Europa Super Show Amateur before finishing the year with a very respectable fourth-place finish at the NPC Nationals. The winning ways continued in 2010 with an overall win at the NPC Branch Warren Classic before making a trip to Las Vegas to win the overall title at the NPC USA. The victory put her squarely in line for a membership in the IFBB pro ranks.....and a rather rude awakening once she got there.
While several other competitors who had won a major national-level title never even bothered to give the pro ranks a go, Hayes jumped at the chance. An invitation to the Ms. International in 2011 was sent her way and it gave her the opportunity to compete against the very best in the sport. But the Ms. International is decidedly recognized as the Big Leagues....the really Big Leagues, and even a USA champion can find herself left at the gate. Even Iris Kyle placed 15th at her first Ms. International after winning the overall USA in1998. Sarah Hayes was welcomed with a 13th-place finish....and that was in a field of 13. Later in the year Hayes gave the pro stage another try, and if she was superstitious, her entry at the Battle of Champions would have been unnerving. Once again she landed 13th.
The unlucky 13's in her pro debut year notwithstanding, Hayes never wavered. Rather than drift away, she put the pedal to the training metal and with the help of trainer Jeff Dwelle, she went straight back to the Battle of Champions and scored a solid fifth-place showing to begin the 2012 competitive season. Which brings us to the PBW Tampa event.
In a field of 27 contestants - seven of which had competed in past Ms. Olympia contests - Sarah Hayes flexed her way to the top of the heap with an overall look that struck a very positive chord with the judges. Obviously, the presentation of her 5-6, 162-pound presence had an 'Olympian' feel to it – as far as the panel was concern - and the victory lofted her to an invitation that is the grand prize for work put in. She would be competing at the 2012 Ms. Olympia. With what will now seem like a very short time span to prepare for the biggest contest of her life (she dieted 22 weeks for the Tampa contest) her return to Las Vegas at the end of September will carry with it a far different memory when her competitive days are over, and the prestige of competing on the Ms. Olympia stage is a long way from that fourth place finish at the Gopher Classic in Minnesota six years ago.
Hayes pocketed $4,000 as the winner of the Tampa event.
For anyone who may have gotten the impression that Sarah Hayes' victory was a 'gimme', think again. You only need to look to the results and find Sheila Bleck in the runner-up
position. Already recognized as one of bodybuilding's finest posers, Bleck is also a two-time entrant at the Ms. Olympia finishing fourth in 2011 and sixth last year. No question, Sheila Bleck is the real deal, and at an inch taller than Hayes and weighing about the same, Bleck was at her best at this event. With different structures and muscle shapes, the two made it a tough call. Blecks crazy quad separation was a real crowd pleaser as was the way she went about putting her muscle to music. In her display of what always looks like a physique in muscular harmony, she was 'musclephonic'. Both Hayes and Bleck were outstanding and many observers mentioned that a winning decision on either behalf would have been satisfactory. The judges, however, seemed sold on Hayes for this event. Bleck's prize winnings totaled $2,500 for the bridesmaid spot to go with the award as 'Best Poser'.
If you fancy yourself a prognosticator of women's bodybuilding contests , third-place finisher Janeen Lankowski may not have been your pick to crack the top three, let alone the top five. But this 5-3 bundle of enthusiasm for bodybuilding has been circling on the outskirts of a major breakthrough for several years. From Kitchener, Ontario, Lankowski has been a steady top placer at the Canadian Championships since 2005 – she simply missed winning an overall title. But over that time she has made a steady and consistent improvement on a physique that had a gymnastics background as a base, combined with an unbending will to reach not only the pro ranks but competitive finishes once she reached that level. Lankowski's moment arrived last year when she won the Masters heavyweight and overall titles at the IFBB North American Championships. The win earned her qualification for pro status and with the coming of the 2012 competitive season, she wasted little time jumping into her pro debut on home soil at the Toronto Super Show in June. Her sixth-place finish was solid and showed a level of clean muscular lines. That, and due to her gymnastic background, the ability to display her physique at its best (she won the Best Poser award at the 2005 Canadian Championships) showed a built-in level of professionalism. All that carried over to the Tampa event where she further polished her overall look and found herself in the first call-out of prejudging. Lankowski was the rookie in that group of six called out. A group that included eventual winner Hayes and four others - all of whom had previously competed in the Ms. Olympia (Bleck, Kim Perez, Nancy Lewis and Tazzie Colomb)......pretty good company. While her placing won't qualify for this year's Ms. Olympia, the outlook for 2013 should serve as a strong motivation for further improvement – especially with her blue-collar approach to training. Janeen Lankowski is a new kid on the block with a little something extra, and it's all good. For her third-place finish Lankowski accepted a check for $1,500.
In a close points battle, fourth placer Melody Spetko edged American Kim Perez by a three-point margin. From Toronto, Ontario, Spetko earned her pro status as the heavyweight and overall champion at the 2010 Canadian Championships. Spetko began her bodybuilding efforts in 2005 after encouragement from Iris Kyle and since that time has also been guided by former top Canadian pros Laura Binetti and Helen Bouchard – an impressive trio of mentors. Making her pro debut at this same event last year where she finished 13th in a field of 24, Spetko turned her fortunes around considerably this year with a sixth-place finish at the Toronto Super Show. Moving up to fourth here shows she has further crafted her overall look to fit a desirable judgment. For her efforts she took the $750 in prize money.
Meanwhile Kim Perez continued to amaze fans with her otherworldly upper body that features a very broad shoulder width and delts that almost defy description, especially when topped on her waspy waistline. After bowing out of competitions in 2009 and '10, Perez made a triumphant return to the stage in 2011, first with a third-place finish at the Battle of Champions, and followed by a ringing seventh-place spot at the Ms. Olympia. At 42, Perez appears to be in the best shape of her career with a physique that will keep her competitive even in fields of this size. She accepted the final $500 in prize money for her fifth-place finish
The sixth and seventh placings went to two of the true heavy hitters in women's bodybuilding and further points to the quality of this event. 
Between Nancy Lewis in sixth and Tazzie Colomb in seventh, the duo have competed in a combined 11 Ms. Olympias, 10 Ms. Internationals (five each) and 8 Jan Tana Classics. In addition, both have been competing since the mid-80's. Colomb was within two years of graduating from high school when she entered the 1986 NPC Teen USA, and Lewis was already competing at the NPC Nationals as a MW in 1985. Lewis entered this event in prime condition showing a level of vascularity on her thighs that would make Mapquest envious. Colomb continued her rock steady desire to enter pro events while adding strong placings at numerous strength shows and powerlifting events over the years.
While a handful of contestants were busy making their pro debut, eighth-placer Debbie Bramwell was bidding farewell to her bodybuilding efforts with this contest marking an end to a career that began in the mid-90's where she was winning her class at local events such as the 1997 NPC Los Angeles Championships. Over the next decade, Bramwell was an entrant at the NPC Nationals, IFBB North American Championships and five NPC USA's. Her opportunity to turn pro came in 2007 when she was the overall winner at the NPC Masters Nationals. She competed over a dozen times at the pro level placing as high as second LW at the 2007 Europa Super Show, and making it to the Ms. Olympia stage in 2008. Always carrying a cheerful, upbeat outlook in her bodybuilding efforts over the years, Debbie Bramwell will be missed both backstage and onstage as a classy performer – to say nothing of her always well-conditioned muscular physique.
Emery Miller placed ninth in this field, and she may well be the best argument as a 48-year-old that 48 may be the new 28. Miller, who was the 2004 NPC National MW champion to earn her pro stripes was arguably outgunned muscularly at this highly competitive event, but possessing such pleasing structural lines and symmetry, as one observer noted, “That's just a great looking body.” Indeed it was. Placing 10th at the Tampa event in 2010 and taking last year away from the competitive stage, Miller returned this year in her best-ever shape placing fifth at the Wings of Strength contest in early July. It was her first time cracking the top five at a pro event, and who's to say there might be more where that came from.
Another of the continually emerging Canadians who present a level of complete development was Gillian Kovack rounding out the top ten. Surprisingly, Kovack, like Lankowski, never won the overall Canadian National title, but was plenty good enough to win the HW and overall crowns at the 2011 IFBB North American Championships. Making her pro debut at the Toronto Super Show, Kovack scored a well-deserved fourth-place finish. Here, the quality level of the field was notably higher, but a top-ten finish can be considered very respectable when perusing the list of contestants she outscored.
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Beyond the Top Ten
11- Beth Wachter, USA
12- Rita Maria Bello, Argentina
13- Alicia Alfaro, Argentina
14- Maryse Manios, Lille, France
15- Roxanne Edwards, USA
16- Irene Andersen, Sweden
16- Michelle Brent, USA
16- Beverly DiRenzo, USA
16- Paula Francis, USA
16- Judy Gaillard, USA
16- Colette Guimond, Canada
16- Mary Ellen Jerumbo, USA
16- Drorit Silverman, USA
16- Marina Lopez, USA
16- Jena Mackey, Nassau, Bahamas
16- Robyn Mentgen, USA
16- Lupe Leito, Curacao
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