SABRINA TAYLOR DEFENDS TITAN TITLE IN LA
By Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian
Promoter Jon Lindsay welcomed 19 contestants to the second edition of the Titan Grand Prix staged again this year at the Veteran's Auditorium in the LA suburb of Culver City on October 19th.
This year's Titan event took on a decidedly international feel as nine contestants had homeland origins outside American borders. With entrants from Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Argentina, the pro Women's Physique division is beginning to show a truly international flair – and in fact, three of the top five placers at this contest were non-Americans. As the final pro Physique division event of 2013, the Titan event also stands as the first qualifier for the 2014 Physique Olympia. Never a dull moment.
The Titan Stage is Taylor Made for Sabrina
Unlike several competitors in the women's pro Physique division who have blistered the contest trail competing as many as five, six or even seven times in a season, Sabrina Taylor has been economical with her contest choices but when she does compete she has made them count.
In 2012 the sleek-lined San Diegan competed twice. Last April she finished third at the LA Pro Grand Prix placing behind Sara Hurrle and Patricia Mello. Then in October she became the first winner of the Titan Grand Prix in a field of 16, topping runner-up Patricia Mello and third-placer Venus Nguyen at that event. Both of those contests were held at the Veteran's Auditorium.
With the coming of 2013 Taylor s
urfaced as a member of the 'Sweet 16' who competed in the first-ever Physique Olympia placing 13th. So, when she decided to defend her Titan title from last year, the friendly environs of the same Veteran's Auditorium looked to be a good choice. Her effort – and one that required maintaining a high level of conditioning coming off the Olympia less than a month earlier – was rewarded with a unanimous victory and defense of her Titan title.
By defending her crown, Taylor became only the third pro Physique winner to duplicate a contest win – the others being Juliana Malacarne at the New York Pro, and Patricia Mello at the Europa Show of Champions in Orlando… pretty good company. Taylor's win also had other positive consequences. The Titan field included two additional competitors who competed at the Olympia – Tamee Marie (9th) and Mindi O'Brien (14th) who finished second and fourth here.
She also withstood the challenge of two very good foreign entries in Germany's Nathalie Falk and Swiss star Skadi Seifert finishing third and fifth respectively. In all, it was a great win… a perfect way to end the season, and an even better way to kick-off the qualification series for the upcoming 2014 season. For her efforts, Taylor pocketed $2,000 in winning prize money and another automatic qualifying spot for next year's Olympia.
Pressuring Sabina Taylor from the first call-out of prejudging to a two-woman confirmation call-out in the evening was statuesque Nebraskan Tamee Marie. With Marie standing 5-9 and Taylor at 5-2 and a nearly 20-pound weight differential between them, the comparisons were entertaining to say the least. Both women were coming off their first Olympia experience with structural bodylines and muscle shapes that had been favorably recognized. And as fate would have it, both women followed the same route to this division by way of previous and numerous entries in fitness and figure contests that filled their contest resumes.
But in the final tallies it was Sabrina Taylor who, after finishing four placings below Marie at the Olympia, came out on top at this event. One explanation for that may have been that the two were never compared in Las Vegas. Marie was a Greater Gulf States winner last year and won the Houston Pro event at the end of the year to gain Olympia qualification. This year she returned to the Greater Gulf States contest in an effort to defend her title but finished third behind eventual winner Tycie Coppett. Her runner-up finish at this event netted $1,000 in prize money.
Perhaps the most surprised and 
excited contestant at this competition was German Nathalie Falk. Coming off a successful stint in bodybuilding as a 3-time German National champion and a silver medalist at the IFBB World Amateurs in 2005, she has been persistent in her efforts to fit into the pro Physique division… and it's working.
At last year's New York Pro she placed tied for 16th, and she added a 10th-place finish at the Titan Grand Prix. This year she moved up to 15th in New York, but had a breakthrough at the Toronto Super Show where she nailed down a solid sixth-place spot. So when she grabbed the third-place finish at this event – after having finished 10th a year earlier, she was delighted. It was also her highest placing as a pro. The top-three finish also served as a birthday present which she celebrated the next day. Her $500 in prize money may end up being spent long before she leaves for home!
Canadian multi-Olympian Mindi O'Brien continues to be one of the steadiest and most entertaining competitors today. Be it fitness (where she has competed in seven Ms. Olympias), or now in the pro Physique division, she always brings her best effort with great conditioning and a strong posing performance. This year O'Brien was third at the Toronto Super Show, second at the Greater Gulf States, and fourth at the Wings of Strength in Chicago before placing 14th at the Ms. Olympia. Here, she added another fourth-place spot to fit into yet another top-five placing.
Fifth-placed Skadi Seifert could be described as the contest's most under-appreciated competitor. Missing the first call-out of prejudging, her vibrant look began to grow on judges after they found her in the second call-out. From Switzerland, Seifert's background began in figure events, but moved into bodybuilding where she experienced notable success placing fourth at the IFBB World Amateur Championships in both 2008 and 2009.
Turning pro, she made her debut at the 2010 Battle of Champions where she placed sixth. Winning the FIBO Power Pro in 2011, she qualified for the Ms. Olympia and placed 15th. Now as a certifiable 'major player' in the Physique division showing terrific structural lines and muscle shapes along with eye-catching stage presence, she should be a consistently high placer in 2014 and beyond.
Outside the Top Five:
6 - Candrea Adams, Jonesboro, Georgia 30
7 - Paula Frega, Argentina 35
8 - Joni Neilson, Portland, Oregon 40
9 - Nita Marquez, Arizona 45
10 - Valentina Chepiga, Ukraine (Anchorage, Al) 50
11 - Nuria Novoa, New Zealand 55
12 - Anne-Marie Lasserre, Queensland, Australia 60
13 - Myriam Bustamante, Mexico (Carson, Ca.) 65
14 - Cinzia Clapp, Anchorage, Alaska 70
15 - Laura Davies, Ontario, Canada 75
16 - Karen Gatto, East Meadows, New York 80
16 - Rhonda Quaresma, Ontario, Canada 80
16 - Elizabeth Schneider, Dallas, Texas 80
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