Ms. Olympia: Women's Prejudging Write-Up

Eleven women tool the stage at the Las Vegas Convention Center to vie for the title of 2009 Fitness Olympia champion. In the late morning, we saw the physiques judged in both two-piece and once-piece suits. In a few hours over at the Orleans Arena, we'll see the fitness routines and then find out where they finish. Based on the callouts, it was fairly clear that at least in terms of physique, the judges favored previous winner Adela Garcia and Tracy Greenwood. Assuming they both pull off their usual fantastic routines tonight, the title should come down to one of them.

Fitness Olympia

Two-piece swimsuit comparisons:

First callout:

Adela Garcia, Tracy Greenwood, Tina Durkin, Tanji Johnson, Julie Palmer

Second callout:

Johnson and Palmer back in line, Myriam Capes and Shannon Meteraud take their places

Third callout:

Capes and Meteraud remain, joined by Nicole Duncan, Trish Warren, and Mindi O'Brien

Fourth callout:

Tina Durkin, Adela Garcia, Tracy Greenwood, Tanji Johnson, Julie Palmer

One-piece comparisons:

First callout:

Tina Durkin, Adela Garcia, Tracy Greenwood, Tanji Johnson, Julie Palmer

Second callout:

Shannon Meteraud, Nicole Duncan, Regiane Da Silva, Trish Warren, Mindi O'Brien

Figure Olympia

This was a large group - 22 stunning women. Honestly, I have to hand it to these IFBB judges because they all look great - and remarkably similar - to me. The two biggest crowd reactions went to former multiple winner Jenny Lynn and industry icon Monica Brant, yet neither one was in the critical first callout.

One-piece swimsuit comparisons:

First callout:

Gina Aliotti, Heather Mae French, Amy Fry, Kristal Richardson, Erin Stern, Nicole Wilkins Lee

Second callout:

Sonia Gonzales, Jenny Lynn, Jessica Putnam, Felicia Romero, Monica Brant

Third callout:

Monica Brant, Sonia Gonzales, Larissa Reis, Kristi Atauti, Meriza De Guzman, Alicia Renee Harris

Fourth callout:

Sherilyn Roy, Huong Arcinas, Krissy Chin, Brenda Smith

Ms. Olympia

Thirteen of the world's best female bodybuilders brought their very best to Las Vegas. Multiple champion Iris Kyle seemed to me to be on a whole other level of mass, shape, and conditioning than the others. To be fair, Kristi Hawkins and Debi Laszewski were also shredded and sported clearly striated glutes also. Debi, a client of George "The Pro Maker" Farah, also happens to have a gorgeous face. Ostensibly this shouldn't matter, but let's be real - it never hurts. Based on the callouts, the top three should end up being Iris, Heath Armbrust, and Debi. Dayana Cadeau was bigger than ever but seemed to have sacrificed condition, while Yaxeni appeared to have lost a lot of leg mass to get super lean and in the process, took away from her X-frame. The much-anticipated Betty Viana-Atkins has excellent size, and shape, but her condition was off. Doctor Kristi Hawkins (she earned her PhD earlier this year - and her fiancé Branden Ray was a very vocal supporter a few rows behind me) as well as Lisa Aukland, bigger and more ripped than I have ever seen her, should also be up in the top five. 

First callout:

Iris Kyle, Heather Armbrust, Lisa Aukland, Yaxeni Oriquen, Debi Laszewski

Second callout:

Kristi Hawkins, Betty Pariso, Dayana Cadeau

Third callout:

All three remain, joined by Yaxeni

Fourth callout:

Tina Chandler, Nicole Ball, Gale Frankie, Rosemary Jennings, Betty Viana-Atkins

Fifth callout:

Iris Kyle, Heather Armbrust

Sixth callout:

Iris and Heather joined by Debi Laszewski