2004 came to a close and saw the final NOC which went out on maybe
more of a whimper than an exclamation point,
but from there things looked
up.
It
was a good year for youthful bodybuilders as 2004 saw some of
the most impressive young athletes
taking the stage from teens and collegiate athletes
- many of whom were the top contenders at their respective competitions.
Athletes like Kim Kilper, Cindy Phillips and Moorea Wolfe all have
promising futures.
It
was also the breakout year for the Light Heavyweight class which
was perhaps the toughest class at most every competition
and also home to the largest percentage of overall winners. Not
bad for the first year back; we look forward to the numerous
tough LHWs that may not have won their class or turned pro to
be back and making it once again the toughest class to compete
in 2005.
Now
on to the awards!
|
Amateur |
Best Overall
(our way of granting a pro card)
|
Gina
Davis. Gina will make a great pro and she has a very
strong base of fans who will want to see her at the pro level. Go Gina! |
Best Lower Body (FBB)
|
Brenda
Smith (left), Andrea Gahan. Brenda on the strength of her
outstanding calves and Andrea on overall fullness and shape.
|
Best Lower Body (Fitness/Figure)
|
Amber
Guidotti - the picture speaks for itself! |
Best
Upper Body
|
Elena
Seiple (left), Pamela Howard - Elena showed up at Nationals
with her incredibly thick upper body as did Pam at Canadian Nationals.
Both were so impressive we had to pick two. |
Best
Figure Competitor
|
Laurie
Gibson - anyone who saw her at the 2004 NPC JR USAs
would agree this woman should have placed higher and we hope
to see her on the stage again - impressive! |
Best
Fitness Competitor |
Amanda
Swallow -
she comes in hard, with amazing routines, and while her genetics
may hold her back a bit, she's one of our favorites |
Best
FBB Newcomer
|
Leighsa
Bailey -
class, beauty, muscularity - this woman is what female bodybuilding
is all about! |
Most
Improved
|
Nadia
Nardi, Christine Moore - Nadia
brought it to the Canadians after a strong showing in 2003 and
Christine filled out the rest of her physique and came in ripped
- watch out for both in 2005 - they just might both turn pro! |
Pro |
Best
Overall |
Lisa
Auckland -
Lisa's been improving each year and this year was her best ever
with solid showings including her awesome showing
at the GNC. |
Best
Upper Body
|
Sophie
Duquette -
bringing an impressive balanced physique to the Arnold, Sophie
impressed up with the size and thickness she put on |
Best
Lower Body
|
Louise
St. Pierre -
her calves, quads and overall balance helped earn her her pro
card and deservedly so! |
Best
Fitness Pro
|
Debbie
Czempinksi -
with one of the tightest physiques with nice full muscularity
and amazing acrobatic routines, Debbie is the real
deal. |
Best
Figure Pro
|
Lorena
Cozza -
she was too buffed out for many judges, but we love her look,
and appreciate the figure athletes of Lorena's style like
Kim Becker as well. |
Rising Stars (in
alphabetical order) |
|
Kim
Kilper,
Krissy Murrell,
Cindy Phillips, Kristy Wills
Pamela York - these five all have a lot of
time to develop their physiques even more so there's a lot to look
forward to. Kim's arms wowed people while the balanced physiques
that Krissy and Cindy showcase were crowd stoppers. Kristy should
turn pro in 2005 and her physique as well as Pamela's are some
of the most awesome in the amateur fitness and figure ranks respectively
based on our likes.
|
Misc. Awards |
Most
'Peeled'
|
Robin
Parker - if you saw her at the John Sherman or Nationals,
you know what we're talking about - amazing! |
Best
Outfit Theme
|
We liked the fitness version of 'Catwoman' much better than the limp Hollywood version. A salute to Amanda Swallow(left) and Alti Bautista for making it look the way it's supposed to! |
Biggest
Rip-off of 2004 |
This
girl (Melissa Dettwiller) didn't get into the
top 5 at the Olympia Ms. Muscle Beach? What?! |
GeneX Top Picks for 2004 |
Best
Poser
|
Debbie
Bramwell -
this woman has a strong to physique to work with, and she gets
creative with poses and knows how to hold em and
show off her amazing physique - a total pro! |
Best
Outfits
|
Melissa
Dettwiller -
a great new face on the scene - this girl loves the camera and
can work it! |
Most
Photogenic (amateur)
|
Pia
Johnson -
my new favorite Norwegian! Well, actually my all time favorite
- so great to work with and a totally fun girl too! |
Most
Photogenic (Pro)
|
Christine
Roth -
Damn this girl knows how to work it. Pretty much anyone will
look like a pro working with Christine! |
James Cook Top Picks for 2004 |
Best
Poser
|
This was the first time I worked with Annie Rivieccio and what a joy she was! You just hit the 'record' button and watch her go to work. Creative and fun, she has so much muscle to make every pose look good. Annie Rules!! |
Best
Outfits
|
Zhanna Rotar Came prepared to the show with the right outfits and looked great in them all. A true professional to work with! |
Most
Photogenic (amateur)
|
This was a rare moment when I got to work with a competitor right before the show. Despite the blistering Las Vegas summer heat, Laticia Jackson was radiant before her show at the USA Championships. |
Most
Photogenic (Pro)
|
When doing the live WWC shows, there are a million technical things that can go wrong. You just hope disaster doent strike. But then Deb Leung comes on camera and everything is OK. |
Congratuations to all the winners. Please feel free to place this logo on your website and link to this page.
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