Articles The Wennerstrom Report 2012 Valenti Gold Cup: Nascimento Scores Second Pro Physique Win!
Sarasota, Florida, September 8th: You could say that when Patricia Valenti became a IFBB pro after winning the overall title in the Bikini division of the 2010 NPC Masters Nationals, she jumped in with both feet - not only as a pro competitor but also taking on the ambitious effort of promoting a pro event as well. For any promoter, staging a first-time event is a stressful learning experience especially when still active as a competitor. But none of that deterred the owner of the Evolution Fitness Center in Sarasota, Florida. Valenti was up to challenge. With the Hyatt Regency Hotel serving as the venue of this inaugural event, she was determined to make a positive first impression in the hopes of building a tradition for this fledgling contest. With divisions for men's bodybuilding and physique, the women also took center stage in fitness, figure, bikini and physique divisions with prize money offered in all divisions.
Women's Physique Continues its Rapid Evolutionary Change
With curiosity still leading the way as a primary interest in the new pro Physique division, the Valenti Gold Cup served as the 11th contest on a 2012 contest schedule that has offered a dozen opportunities for women to try their hand in a new criteria of judging the female body. And from contest to contest, the changes have been noticeable. Even the casual observer can see how quickly the evolution of the Physique division has moved along, and the entire field of this contest are the most recent poster girls for how dramatic the change has been. The contingent in this inaugural event included 14 contestants with a diverse group that saw six entrants making their pro Physique debuts, and five women carrying the hometown flag from Florida. The 14 entries is significant considering the first ten pro Physique contests averaged exactly 14 entries in shows with a range from 9 to 29 entries. The prize money for the Physique division totaled just $2,000 - $1,000 for 1st, $750 for 2nd, and $250 for third. But it's a good faith start for the new division.
With the prejudging taking place on Friday afternoon, followed by the finals on Saturday afternoon, the first annual Valenti Gold Cup was underway, with a level of development in this group that was light years away from the 11 brave competitors who entered the first pro Physique contest in Arizona back in February.
Nascimento Brings Her Brazilian Mojo to Sarasota
It seems like an eternity since Karina Nascimento won the first IFBB Pro Physique contest back in February. In the ensuing seven months much has changed in the look of the competitors as the competitive nature of the division takes a firmer hold. But make no mistake, Karina Nascimento is a gamer, a competitor at heart, with a touch of Brazilian magic when it comes to stage presence. After that first victory she could have easily drifted back into training mode until the 2013 season, but she opted to enter the LA Grand Prix where she landed fourth behind Sara Hurrle, countrymate Patricia Mello and Sabrina Taylor. “I didn't want to finish this year on that note,” reveals Nascimento. “I decided to go back to my first trainer – Herman Steele – to help make me more competitive. I could see the women were getting more developed and I didn't want to fall behind.”
The Valenti Gold Cup provided the perfect opportunity to keep pace with the progress of the Physique division's growth. The contest was just hours from her home in Boca Raton, and she had used the months since the LA Grand Prix to make the necessary changes.
“I increased my training intensity, and worked on some weak points,” says Nascimento. “Herman trained me in my first bodybuilding contests and when I competed at the Ms. International in 2003. He knows my body so well, I knew he could bring me to a level of condition that would make it possible for me to win another contest this year.” It didn't take a major overhaul. Her improvements were more like a tune-up. And by the time she entered the Gold Cup, she was up to speed - and exactly what the judges were looking for. Perhaps most interestingly is the fact that she weighed 135 pounds for this contest. The exact same weight when entered that 2003 Ms. International “I was happy with how I looked,” admits Nascimento. “Now I want to just train and prepare for next year. I still have some weak points I want to work on.”
So far in 2012 Brazilians have now won four of the 11 pro Physique contests and haven't shown many weaknesses in their victories. Nascimento's winnings totaled a cool $1,000.
With Nascimento and her years of valuable contest experience from the past lifting her to a unanimous win, runner-up Frances Mendez was the antithesis of Nascimento's journey to this event. Mendez is a virtual newbie in the truest sense of the word. The sum total of her stage time is three contests prior to making her pro debut at this event. With this year's NPC Eastern Seaboard as her first contest where she won the overall Physique division title, she matched that overall decision at the recent NPC Masters Nationals taking the Over-35 class. Her only other contest was the NPC Panhandle Showdown in Pensicola where she also won the overall Physique title.
From Mobile, Alabama, Mendez managed to survive Isaac – the hurricane, not the photographer – and come into this contest in prime condition. An inch or two taller than 
Nascimento, she was also leaner, but her level of muscular detail didn't seem to set off any red flags at the judging table. All in all, she can look at her 2012 maiden voyage into the Physique division as a very successful one. In fact, at this point at least, she can say she's never finished worse than second. She accepted a check for $750..... an amount that might go towards any damage from Isaac – the hurricane, not the photographer!
Unlike Nascimento and Mendez, third-placer Nekole Hamrick was a 'sleeper' in this contest, and she possessed a little of what both the competitors who finished ahead of her possessed. The term 'sleeper' may be a tad unfair in Hamrick's case considering her statuesque 5-9 frame. She's tough to miss in a lineup. But on the other hand she didn't even make the first call-out during prejudging – often a death knell in the hopes of placing in the top five, let alone the top three. Clearly she spent the remainder of the competition 'growing' on the judges. As has been mentioned countless times in the past regarding her overall physical qualities, she was favorably compared to former Ms. O Cory Everson. That's a good start. But Hamrick has struggled mightily to reach her finish at this pro debut event. For the past dozen years she has won often at state and regional events, but at the national level she was always just shy of turning pro. For example, with six previous entries at the NPC Nationals Hamrick finished second in 2007, second in 2008 and third in 2011. But all that changed with her first entry in a Physique division event. Just a week previous to the Valenti Gold Cup, Hamrick earned her pro status at the IFBB North American Championships in Physique and she wasted little time taking advantage of her opportunity to reach the pro level. Five years earlier Hamrick was the HW winner at the 2007 North American Championships but missed winning the overall. So earning her pro status at the North American made the whole occasion that much sweeter after that near miss five years ago.
With an overall appearance that is supremely athletic looking – pleasing to the eye – Hamrick performed as Flame at the American Gladiators Orlando Live Show years ago, and in a growing Physique division her overall framework may fit in just fine, especially with other 5-9ers like Patricia Mello and Tamee Marie, each of whom has won pro Physique events this year.
Fourth went to Mikaila Soto. Her finish at this event further solidifies her ability to 'run with the big dogs' having also finished second at the Wings of Strength contest. This was Soto's fourth contest of the year where her entries were spread across March April, July and now September. Like Nascimento, and others such as Juliana Malacarne, Soto is the possessor of a searing stage presence that commands attention. Unless she misses a solid level of conditioning, it is unlikely she will ever be overlooked.
New Jersey's Gloria Faulls finished fifth following an eighth-place spot at the Toronto Super Show and fourth at the Greater Gulf States. Earning her pro status with a 
runner-up finish at the 2011 IFBB North American Championships in the Physique class, she is no stranger to carrying more muscle having scored three overall bodybuilding victories in the New Jersey area before entering her first Physique division event last year.
View the entire contest gallery>>
Outside the top five
6- Karen Gatto – East Meadows, New York
7- Erin Lawson – Clarkston, Michigan – pro Physique debut
8- Jill Dearmin – Hobe Sound, Florida – pro Physique debut
9- Petra Mertl – Czech Republic/Boca Raton, Florida
10- Susan Salazar – Honolulu, Hawaii
11- Roseanne Duvigneaud, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
12- Michelle Bates, San Diego, California – pro Physique debut
13- Christi Torborg, Ormond Beach, Florida – pro Physique debut
14- Antonia Perdakakis – Sparks, Maryland
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