Sponsored by Species Nutrition , this year's Big Apple muscle bash drew a solid field of 20 contestants from nine countries.  As diverse as the number of countries represented, the diversity also followed in the range of physiques to be judged.

Lefrancois Completes Her Journey Back to the Bodybuilding Winner's Circle

Ever since Cathy Lefrancois decided it was her desire to return to bodybuilding after making an ill-fated switch to figure competitions in 2005, she has been tunnel-focused in her efforts.  The culmination of those efforts can to fruition on Saturday night when she returned to the top of the victory stand with an overall look that was exactly what judges had in mind as a champion and Olympia qualifier.

   In a first round prejudging callout that included Rosemary Jennings, Debi Laszewski,

Lefrancois, Jeannie Paparone, Annie Rivieccio and Dena Westerfield, a top six had been quickly established.  Each woman in her own way presented a decidedly different look as virtually none of the first six called out carried a strong resemblance to any other in the group. Still, it was Lefrancois who stood out with her dazzling combination of structural balance, muscular detail, stage presence, and special attention personal appearance to that others were missing at some level.

   Lefrancois also played giant killer in this field as a 5-2, 130-pound veteran competitor (the smallest in this event) that many fans might forget has been at the pro level since 1995.  In fact, before her dabbling in figure contests during 2005, Lefrancois had placed fourth at two Ms. Olympias in 2000 and 2003.  She also won her class at the 2003 Ms. International.  That victory in the '03 Ms. International was Lefrancois' last pro bodybuilding victory and she was overjoyed to earn her first win in five years.

   Along the way to this New York pro victory, Lefrancois finished ninth at the 2006 Atlantic City Pro, followed by a 10^th-place finish at the 2007 Ms. International.

   Taking another year to further return to the level of physique she felt she needed to favorably impress bodybuilding judges, Lefrancois returned once again to the Ms. International in 2008 and dazzled everyone with a sixth-place finish that many observers felt went undervalued. She came away from that event frustrated in having missed qualifying for the Ms. Olympia by one placing.

   So, once again she went into tunnel vision mode and trained with a passion that went above and beyond mere mortals as she even continued to train with an injury that included broken bones in her foot that tested her pain threshold on a daily basis.

  The result was well worth the wait.  "I'm very happy," said the understated Lefrancois after her win. "I wanted to prove I could be a good bodybuilder again, and I wanted to make it back to the Ms. Olympia.  Now I have five months to be the best I have ever been when it comes time to go to Las Vegas."

   For her efforts, Lefrancois collected $4,000 for her first place finish.

   Runner-up Jeannie Paparone, by virtue of her placement and winning $2,000 in the process, also has five months before she competes at the Ms. Olympia in Las Vegas. The difference is she lives in Las Vegas, so she will become an automatic hometown favorite. For Paparone, this event was also a bodybuilding homecoming making her first appearance in a pro contest since she competed at the Europa in 2006.  The middleweight winner at the 2002 NPC Nationals, Paparone made her pro debut at the 2003 Night of Champions (finishing third) and was a solid placer who had designs on qualifying for the Ms. Olympia long before this 2008 contest. 

   "Better late than never," said Paparone with a wide grin. "My life is back on the right track now and I feel good about coming back to competition. I had some personal things to straighten out, and now I feel that I can give bodybuilding the effort it deserves. I worked hard to get into the shape I reached at this contest, and I'm thrilled the judges noticed. I've always had a goal to compete in the Ms. Olympia, and to be able to do it where I live is very special."

   The level of condition Paparone showed here was also special.  In fact she was finely detailed throughout her physique with her frontal pecs, back and traps highlighting her newly crafted physique. She was spot on, and left little with which to find fault.

   Grabbing the third and final Ms. Olympia qualifying position was former New Yorker Rosemary Jennings.  This event's designated ‘block of granite', Jennings, who was the 2002 overall NPC USA champion, carried a level of muscle density unmatched in the entire field.  Another veteran performer who was coming off her appearance at the 2008 Ms. International, Jennings showed her patented forearms, thick lats, and a set of triceps that were strikingly cross-striated. A former overall winner at this contest in 2005, her third-place purse of $1,000 helped soften the blow of not repeating her second New York win.

Top Fivers

Without the convenience of viewing an official score sheet after the event had ended, we can only make an assumption as to who finished fourth and fifth overall.  Based on the fact that both Dena Westerfield and Debi Laszewski were brought out in the final top five before the field was narrowed to the top three, Laszewski and Westerfield would be logical choices.  During the awards presentation, Laszewski was honored with a ‘Best Poser' award, but it would be a sure bet she would have gladly traded that award for a qualifying position at the Ms. Olympia.