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Published on Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:29
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Written by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian
The IFBB Women's Pro Physique Division- A First Year Retrospective
by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian
The first competitive season of women's Phy
sique contests at the IFBB pro level is now in the record books, and the new division, with little argument, is off to a good start. With a group of contestants that was generated largely from the national-level amateur events staged by the NPC in the United States last year, as well as an additional contingent of entrants that was international in scope, the curiosity of just how the contestants would look – as well as how they would be judged – piqued everyone's interest. Clearly though, this new division and the pioneering women who have taken the first steps in creating a benchmark for future years are already looking forward to 2013 with an elevated level of enthusiasm as the contests become more competitive and meaningful, along with the reality of reaching the Olympia stage as a truly prestigious contest for the first time.
Crunching the Numbers in Physique's Development
With Pro Women's Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini divisions firmly in place, the Physique division – as the baby sister – drew its entries from several directions as the entry lists of contests in 2012 came to fruition. Twelve events were staged from coast to coast along with the Toronto Super Show that included the pro Physique category and thus becoming the first pro Physique contest to be held outside the United States.
Coincidentally, the 13 contests drew competitors from 13 countries with 102 different athletes from Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, England, Australia, Slovakia, Thailand, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa., and the USA.
The contests drew a broad range of entries ranging from a high of 29 at the New York Pro, to only six at the Houston Pro. The average number of contestants per show was 14, with a grand total of 191 entries total – a count that included several competitors who entered as many as six or seven events over the course of the year.
Within the 13 contests, nine winners emerged. And of the nine winners, four captured two victories to account for eight of the 13 competitions. The nine winners also took on an international feel, with three Brazilians and a Canadian joining the five American top finishers.
The P
ro Physique Division Contests Unfold
As was the case when Dana Lynn Bailey won the first amateur Physique division event at the NPC Junior USA in 2011, there was a notable level of anticipation and curiosity with the staging of a first-ever pro Physique contest in 2012.
Beginning with the Desert Muscle Classic on February 25th and through the next two events following, contestants opting to enter the new division were, for lack of a better word, watchful in their approach. Those who did enter right away could be considered bravely curious, throwing caution to the wind as to how they would be judged.
Eleven women entered that first contest in Arizona with Brazilian Karina Nascimento claiming bragging rights as the first pro Physique winner. The additional ten entrants were all from the United States, and even Nascimento had been a resident of the USA for many years. Dana Lynn Bailey missed out on making it a double victory in this first time event when she placed fourth in the Desert Muscle Classic. She didn't enter another Physique during the course of the year.
With just nine competitors entering the St. Louis Pro on March 17th, Colorado's Sara Hurrle emerged as the second winner in a field that was all American.
Just a week after the St. Louis event, the Governor's Cup Pro staged in Sacramento, California, again drew a cozy field of just nine contestants. A decidedly west coast affair, Idaho's Karin Kimura –
fresh from winning the overall Physique division at the NPC Nationals in 2011- took a two-point win over runner-up Sara Hurrle. From Victoria, BC, Lisa Geisbrecht was Canada's first pro Physique entrant after winning the overall 2011 Canadian Masters bodybuilding title. Strikingly, a little more than two months later Geisbrecht earned a berth at the Ms. Olympia by winning the bodybuilding division of the Toronto Super Show.......her switch back to bodybuilding was no doubt guided by her last place finish at the Ph
ysique event. Geisbrecht's journey from Canadian Masters bodybuilding champion, to last in her pro debut as a Physique contestant, to winning the Toronto contest and thus qualifying for the Ms. Olympia (she finished 13th) was a roller coaster ride for the ages. Her results also reflect the fine lines that can exist with a new division that is finding its way in securing more consistent criteria.
On April 14th the Los Angeles Pro Grand Prix drew a season high 16 competitors as well experiencing a broadening of the international scope with four entrants coming from Canada, Australia, Brazil and Russia. Sara Hurrle won her second pro Physique contest edging runner-up Patricia Mello by just two points.
Two weeks later on April 28th, the Europa Show of Champions in Orlando, Florida, saw the entry list swell again, this time to 21. Six of the contestants came from foreign countries including the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the first time. Winning unanimously was Brazil's Patricia Mello using a very exotic and statuesque look with her 5-9 frame. Finishing second was Jillian Reville.
On May 19th, the Tribeca Theatre in Manhattan, welcomed what would be the largest contest of the year as 29 competitors flexed for the title. But the unanimous winner – who many f
elt was a prototype for the idyllic Physique division – was tiny Brazilian Juliana Malacarne. At 5-2 she was the antithesis of fellow Brazilian Patricia Mello who had also won the Show of Champions in unanimous fashion. Her win gave the country of Brazil three victories in the first six pro Physique division events held. And she seemed to gain the
strongest level of fan popularity through the remainder of the year. Also of note at this event was the fact that Canadian Dayana Cadeau learned in the most difficult of ways that making the switch to the Physique division (as a former lightweight Ms. Olympia winner) may not be as easy as she thought. Cadeau landed in a tie for 16th with 14 others who missed making the top 15.
The IFBB Pro Physique division ventured outside the boundaries of the United States for the first time, when the Toronto Super Show welcomed 13 contestants to Canada on the first weekend in June. The Canadians certainly held up their end of the bargain with eight entries that included three competitors (Laura Davies, Debbie Barrable-Leung and Nicole Ball) who had previous experience at the Olympia level either in bodybuilding or figure. The winner of the event was Kim Tilden scratching out a two-point win over fellow Canadian CeaAnna Kerr. Tilden was one of the few Figure competitors who had enjoyed a high level of success in that division before making the switch to Physique. This contest also marked the impre
ssive fact that Marina Lopez (a former NPC National LW champion) was entering her seventh consecutive pro Physique division event. The streak would also end here, but few could question her enthusiasm.
New Orleans was the host city of the Greater Gulf States Pro Physique on June 23rd. With just nine contestants, Nebraska's Tamee Marie topped runner-up Karin Kimura for the title. Marie, who grew up in southern California, earned her pro status as a fitness competitor. But after enduring a half dozen disappointing pro finishes in Fitness and Figure, her switch to Physique worked wonders in her renewed motivation to reach the level of a respected pro. Finishing eighth at this contest was Mikaila Soto.......and for the significance of that placing, read on.
Two weeks later, the Wings of Strength Pro took place in Chicago, Illinois, with hometown favorite Nola Trimble earning a unanimous victory. Trimble, who, at this event, had been compared to “Cleopatra with a much better body”, was chased to her win by another hometowner Mikaila Soto. Soto's rise to this placing was nothing short of miraculous. Back in April she h
ad finished 19th at the Show of Champions before finishing eighth in a field of nine at the above-mentioned Greater Gulf States Pro. But her runner-up finish here was no fluke. She finished up the c
ompetitive season with another runner-up spot, followed by a third and a fourth, to end the competitive season entering seven of the 13 contests offered. Soto and Marina Lopez (who also entered seven contests) each deserve medals as true foot soldiers in this opening campaign of pro Physique competitions.
A month later in early August, Nola Trimble struck again with another unanimous victory in a field of 20 contestants in Tampa, Florida, at the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships. Mikaila Soto was the unanimous runner-up selection, with third-placed Jennifer Robinson – a stalwart competitor who had already placed in the top five of four previous pro Physique contests marking a very successful inaugural year with a strong contest resume heading into 2013.
Sarasota, Florida, was the site of the Valenti Gold Cup on September 8th, where Karina Nascimento added her second victory of the year to go with her Desert Classic win. The field of 14 was largely an American-based contingent, yet offered a broad range of structures and overall bodily shapes that further pointed to how varied the looks of Physique competitors at a given contest can be.
Perhaps the best kept secret of the year due in large part to its late addition to the contest schedule was the Houston Pro Physique held on October 13th. With just six contestant's entered (the smallest field of the year), Tamee Marie became the fourth competitor of the year along with Sara Hurrle, Nola Trimble, and Karina Nascimento to win two of the year's events. Three of the six competitors in this event were making their pro debuts. Coincidentally, the six contestants were from six different states.
The Titans Grand Prix in
Culver City, California, brought an end to the competitive year for the pro Physique division as 20 contestants entered this contest on October 20th. With competitors from six countries including the USA, the international flare of the contest was undeniable, and the collective field was of very high quality. Emerging as the champion in this group was Californian Sabrina Taylor. A veteran competitor who turned pro after winning the overall Fitness title at the NPC USA in 2004, her efforts in the pro ranks as both a Fitness and Figure competitor had always fallen short of a placing higher than eighth.......until she made the switch to Physique in 2012. With a pleasing overall structural look and well-shaped musculature, Taylor placed third in her Physique debut at the LA Grand Prix in April, but she waited until the season's final show to make her strongest presence felt. In winning the Titans Grand Prix she became the ninth winner of a Physique pro event in 2012. Taylor's toughest challenge came from runner-up Brazilian Patricia Mello who completed the year with a victory and two-runner-up placings in three efforts.
So, in it's first year, the IFBB Physique pro 
division produced four competitors who won twice (Sara Hurrle, Karina Nascimento, Nola Trimble and Tamee Marie), along with single event winners Juliana Malacarne, Patricia Mello, Karin Kimura, Kim Tilden, and Sabrina Taylor. By way of height, two women – Juliana Malacarne and Sabrina Taylor were the shortest at 5-2, while Patricia Mello and Tamee Marie were the tallest at 5-9. The average height of all the winners was 5-5 ½.
As For The Future
With the new division still in its growing stages, questions will rema
in as to how comfortably the criteria can be adhered to given the wide variety of bodies on display. A primary consideration should go to the women who contributed so much to this inaugural year of existence. It would be disappointing to see them forgotten. With the coming of 2013 and the reality that the Physique division will take its place on the Olympia stage for the first time, one wonders if the nine winners mentioned above will receive consideration as rightful qualifiers. On the other hand, most who experienced victory will anxiously return with an even more refined and impressive look with months to prepare.
The coolest kick-off for 2013 would have been the inclusion of the pro Physique di
vision at the annual Arnold Classic. Granted, it does add another class to an already very busy weekend, but it would have provided two very important elements in the growth of the Physique category. First, the Arnold Classic would have offered a visual forum for those who competed in 2012 to have their moment under the spotlights of such a prestigious event. A field of 15 could have easily been assembled from the nine winners along with six additional competitors who were strong finishers during the year. The field would have been sparkling with those chosen to compete. Secondly, and perhaps even more important, the Arnold Classic could have provided a maximum level of exposure to both fans and aspiring competitors in the States - who hadn't seen a pro event in 2012 - and internationally with so many foreign delegates, athletes and federation heads from many countries in attendenc
e creating a motivation to include the event in their own countries by virtue of what they observed. In any case, 2013 will bring more competitors of strong quality into the pro ranks thus making the division even more competitive in its sophomore season.
Bring it on!
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