Within the NPC competition, the fitness show started things off, with only four competitors entering, while figure had close to 30. The top three in fitness though were quite good. Two of the competitors also competed in figure.

The first competitor out was Renee Barrett who had decent structure but wasn't hard enough. She looked a bit tentative during her routine, and it appeared that it was one of her first shows. In third was Orlando, Florida's Charity Carden. Carden had very nice lines, and solid musculature and is looking to compete in a Fitness America show next. With a great look to her, she may have done well in the figure competition if she had entered that too. Second place belonged to Trish Smith who had the most expressive routine, and a smile reminiscent of Laura Mak's. Taking the title was Wanda Rubalcaba who looked like she was having a lot of fun on stage, and had great presence and polish.

Figure has grown a lot and with it's growth has seen some very good athletes take the stage. This show was no different. Since there were so many competitors and there was no height class differentiation, there was a cut to the top 15 for the evening finals.

Only the top five were announced and it was the well-muscled Samantha Bullington taking the fifth spot. Bullington has a solid physique and has been doing well in figure. While she was not called out very early in the two-piece round, she made up a lot of ground in the one-piece. Bullington was edged by Trish Smith who was also quite lean and tight.

Third went to Rubalcaba who also beat Smith in the fitness competition, and Texan Mary Lila Nance took second. Nance had one of the most impressive bodies on stage with great definition, and tight, full muscle bellies. Looking almost like a bodybuilder, Nance probably could have placed well in the bodybuilding contest had she entered it.

Taking the figure competition, though, was Kimberly Norman, who many agreed had the best body on stage. With great lines and tight conditioning, Norman deservedly took the class. It was interesting that during the prejudging in the two-piece round, the softer physiques were called out first, but when it came to the one-piece round, the harder, more conditioned athletes were called out earlier. In the end it looked as if the judges rewarded the conditioned athletes who had the best physiques, which is how figure should be judged.

In the Open class, Dr. Negrete took the lightweight class, ahead of Sharon Kestler who was ripped and looked incredible. Kestler also competed in figure, and did quite well in both competitions being supported by her vociferous fans. Kestler was so lean, she was seen eating the back stage desserts before the final round of the competition and still looked shredded.

It was heavyweight Bonnie Priest who was the top competitor though, and she beat out Susan Stone to take the heavyweight and overall titles. Priest was full, hard and presented herself flawlessly, showcasing an incredible physique that should be something to look out for on the national stage. Priest closed out an impressive amateur show, which led to the pros taking the stage.

What seemed to be a bit of schizophrenic callouts continued, and it was hard to tell who the judges favored. Eventual winner Kelly Ryan wasn't even called out until the fifth comparison. However, the routine rounds might have been where the most controversy was.

During the 45-second round, Chizevsky injured her knee. During the Weider seminar, she disclosed that it was a tear in her medial meniscus (more on medial meniscus tears). It was obvious that she was laboring through the rest of her routine, and appeared to be way off. However, in the end, she placed ahead of five other competitors who seemed to do a better job hitting their mandatories. In the full routine round, Chizevsky looked to have recovered remarkably from her injury, but still wasn't performing as well, and placed 10th again.

Of course the full routine round was dominated by Kelly Ryan and Jen Hendershott, but Stacy Hylton pushed both with great tumbling and displaying incredible strength. The stage was a bit springy and although competitors landed with a loud and harsh sounding thud during practice, they flew with major air during the finals. The level of skill and talent that the professional fitness competitors posess was in full showcase as Hendershott kicked off the routines with what everyone expected, showcasing her incredible jumps and fantastic stage presence and attitude. Along with her tight, lean physique, Hendershott looked like she might take the title.

Once again, though, it was Kelly Ryan who barely edged her by outpointing her by three points in the final tally. Ryan's routine round scores proved to be the margin as Hendershott beat her out in both the two and one-piece rounds (taking second in both to Chizevsky). Of course, those points might have been different if, as many fans and athletes noticed and were speaking about afterwards, Chizevsky didn't take first in both non-routine rounds.

But as it stood, both Ryan and Hendershott were more than deserving of their Olympia invites which were earned by placing in the top three, and the third of the trio to qualify was Hylton, who has been steadily improving on her already impressive overall package. With a routine that displayed impressive strength and held the audience's attention combined with a sleek physique with tight definition throughout, Hylton should be a threat when the Olympia rolls around in October.

Following Chizevsky in fifth was Carla Sanchez who achieved her best pro placement with a very well balanced package. Although usually strongest in the one-piece round, the judges placed her lower where she often made her best push. That might have been more a result of how the callouts were made, with the judges calling out the front-runners moreso than the other athletes. While every round should be judged according to whomever looks best for that round, what often happens is they use the latter rounds to compare the leading competitors against each other, when in reality they should evaluate the best competitors for that specific round. That would allow some of the other competitors who may excel in certain rounds, like the one-piece, which is always a latter round, to move up more.

In sixth was Jenny Hanke who as usual had strong routines, with powerful moves complimenting her strength. Hanke has been improving steadily and may qualify for the Olympia with several opportunities upcoming. Chasing Hanke was Angel Friend who was lean, tight and had a strong energy-filled routine. Making a move in the one-piece round, Friend posesses great glutes and showed an improved back that might have been the best of the competition (especially with it's nice taper).

Recently turned pro Lisa Reed made an impressive debut and performed a disco-themed routine. Following Hendershott was tough, and being a new face makes things a bit harder, but Reed has a promising future in the IFBB after leaving Fitness America. Behind Reed was Tracy Greenwood who had some strong callouts in the first round, but the judges weren't rewarding her impressive physique in subsequent rounds.

Renee Masi also started out stronger, and the final round judging pulled her down a bit, finishing in 10th, followed by Lorie Kimes, Julie Palmer and Christine Bergeron. Palmer and Bergeron tied for 12th, and Allison Bookless took 14th. Bookless, along with Bethany Howlett (15th) had 45-second round routine scores below Chizevsky's which was a bit surprising considering both seemed to hit their mandatories well.

In the lightweights, it was Susanne Neiderhauser who came out and immediately caught everyone's attention. With a tiny waist, nice symmetry and well conditioned, Neiderhauser looked primed to fight for the overall title, easily winning her class.

Denise Gerard was lean with thick, mature muscle throughout, but couldn't keep up with the aesthetic package that Neiderhauser presented. Jennifer McVicar was again soft, and thus placed third.

The middleweights was a tough call, with four competitors all vying for the class title and the automatic Olympia qualification that accompanied it. Desiree Ellis looked like the most complete pure bodybuilder, and was ripped and full, with deep cuts throughout. Her full muscle bellies and presentation were hard to beat, but the aesthetic lines of Mah Ann Mendoza and the much-improved Miriam Bustamante pushed the other two closely.

Bustamante had the best abs, tightest waist and good balance, while Angela Debatin was hard, and arguably had the best biceps. Mendoza's balance was complimented by her tight hamstrings. In the end, it probably could have gone any way, although Ellis seemed to be the purist's choice.

Canadian Sophie Duquette again was classy and refined, presenting herself with elegance and grace. She wasn't as tight and ripped as some of the others, and thus took fifth. Veteran Mary Ellen Jerumbo showed her strong back to follow up in sixth, but her calves weren't up to par to place higher. Germany's Heike Jung had paper-thin skin and was shredded, but was too hard for the judges tastes and took the final spot.

The heavyweights took the stage and Australia's Most Muscular Woman, Christine Envall came out first, wowing the crowd with her impressive mass, begging the question of whether she may be the world's most muscular woman. But it was Venezualan Betty Viana who took the crowd bu surprise with her miniscule waist and thunderous quads, accompanied by razor sharp conditioning and a fresh and innocent attitude. Gayle Moher was in the middle again, and although looking good and tight throughout, could not compete with Viana's complete and larger package.

Envall of course pleased the crowd with her most muscular poses, but was relegated to third, as the judges obviously did not reward her mass and size (including by far the best calves on stage). When it came to the overall, Viana edged out Neiderhauser with more muscle and was a deserving champion. The Olympia stage should be quite interesting with Viana qualified along with Debatin and Neiderhauser, and the eminent return of former Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray. [Editor's Note: This was confirmed by Ms. Murray herself on May 9, 2002.]