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 The VancouverUSA Natural 2008 Bodybuilding Championships
and Tanji Johnson Fitness and Figure Classic is now just
another page in history. But the fifteen hundred spectators
in attendance all had prime position to witness the twenty-third
such event make its mark in bodybuilding lore.
Spokanite Mike
Best, winner of the light-heavyweight class as well as
open men overall honors, brought in a perfectly chiseled
physique that combined near perfect symmetry with conditioning
rarely seen at a regional level show. Best always been
a contender in the Pacific Northwest but his showing in
this year set a new standard of excellence. Another
perennial favorite who was edged out by Best was the incomparable
heavyweight Twayne Rawls. Rawls sports a pair of
arms punctuated with baseball biceps and long triceps with
deep muscle bellies. Another pair of rivals in the
overall was middleweight Jody Lamp and lightweight Paul
Kililimoku. Both Lamp and Kililimoku flaunted physiques
that were well muscled and highly defined.
Fitness
Alaskan Cinzia Clapp ventured down from the Great White
North and succeeded in winning the fitness competition
with seven out of seven first place votes. Clap has made
considerable improvements on her physique since last seen
at the 2007 Alaskan Ironman. Her routine was powerful with
a perfect blend of strength, agility and flexibility components.
The second place award went to Paula Williams-Gulman and
third to a steadily progressing Melissa Mitchell.
Lone junior fitness competitor Victoria Wade showed courage
in being first up at the show. Wade may have been hesitant
as her routine began but with the encouragement of a full
house at the Skyview auditorium she literally blossomed
before our eyes.
Speaking of blossoming the seven year old “Shirley
Temple” of fitness, Tia Buell, was back to present
a solo guest performance. With her curly locks and mile-wide
smile she is fast becoming one of the most sought after
performers in the area.
Figure
Forty figure women made their way to Vancouver to compete
in six classes. Masters winner Brittani Simpson was
a standout. Her near perfect stage presentation was
only out shadowed by her ever-present winners smile. Camano
Islander Julie Barnett came on strong in the one-piece
round but faltered a bit in the two-piece and had to settle
for a solid second place.
In the under 5’ 3” class former 2007 Evergreen
State overall winner Julie Ann Lee came to town hoping
for a repeat. She got her wish as the class winner and
the overall Vancouver Figure champion. A well-proportioned
Lynn Fitzthum finished second with Carole Castillo taking
the third place trophy.
A mere three points separated under
5’ 5” winner
Jennifer La Brie and second place Bridgit Hake. Platinum
blond Lynn Cullen rounded out the top three.
Fiona Krug’s tapering back, sweeping thighs and
perfectly balanced shoulders are what gave her the judges
first place nod in the under 5’ 7’ class. Besides
a well-trained physique second place Ginny Gardea exuded
some serious charisma throughout her stage presentation.
One of the most pleasing competitors of the evening was
third place winner Deon Kappenman.
In the tall class Jill Lane’s perseverance paid
off. Lane has obviously been training hard over the winter
months and it showed. Her subtle improvements made a marked
difference in this show. Second place winner and newcomer
Lauren Huber is woman to watch this season. Her stage
presence was felt all the way to the back row. Huber’s
competition suits were the perfect cut for her body type
and color for her skin tone. Long time favorite Christie
Patterson was awarded third place in a very tough class.
The
women’s figure overall was by far the most difficult
decision of the night. Each competitor had a vastly
different body type and musculature. It is very hard to
discern strengths and weakness in such a diverse group
of women. At nights end the lovely Julie Ann Lee
was awarded top honors and the 2008 Tanji Johnson Figure
title.
Teen Men
The teen men division was one of the most entertaining
of the evening. Five young men pitted themselves
against one another to see if they had a future in the
sport of bodybuilding. Winner Jedidiah Fowler’s
size and conditioning belied his youth. He posed
confidently and from the audience response was their favorite
as well. Second place winner Derek Frank did not
let Fowler’s edge take the cock out of his walk. Frank
basked in the applause from the crowd and was spurred on
during his routine by the continued ribbing from MC Kim
Kong Farrison. Third in the class was Michael Clark.
Masters
Division
Linda Ham was the unopposed women master competitor. Ham
did not let her lack of competition dampen her spirit as
she posed her way through an elegant routine.
Kevin James
swept through the master’s men over
forty class with a half-dozen first place votes. Alan
Woody’s conditioning and classic posing routine carried
him through to a solid second finish. Nothing less would
be expected of Woody as his is trained by poser extraordinaire
and demanding taskmaster Donnie Wetstone. Last years master’s
overall winner Mark Kimble was relegated to third place
this year in spite of considerable improvements to his
overall physique. That shows how difficult the over
forties were.
It would be easy to overlook the over fifty division as
it was another solo class. That is unless that competitor
is none other than Corky Gainsford. Gainsford can
always be depended on to bring an eclectic posing routine
to the night show. This year was no different. His
frenetic routine brought even more life to the already
enthused audience.
Novice Division
Figure competitor Christine Patterson crossed over to
the novice women bodybuilding class and took first place
and the overall award. Mention must be made of Anastasia
Chumova and her debut competition. Chumova is a protégé of
mult-title holder and veteran poser Janet Guenther. At
first glance Chumova appears to be tall and slight but
she possesses the type of body that fills up once she starts
posing. Muscles literally pop out from nowhere.
The novice men’s classes were a contrast of opposites. The
flowing lines of lightweight winner Beau Henning, the pleasing
symmetry of middleweight Mike Handy and the ruggedness
of heavyweight winner Zakee Shakir epitomized the full
spectrum of physique types in bodybuilding. This
evening in VancouverUSA the judge’s preferred the
massive muscularity of Zakee Shakir
Open Women’s Bodybuilding
Sadly the open women’s divisions attracted only
three bodybuilders. Lightweight winner Cindy Goodrich
continues to fine-tune her physique. Goodrich’s
melodious free posing was the perfect vehicle to display
the flowing aspect of her figure.
Janet Guenther has extended
her amazing 2007 winning streak into the 2008 season by
winning the heavyweight class as well as the overall. Kelly Pike took second in the
heavies. Thanks to all three ladies for keeping women’s
bodybuilding a part of the show.
Guest Posers
The guest posers included the incredible Laura Mak. Mak
jump-started the crowd early in the evening with one of
her high-energy fitness routine that shows why she is still
in demand all over the country.
Local IFBB pro Michele Mayberry
appears regularly around the Northwest and I never tire
of her routines. This
year Mayberry did a take off of the quintessential girl
next door, Mary Ann, from Gillian’s Island. Come
on guys, you know we all loved Mary Ann more the Ginger!
We love Michele too. She is going to be the next
big thing in fitness from the Pacific Northwest. Featured
Guest poser of the evening was Dexter Jackson. The “Blade” is
coming off an impressive string of victories. He
took home his third Arnold Classic win, a week later he
took the Australian Pro soundly defeating some stiff competition
and while in the South Pacific he decided to take a jaunt
over to New Zealand and bring home another trophy and check. Not
a bad March for Dexter Jackson.
Additionally there were
a host of pros and VIPs in the house. Flex Wheeler appeared courtesy of EFX promoting
his Natural Freak supplementation. IFBB Fitness
Pro Tami Ough and IFBB Figure Pros Kristi Tauti and Sandy
Grant were on-hand to sign autographs and present trophies. IFBB
bodybuilder and 2007 Europa champ Mah Ahn Mendoza made
her presence known. NPC figure front-runner Michelle
Anderson was all smiles as she helped with backstage expediting.
The
only VIP missing was you. Too late for this
year but you can remedy that situation by attending the
2009 VancouverUSA Natural Bodybuilding Championships and
Tanji Johnson Fitness and Figure Classic on March 28th.
Videos From The Event
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