Written by David Aboody
26 October 2017

17benweider-legacy

2017 IFBB Ben Weider Legacy Cup - Toronto

 

Kicking it up a notch!

The second year for this prestigious event in North America, named for IFBB Founder Ben Weider. Co-presented by Powerhouse Gym and longtime Ontario promoter Ron Hache, the show more than doubled in size from 2016. With much more participation from USA and Mexico competitors as well as the inclusion of Caribbean nations, there was an unmistakable international flavor this time! Under the auspices of the IFBB International and CBBF, the judging panel headed by Joe Spinello definitely had their work cut out for them. 12 Pro cards were handed out in total to the 6 division overall winners and each runner-up. They're given the opportunity to then apply for either IFBB Pro Elite or IFBB Pro League status.

 

Classic Bodybuilding

The show began with a posing exhibition from Iran's Reza Lak to promote cancer awareness. Canada's Winston Ashie Winns took the Master and Open Short class/Overall titles with Lamarr Coward of Barbados winning the Open Tall class.

001. Reza Lak - Classic Bodybuilding - Exhibition.

002. Winston Ashie Winns - Classic Bodybuilding - Masters/Open Short Class - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

003. Lamarr Coward - Classic Bodybuilding Tall Class - 1st (Pro Card). Junior Men's Bodybuilding - 4th.

 

Men's Bodybuilding

Starting with Juniors, a good day for Mexico's Josue Torres winning both this and his open class. In Masters, big Phillip Clahar of the USA dominated, also taking the Overall Title as the Super Heavyweight winner. There is no separate Masters Overall as per the format, so in all divisions, all class winners in that category take part in the final comparison round. Second Pro card went to Derek Rafla. Strong contenders in other classes included Stephen Didoshak and Mahmood Al Durrah in the Light Heavyweights. Some very stylistic posing throughout made for an entertaining evening for the Toronto audience.

004. Josue Torres - Junior Men's Bodybuilding - 1st. Light Middleweight - 1st.

005. John Vella - Master Men's Bodybuilding 40-49 Lightweight - 1st.

006. Ken French - Master Men's Bodybuilding 40-49 Heavyweight - 2nd.

007. Philip Clahar - Master Men's Bodybuilding 40-49 Heavyweight - 1st. Open Super Heavyweight - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

008. Ken Hensley - Master Men's Bodybuilding 50-59 - 1st. Open Light Heavyweight - 3rd.

009. Sydney Outten - Master Men's Bodybuilding 60+ - 1st.

010. Paul Wilson - Open Men's Bodybuilding Lightweight - 1st.

011. Paul Wilson - Open Men's Bodybuilding Lightweight - 1st.

012. Erandi Vargas - Open Men's Bodybuilding Light Middleweight - 2nd.

013. Ross Caesar - Open Men's Bodybuilding Middleweight - 1st.

014. Antonio Diaz - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Light Heavyweight - 4th.

015. Mahmood Al Durrah - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Light Heavyweight - 2nd.

016. Stephen Didoshak - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Light Heavyweight - 1st.

017. Derek Rafla - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Heavyweight - 1st (Pro Card).

018. Joey Pyontka - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Super Heavyweight - 3rd.

019. Jorge Luis Guerrero - Open Men's Bodybuilding - Super Heavyweight - 2nd.

 

Men's Physique

Early on, it was clear that Junior competitor Bhuwan Chauhan of Alberta, Canada had that right combination of size and shape for this division the judges were looking for, winning his Open Class as well, then Overall. Runner-up Pro card recipient was Chevy Phillips.

020. Bhuwan Chauhan - Open Men's Physique Junior/'D' Class - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

021. Shawn Bacher - Master Men's Physique 40-44 Class - 2nd.

022. Gemo Smith - Master Men's Physique 40-44 Class - 1st. Open 'B' Class - 9th.

023. Dean Brandt - Master Men's Physique 45-49 Short Class - 3rd.

024. Jerome Shankin - Master Men's Physique 45-49 Short Class - 2nd.

025. Dexter Simon - Master Men's Physique 45-49 Short Class - 1st. Open 'B' Class - 2nd.

026. Willie Carroll - Master Men's Physique 45-49 Tall Class - 1st.

027. Akabar Ali - Open Men's Physique 'A' Class - 2nd.

028. Denique Scott - Open Men's Physique 'A' Class - 1st.

029. Chevy Phillips - Open Men's Physique 'B' Class - 1st (Pro Card).

030. Bernard Opoku - Open Men's Physique 'C' Class - 1st.

 

Women's Physique

While it was expected that many of the same Canadian competitors from recent Nationals would be here, the added mix of Mexican and Caribbean competitors definitely shook things up. Don't get me wrong, the Canadians involved DID dial it in for this show so a win-win for the category. In the end, Lakeisha Miller of the Bahamas took the overall title, plus a last-minute mini-shoot the next day. Thank you to Fitness 365 in Toronto for the location! Mexico's Angelica Mejia's exquisite posing routine and very balanced look won her class and that second Pro Card.

031. Angelica Mejia - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 2nd. Open 'A' Class - 1st (Pro Card).

032. Dr. Alexandra Heberger - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 3rd. Open 'B' - 5th.

033. Jennifer Reese - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 4th. Open 'A' - 2nd.

034. Lakeisha Miller - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 1st. Open 'B' - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

035. Deyra Mavrides - Women's Physique Master 45+ - 1st. Open 'B' - 4th.

036. Robin Eve - Women's Physique Master 45+ - 2nd.

037. Sonia Domingue - Women's Physique Master 45+ - 3rd. Open 'B' - 6th.

038. Deyra Mavrides - Women's Physique Master 45+ - 1st. Open 'B' - 4th.

039. Kennedy Ledgerwood - Women's Physique Open 'A' - 3rd.

040. Angelica Mejia - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 2nd. Open 'A' Class - 1st (Pro Card).

041. Julie Germain - Women's Physique Open 'B' - 2nd.

042. Lisa Kudrey - Women's Physique Open 'B' - 3rd.

043. Lakeisha Miller - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 1st. Open 'B' - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

044. Lakeisha Miller - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 1st. Open 'B' - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

045. Lakeisha Miller - Women's Physique Master 35-44 - 1st. Open 'B' - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

 

Figure (Bodyfitness)

Very strong classes of primarily top Canadian National contenders who had to bring their best, dominated the show, but some notables from abroad made quite an impression. Ivana Hernández of Mexico, at only 22 years of age has the ideal proportionality for the division with size, shape and separation rarely seen except with more seasoned competitors. As she fine tunes her look, expect her to get to the pro ranks sooner rather than later. A third-place finish in the Open 'B' Class, only super conditioned Daniella Bellabarba and Kyla Delorey placed ahead of Ivana. Leslie Rotella won both her Masters and Open Classes to solidly win the Overall Title. 'D' Class winner Rae Healey narrowly beat out the aforementioned Daniella in the Overall comparison round to take the second card.

046. Halie wenarchuk - Figure Junior Class - 1st.

047. Kyla Delorey - Figure Master 35-44 Short Class - 3rd. Open 'A' Class - 2nd.

048. Douard Macha - Figure Master 35-44 Short Class - 2nd. - Open 'B' Class - 3rd.

049. Figure Master 35-44 Short Class - Michelle Bailey - 5th, Tamica Stubbs - 4th and Jungmee Choi - 6th.

050. Leslie Rotella - Figure Master 35-44 Short Class - 1st. Open 'B' Class - 1st and Overall (Pro Card).

051. Danielle Fisher - Figure Master 35-44 Tall Class - 1st. Open 'D' Class - 2nd.

052. Tara Broughton - Figure Master 45+ Class - 5th. Open 'A' Class - 7th.

053. Asmaa Salimi - Figure Master 45+ Class - 4th.

054. Judy Doughty - Figure Master 45+ Class - 3rd.

055. Manuella Proksch - Figure Master 45+ Class - 2nd.

056. Sabrina Burgess - Figure Master 45+ Class - 1st. Open 'B' Class - 2nd.

057. Eve Gagnon - Open Figure 'A' Class - 4th.

058. Ivana Hernández - Open Figure 'A' Class - 3rd.

059. Figure Open 'A' Class - Daniella Bellabarba - 1st, Tish Szkabarnicki - 5th and Ivana Hernández - 3rd.

060. Figure Open 'A' Class - Daniella Bellabarba - 1st, Tish Szkabarnicki - 5th and Ivana Hernández - 3rd.

061. Figure Open 'A' Class - Daniella Bellabarba - 1st, Tish Szkabarnicki - 5th and Ivana Hernández - 3rd.

062. Daniella Bellabarba - Figure Open 'A' Class - 1st.

063. Figure Open 'B' Class - Nadia Vandal - 4th, Leslie Rotella - 1st and Sabrina Burgess - 2nd.

064. Maryam Bamdad - Figure Open 'C' Class - 2nd.

065. Amanda Schmidt - Figure Open 'C' Class - 1st.

066. Rae Healey - Figure Open 'D' Class - 1st (Pro Card).

067. Bree Balaski - Figure Open 'E' Class - 1st.

 

Bikini

Wrapping up the categories, we've reported here on MD Canada on every show BC's Annette Mountford has done, two cover banner inclusions along the way! Laser focused on this show, everything was "on point" to clearly deserve the top spot. A pleasure to have known her and very supportive husband Steve over the last couple of years. But first, a summary of all the classes, beginning with the Juniors. Three very photogenic competitors aged 21 or younger, those who also competed in Open classes did very well there! Masters was a little preview of the Open classes, with aforementioned Annette Mountford winning the Tall 35+ class. BC's Annette Colligan, fresh off an overall win at a local show (drug tested), looked further fined tuned to win the 45+ class here. Her coach, Dean Brandt coincidentally competed here in Men's Physique at the equivalent age bracket. Ageless wonder and crowd favorite Cindy Van Empel-Popowich missed the top 6 but dazzled onstage as usual!

 

On to the Open Classes, 'A' had 12 competitors, none of which looked like they didn't 'belong' on a National stage! Some examples are shown among the photos included in this report. In fact, the way the judging worked, top 6 is selected at pre-judging then those scores are thrown out and they are then re-judged at finals from scratch. That particularly benefited stunning Kateryna Zhbanova of Manitoba, climbing from 6th to 3rd as her final placing. Top spot went to Alberta's Petra Mace...perfect posing and very confident looking onstage. 'B' Class featured another up and coming Mexican athlete, Reyna Perez Mecalco taking 1st place followed by Junior winner Priscilla Tavares. Out of the top 6, but very eye catching were Quebec competitors Sabrina Lavoie and Tatiana Garneau. 'C' Class was won by Meagan Cormier of Saskatchewan, nice balanced look, followed by Junior competitor Mandy Froude...definitely the epitome of a swimsuit model look. Alberta's Sierra Steinbac with nice muscle shape and size always looks stunning onstage, 3rd Place here. 'D' Class gave Harpreet Pandher of BC her first National level win looking in her best stage condition ever. One of four competitors who were virtually tied in the scoring for runner-up overall, the others being Petra, Ivana and 'E' Class winner Kai Miller who took that honor. While tied with Sarah Plowman after prejudging, Kai won the subsequent round to compete for the Overall title. Last but far from least was the tallest class 'F', Annette Mountford faced a strong challenge from New Brunswick beauty Jaclyn Phillips who actually won the prejudging round! Veteran competitor Sarah Ainsley Harrison climbed from 6th to 3rd thanks to the second round as well.

068. Mandy Froude - Bikini Junior Class - 3rd. Open 'C' Class - 2nd.

069. Marie Alex Lelievre - Bikini Junior Class - 2nd.

070. Marie Alex Lelievre - Bikini Junior Class - 2nd.

071. Bikini Junior Class - Marie Alex Lelievre - 2nd, Mandy Froude - 3rd and Priscilla Tavares - 1st.

072. Priscilla Tavares - Bikini Junior Class - 1st. Open 'B' Class - 2nd.

073. Beatriz Zamarripa - Bikini Master 35-44 Short Class - 2nd. Open 'A' Class - 10th.

074. Nadege Corcoran - Bikini Master 35-44 Short Class - 3rd. Open 'B' Class - 9th.

075. Bikini Master 35-44 Short Class - Chelsea Iyeesha Tapanainen - 6th, Lena Antonacci - 5th and Aida Ramirez - 1st.

076. Aida Ramirez - Bikini Master 35-44 Short Class - 1st.

077. Chelsea Stephenson - Bikini Master 35-44 Tall Class - 4th.

078. Diane Brunet - Bikini Master 35-44 Tall Class - 3rd. Open 'D' Class - 3rd.

079. Bikini Master 35-44 Tall Class - Tabatha Kirkegaard - 5th, Annette Mountford - 1st and Sarah Plowman - 2nd.

080. Arlene Basden - Bikini Master 45+ Class - 2nd. Open 'B' Class - 13th.

081. Cindy Van Empel-Popowich - Bikini Master 45+ Class - 7th.

082. Annette Colligan - Bikini Master 45+ Class - 1st.

083. Regina Ash - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 12th.

084. Kate Doyon - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 9th.

085. Ann Frédérick Côté - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 8th.

086. Scarlett Von Cardinal - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 5th.

087. Ariane Paradis - Natasha Davis - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 4th.

088. Open Bikini 'A' Class - Petra Mace - 1st, Mai Tran - 6th and Kateryna Zhabanova - 3rd.

089. Natasha Davis - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 2nd.

090. Petra Mace - Open Bikini 'A' Class - 1st.

091. Sabrina Lavoie - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 10th.

092. Tatiana Garneau - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 7th.

093. Tasha Star - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 4th.

094. Shakira Doughlin - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 3rd.

095. Priscilla Tavares - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 2nd. Junior Class - 1st. .

096. Open Bikini 'B' Class - Shakira Doughlin - 2nd, Reyna Perez Mecalco - 1st and Tasha Star - 4th.

097. Reyna Perez Mecalco - Open Bikini 'B' Class - 1st.

098. Open Bikini 'C' Class - Crystal Mohan - 5th, Meagan Cormier - 1st and Sierra Steinback 3rd.

099. Meagan Cormier - Open Bikini 'C' Class - 1st.

100. Marvia Laurence - 0pen Bikini 'D' Class - 5th.

101. Abi Roman - 0pen Bikini 'D' Class - 4th.

102. Julia Schroeder - 0pen Bikini 'D' Class - 2nd.

103. Harpreet Pandher - 0pen Bikini 'D' Class - 1st.

104. Sarah Plowman - 0pen Bikini 'E' Class - 2nd. Master 35-44 Short Class - 2nd.

105. Kai Miller - 0pen Bikini 'E' Class - 1st (Pro Card).

106. Sarah Ainsley Harrison - 0pen Bikini 'F' Class - 3rd.

107. Jaclyn Phillips - 0pen Bikini 'F' Class - 2nd.

108. 0pen Bikini 'F' Class - Tabatha Kirkegaard - 5th, Sarah Ainsley Harrison - 3rd and Janet Bshouty - 4th.

109. 0pen Bikini 'F' Class - Jaclyn Phillips - 2nd, Annette Mountford - 1st, Sarah Ainsley Harrison 3rd and Tabatha Kirkegaard - 5th.

110. Annette Mountford - Open Bikini 'F' - 1st and Overall. Master 35-44 Tall Class - 1st (Pro Card).

 

In Conclusion

Given the current climate of re-aligning of IFBB affiliations, this show may or may not be the last of its kind. The format was great and the competitive level and participation exceeded expectations! For more from this reporter, visit http://twixpix.com/contests/BWLC17/BWLC17-Intro.html plus links to social media coverage.

 

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