2008 Arnold Classic and Arnold Amateur Review by Juan Carlos Lopez

Really, a whirlwind of bodies circulated Columbus, OH. Possibly the largest Arnold to date, the expo on Friday was not for claustrophobics or misanthropes. The myriad of humans pervaded the convention center and even the auditorium. Freezing cold as always during the winter months this show always presents logistic challenges deeming this show as a probably the hardest to cover.

Gina Aliotti

The pros competed on Friday morning and finals at night time on the same day. In Figure Gina Aliotti won first place with a tight body, good conditioning and great set of legs. Something we haven't seen lately as most winners of

Juliana Malacarne

shows don't have good lower bodies. Jen Gates another competitor who has held great muscle took second and with her young looks landed that placing. Amy Fry is now much smaller in comparison to her pro card win at Team U 2006. Amy has a tall physique with nice lines that resembles a Waugaman or Lado type body. Chastity Slone came in 4th making a comeback and looking like the good old days. Sonia Adcock took 5th and Paola Almerico took 6th. Notable was Juliana Malacarne who placed 12th but her body is off the wall! She has come down on size around 5lbs of muscle according to her. So its just a matter of time so she can score a big time top 3.

Kim Klein

Fitness had Kim Klein win the show with an excellent routine and also great shape as always. Jen Hendershott took second and busted a Hooters routine. Julie Palmer took 3rd with a golf routine, Julie Lohre with a sharp physique in 4th, Tracey Greenwood in 5th in shape as always. Finally Regiane Da Silva took 6th and a great placing with her great physique. She has always gravitated towards more muscle but good to see she has been rewarded. Notable as always are great Mindi O'Brien and Oksana Grishina, Grishina who has changed her routine but it is still very passionate.

Yaxeni Oriquen

Pro bodybuilding was very debated, Yaxeni Oriquen took 1st and was looking her best ever, even better than when she won the Olympia. Dayana Cadeau keeps her game on by getting second and was looking very good as well. Lisa Aukland who hold probably holds the best symmetry could be really close to getting a win at the Arnold soon its just a matter of time. Betty Pariso continues to marvel at 52 yrs old and placing that well. Brenda Raganot took 5th and has great shape. Cathy LeFrancois was looking unreal probably her best ever and her sex appeal should be more recognized as well. The world of bodybuilding needs people like that. Women like Debi Laszewski exude sex appeal and still have a great body but they should be more recognized given their mass appeal. An amateur that comes to mind is Lindsay Mulinazzi and back in the day Erica Kern. Now the champion Iris Kyle took 7th and it seems that two protrusions on her glutes marked her down as the judges don't feel this is something the sport should exhibit.

Allison Ethier

Thursday night the NPC Fitness & Figure went on stage. Fitness A was for Canadian Allison Ethier who brought a tight conditioned package with great fitness moves in her routine. Sylvia Tremblay another Canadian was stellar and took second. In Class B Chantal Dicaire another Canadian competitor was the only competitor but still proves us that Canada is still into Fitness and the USA is falling down on quality in that regard.

Linda Fodor

Figure A was for Linda Fodor who was tighter than Froio, Froio was sick over the weekend and it could account for the final result. Still Froio is en route for her pro card this year, her shape and curves are bound to get her on the pro level. Kandi Allen took 4th and she has made some great improvements in her lower body.

Candice Houston

Figure B took a slight turn as Candice Houston presented very good muscle and unreal legs. Glenese Markus was also very shredded and muscular which was different from class A. Amber Hill took 3rd with a more curvy fuller look and Misty Schaffer 5th, both clients of Greg "The Wizard" Hasberry from Alabama. In 4th place was our writer Jean Jitomir who surely has the structure to be up there. Good luck to her as she continues to compete at this high level. Another competitor who got ready in only a few weeks is Michele Levesque, her potential is untapped yet, we hope to see her again on stage.

Pamela Soper

Figure C was very tight, Pamela Soper took 1st with a slim taller shape and Casey Jovan had more muscle and less experience than Pam has on stage. Tina Davis another very good quality competitor crept up in 3rd place. This class also included a large number of competitors that was broken into 3 groups.

Kristy McKinney

Figure D was for Kristy McKinney who had rock hard abs that stuck out everywhere. Kendra McAdams has a lot of national level experience and its a matter of time until she comes forward to the pro level. Karin Kimura made a comeback and took 3rd. 5th place Celeste Bonin with her great structure and shape at such a young age is someone to look out for. Also Andrea Swanson who took 6th was ripped and with an amazing shape. If you could judge this class like class B Swanson could have been the winner.

Natalie Waples

Figure E was another tight one, Natalie Waples won over Francisca Dennis. Both have great structures but not that much muscle. Dennis' shoulders are pro level and will improve in time. Tami Delzenero is another great competitor that will be dangerous at national level. Australia's Gabriela Cioban was stunning and she could easily get her pro card by petition as her country does not award one at competitions.

Sandy Helmig

Figure F Sandy Helmig took 1st, Jennifer Hernandez 2nd and Canadian Valerie Richman took 3rd. In 4th Sara Bedrossian who has great conditioning was able to show it on stage. Overall was for Candice Houston who had great shape and very good legs too. This is something should be awarded more often.

For female bodybuilding on the lightweights Joanne Stewart from New Zealand won the class. Millie Cleveland took second and Glenda Bozett took third. Maryann Glascock showed a great potential we hope to see her again on stage soon.

Middleweights were a tight battle between Holly Nicholson who took first and Alicia St.Germaine who took second. Both veterans of a few Nationals they had a tough battle. Becky West who could be a pro if she put on more mass took 3rd, Carrie Simmons took 4th and she was looking amazing as always. In 5th came Christy Resendes who is one of the best balanced competitors.

Maria Carmen Gomez

On the heavyweights there was no contest as Mari Carmen Gomez Segura on a strange twist of incidents ended up not being able to get her pro card yet and had to compete as an amateur. She took the class with ease and the overall without a question.

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