Articles The Wennerstrom Report 2012 IFBB Women's World Amateur Championships: England's Rene Campbell Wins IFBB World Amateur Overall
2012 IFBB Women's World Amateur Championships: England's Rene Campbell Wins IFBB World Amateur Overall
Bialystok, Poland, October 6-7: Now in its 30th year, the IFBB Women's World Amateur Championships has now grown to become the largest international amateur event staged annually outside the United States. And this year the contest included competition in bodybuilding, fitness, bodyfitness, bikini and men's fitness. In all, 180 contestants from 37 countries took part in the two-day event ably promoted by the IFBB Polish Federation and its President Pawal Filleborn. This was the third time Poland has hosted the big World Amateur competition having previously staged the contest in 1993 and 2000 – both times in Warsaw.
With so many countries competing, the overall team championship – as well as the individual races for the gold medals offered - also carries a high level of prestige, and once again, for the fourth consecutive year, Russia captured the World Amateur team trophy. And on the strength of its outstanding fitness and bodyfitness contestants the Russians won in impressive fashion by an overwhelming margin of 33 points. Among the top five teams in the final placings, the continuing strong Eastern European presence saw Slovakia finish second, Ukraine third, Poland fourth, and Australia fifth. The United States did not field a team for this year's event.
The Lightweights
In what is always highly anticipated at this competition, the bodybuilding category was once again contested in two weight classes – Under 55 kilos (121 pounds) and over 55 kilos. What may have been most surprising – and at the sakme time disappointing - was the comparatively small fields of contestants in each weight class. It is, after all, the World Championships.
Least surprising in the race for World Championship gold medals was the ongoing dominance of Slovakia's Jana Purdjakova in the Under 55k class. Having long ago reached a level of superstardom at the World Amateur Championships (this was her 14th entry at this contest), Purdjakova had won eight previous World Amateur titles dating back to 2000. Her victories in 2010 and '11 were most impressive as they were also overall titles. Her LW win this year was her ninth gold medal-winning performance, and in the history of this event, no other contestant comes close to that level of success. Clearly, she is quite satisfied to retain her amateur status as she could have requested and received pro status level years ago. At 5-4 ¼ and weighing 119 pounds for this year's contest, Purdjakova once again used her well-balanced and flowing overall structure to go with her proportionate muscle shapes. Those strong suits, along with an engaging stage persona, easily propelled her to the top spot – a position that she captured in unanimous fashion.
Finishing second to Purdjakova was Italy's Silvia Matta. Interestingly, Matta has been competing since the late 90's, and actually reached the pro level in 2004 competing first as a bodybuilder, and then as a figure competitor in 2005 and '06 before relinquishing her pro status and returning to the amateur ranks in 2010. Weighing right at the 121-pound limit of this class, Matta simply couldn't challenge Purjakova's overall qualities. Her placing at this event, however, is her best-ever finish at the international amateur level. For her effort she earned the silver medal.
The bronze medal for third place went to Poland's veteran competitor Joanna Krupa. Having competed at both the IFBB European and World Amateur Championships on many occasions (this being her sixth World Championships since 1999), Krupa presented a pleasing overall look that remained competitive in this field even though her bodyweight was a diminutive 112 pounds.
Outside the medal-winning positions was fourth-placed Satoko Yamanouchi from Japan. Born in 1960, Yamanouchi was the eldest competitor in the entire World Amateur event at 52, and was only the third Japanese contestant to place in the top six of a bodybuilding class in the past 12 years. A former Japanese champion in 2011, Yamanouchi added the IFBB Asian Championship LW title this year.
Just one point behind Satoko Yamanouchi was Romania's Florina Cernat. Making the switch to bodybuilding after capturing the IFBB World Junior Fitness Championship title in 2004, '05, and '06, the 27-year-old Cernat will need to add more muscle to her 115-pound frame to reach the medal-winning positions.
The sixth and final finisher was Melinda Zsiga from Hungary. A professional boxer and fitness model, Zsiga was outclassed here and will need to add considerably more muscular detail to her 121-pound frame to entertain her wishes to place higher among the lightweights on the World level.
The Heavyweights
As predictable as Jana Purdjakova's victory was in the lightweight class, England's Rene Campbell staged one of the contest's biggest surprises – both figuratively and literally – in winning the heavyweight category. And her impressive presence carried right into the final posedown as well. At 5-7, Campbell was the contest's biggest competitor weighing a well-conditioned 170 pounds. With 17-inch biceps and 28-inch thighs as the hallmarks of her physique, she was a convincing winner among the eight heavyweight contestants. A former runner and triathlete, the 35-year-old mother of two boys was the 2011 British champion, and tuned up for this event with a third-place finish at the IFBB European Championships in May. With a looming stage presence that has the capacity to cast shadows on smaller competitors, Campbell is ready for a crack at the pro ranks should she elect to make that request. And speaking of casting shadows on smaller competitors, that's exactly what Campbell did in the anticipated showdown for the overall title with lightweight winner and defending two-time overall World Amateur champion Jana Purdjakova.
As good as Purdjakova's has been over the past several years, she was simply out-muscled by Campbell's 51-pound weight advantage. Still, the final judging point total for the posedown came down to a one-point difference with Campbell getting the nod – 7 to 8. In winning the overall crown, it was the first time a British competitor had won the IFBB World Amateur title in the history of the event dating back to 1983, and the first time a Brit had won a medal of any color since Andrulla Blanchette had won bronze in the lightweight class in 1992 – twenty years ago! Campbell's victory here now ranks her among England's most memorable champions including the likes of Paula Bircumshaw, Joanna Thomas, and Blanchette who went on to win the Lightweight class at the 2000 Ms. Olympia. Perhaps the most unusual occurrence in this year's heavyweight class was the fact that not one of the top five finishers from the 2011 event returned to compete again, so this year's top finishers included a fresh group of faces and physiques.
The runner-up and silver medal winner was Maryna Alf from Ukraine. As the youngest competitor in the two bodybuilding weight classes, Alf, at 24, appears to have a bright future as her muscle cultivation and general improvement progresses. At a well-distributed 152 pounds in this class, Alf first appeared on the international radar as a fourth-place finisher at the 2011 IFBB European Championships. More impressive was her heavyweight victory at the 2012 European Championships in May where she actually defeated third-place finisher Rene Campbell.
Just three points behind Alf and earning the bronze medal was third-placed Jana Bendova of the Czech Republic. At 50, Bendova placed fifth at the 2011 IFBB European Championships and further tightened the Eastern European grip on the medal-winning placements throughout the various divisions of this contest.
Fourth went to Sweden's Eva Blom. A familiar competitor for many years at various Nordic events, her placing was the first time a Swedish competitor had finished in the top six since 1997 when Marika Johansson placed fifth in the HW class and teammate Carina Isaksson placed fifth among the lightweights 15 years ago.
Russia's Natalia Vtyurina claimed the fifth spot. With prior successes at the IFBB European Championships, Vtyurina was a runner-up HW in 2009 and won the European title in 2010.
The final top six placer was Poland's Ewa Sedkowska. A veteran competitor, Sedkowska made another valiant comeback attempt this year (she finished 11th in 2009) having previously won the IFBB World Amateur HW title in 1999 as the former Ewa Krynska.
Gold Medalists in Other Divisions Included:
Women's Fitness (Up to 5-4 ¼ )
Olga Volokh, Russia (Overall Winner)
Women's Fitness (Over 5-4 ¼ )
Natalia Chukaeva, Russia
________
Women's Bodyfitness (Up to 5-2 ¼)
Elina Gook, Russia
Women's Bodybfitness (Up 
to 5-4 ¼ )
Zrinka Fiser, Croatia
Women's Bodyfitness (Up to 5-6 )
Ekaterina Gamagina, Russia (Overall Winner)
Women's Bodyfitness (Over 5-6)
Anastasia Gurina, Belarus
_________
Women's Bikini (Up to 5-4 ¼ )
Amy Wright, Australia
Women's Bikini (Up to 5-6)
Karina Antovska, Slovakia (Overall Winner)
Women's Bikini (Over 5-6)
Anna Virmajoki, Finland
__________
Men's Fitness
Konstantin Nekrasov, Russia
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