Before the fitness finals, they had a couple of groups of competitive dancers perform, and they were surprisingly well received by the crowd much like last year's Riverdance Irish dancers.

Trazer (sp?) which looked like a big Twister board crossed with the old color/sound matching game, Merlin started off the fitness evening finals. You really had to see this, but basically it looked like a video game where the competitors had to jump on spots that lit up on a virtual board that was represented on a huge monitor in front of the contestants. It really seeemed like a gigantic Nintendo game or something out of American Gladiators, and in my opinion, the competition, really rewarded quickness, reflexes and agility more than anything else. Plus, for the shorter women, it seems like it would take more strides to cover the ground. So essentially, the ultimate competitor in this contest would be a quick point guard on a basketball team, perhaps Sheryl Swoopes??? Anyhow, as you can probably tell, I really think that competition really was not an accurate measure of the "fitness" of a particular competitor.

On to the routines, I noticed that they all seem to be very similar, with only the costumes and intros to the routines being truly original. I will not take any of the talent and athletic ability away from the competitors, but it seems like the routines are getting more and more similar. I didn't get to stay for all of the routines, but from the ones I saw, Mary Yockey's was very gymnastics oriented and Cristiana Casoni's was artistic and expressive as many of the European competitors are. Debi Stern (formerly Lee) had one of the hardest looking bodies.

Of the other notables I saw out and about, Amelia Hernandez was looking impressive in her offseason shape - very full and massive without having the bloated look that many offseason bodybuilders get. Nicole Bass actually looked smaller than normal, but that was from a few feet away. Hot fitness rising star Stephanie Worsfold looked to be in great condition and displayed her characteristic charm and poise even when not performing.

Susan Meyers looked good with nice hardness and great muscle maturity and density. Although not as ripped as she has previously been, she looked good on stage. Yolanda Hughes' physique was characteristically symmetrical-ish (meaning decent symmetry, not awesome), but not ripped. Her stomach tends to give a little beer gut appearance when she exhales. Gayle Moher looked good in this round, with nice hard lines, and decent cuts. Vicki Gates' upper body still overpowers her lower half, but it looks to be much more balanced than in previous contests. Jitka posseses some of the best lines in the sport, and although she can probably easily carry more muscle, she again wasn't hard enough to be in the top three. She also seemed a bit detached, possibly because of her trouble with the English language and because her husband (a vociferous supporter, as any '97 Olympia attendee can attest to) was not there. Leisa Lewis looked impressive with her overpowering size and mass. Coming in decent shape, her sheer mass and symmetry continue to carry her. Andrulla Blanchette looked good, but a tad smoother than her Olympia condition. Her lats still are the best on stage, and her lines are striking. Denise Masino and Nancy Lewis both didn't seem to be on, and therefore probably round out the bottom of the top ten.

The second round of compulsories was done by each competitor going on stage separately and going through the poses, and the third round was the muscularity round. In this round Leisa Lewis and Yolanda seemed to be called out the most (with the last one being just those two). As stated before, Susan Meyers' muscular maturity and hardness helped her through this round, and Gayle Moher's hardness kept her in it against larger women like Yolanda, Vicki and Leisa. Andrulla did well in this round, with her impressive upper body wowing the audience on her first double bicep pose alongside Vicki and Yolanda. As the rounds went on, some of the competitors, mainly Andrulla and Susan Meyers began almost posedown posing during the specific called out poses, going thigh-to-thigh on abdominal and thigh calls, and slighty staring each other down in a friendly manner during the other poses. Of the seemingly lower-placed competitors, Yaxeni Oriquen's biceps were quite impressive as well as Brigitta Carlson, who I thought should be placed higher in both comparatory rounds.

Susan Myers then took the stage and in my opinion had the best routine. Her music had a "fun" upbeat vibe, while still presenting her physique quite well. The highlight for me being when Eric Cartman's rantings of "Beefcake, beefcake!" were played and then segued into LL Cool J's "I'm gonna knock you out." Overall, a very playful, energetic performance. Denise Masino then took the stage to a "feel good" type performance. Nothing unusual, but just... feel good... that's about the only words I can think of to describe it. Even Denise said so herself in the post-routine interview backstage. Chris Bongiovanni followed posing to an old Messiah tune I hadn't heard in ages. The old school techno (pre-electronica) matched her physique pretty well, but overall, it was just another routine that really didn't stand out.

Jitka then took the stage with an elegant operatic introduction, and graced the stage. Pulling from her European background, the routine definitely had that sort of feel. Again, nothing too special, but as I said before, she didn't seem to have her mind completely on the show. Finally, Yolanda took the stage and similarly to Lesa Lewis' beginning had a rap intro which heralded her. Keeping with her style, Yolanda started off with a fitness type routine doing many of the moves seen in virtually every fitness competition. Then she went into her dance style gymanstics oriented posing to the delight of the crowd. Her tumbling brought life to the crowd which really hadn't been into it yet, and then a moonwalk towards the end of the routine brought further energy to the packed house. It was a good routine to finish out the top ten (11).

Then the rest of the competitors who did not make the cut were allowed a 30-second segment of their routine. I thought it would have been nice to have let them do their full routines, as there were only six others who had not made the cut, many of whom were from outside of the U.S. With the amount of preparation involved just to get to point of being on stage, I thought it would have been nice to allow.

The final six were Gayle, Nancy, Vicki, Lesa, Susan and Yolanda. The posedown was not viscious, but Yolanda moved about the most of any competitors. With my view partially obscured by the camera man, I couldn't exactly see who was battling it out in the middle but it was primarily, Lesa, Yolanda and Vicki. As the posedown wrapped up, they brought on a juggling pianist while the judges tabulated the results. It was interesting to note that the pianist, while talented, got the loudest cheers of the night up until that point.

Finally, the totals were tabulated and the results announced. It was probably another example of having to knock out the champion to be the new champion and none of the other top six were that much better than Yolanda, although it could be argued that the choice of the top six was flawed in and of itself. In my opinion, Andrulla Blanchette definitely deserved a top six placement and Nancy probably did not. After talking with some others in the business, that was one of the glaring ommissions. However, as with virtually every contest, there certainly was some dissent among the opinions of the judges. However, it must be said that Yolanda was most gracious in victory commending the rest of the competitors, and sounding very genuine. Her personality is definitely a strength of hers.

The post show banquet began around 10:30 and there was the typical buffet style food items. Interestingly enough, there was a special VIP section blocked off in the middle area of the large banquet hall, and only certain competitors were allowed to sit in the area. The table I was seated at had two of the competitors at it and then one next to us had one. None of the three were allowed in the VIP area. I guess that says something about what they think of the competitors. Of course, maybe that's just it. Maybe they aren't the most important people at bodybuilding shows. An interesting juxtaposition, but perhaps that explains the irregularity of the judging and the resultant confusion in the sport. Perhaps it's not just what you bring to the stage, but something else as well.

On the other hand, I did in fact have a good time downing many beers, while our table-mates slammed several bottles of wine. The effects of the wine were pretty evident and of course we were all thoroughly enjoying our buzzes. The company was good and that made up for anything else. The music was better than at many banquets I've been to (which isn't saying much) and the thing seemed to be catered by the All-Star Cafe. (But doesn't Arnold do those Planet Hollywoods?). The dance floor up front was fairly crowded at times, and overall it was nice enough. The night capped off around 5:00 in the morning at one of the hotels nearby where the last staggering folks were about to call it a morning...

Dale Bivens' Competitor Assesments

This was the first pro show in four years that I was able to be totally impartial and objective, as no family members were involved in the competition. I only attended the women bb's pre-judging, and moved my seating from mid-balcony to main floor fourth row after out-maneuvering a ticket checker. Almost every callout was performed twice, as they moved the competitors to both sides of the stage, and in stage-right they were directly in front of where I was seated. I could write a ton on my impressions and opinions, but I'll try to limit this post to critiquing the competitors - if you're interested in further opinions, and man do I have em, just ask.

1. Yolanda winning the show was a crime. [I have never been a fan of hers, and am even less after seeing her behavior in pre-judging - ask me, I'll tell you.] Gene's description of her bloated, though muscular abs, is on the money. I do not understand why she has been judged so highly for the last couple of years. She is not the most symmetrical [ by a long shot] nor the most muscled. I would have had her around 4th.She did benefit by the fact that most all competitors seemed to be a little off, except...

2. Lesa Lewis. We've all known for some time now that if she ever got herself in proper contest shape that she would literally blow everyone else off stage. She did, and she did. The clear winner IMO. Not even close.

3. Gayle Moher. The best combination of shape and proportionate muscularity.

4. Sue Myers - the judges love her. It seemed as tho she was in every comparison.

5. Vicky Gates - was in good enough condition to finish higher if she were not Vicky Gates. We've seen her better, but IMO she only suffered in comparison to her previous self.

6. Nancy Lewis' quads are the freakiest in women's bb. Veins running rampant like a AAA roadmap. Like the old Jim Quinn TwinLab ad. I actually gasped when she flexed em. I couldn't take my eyes off em, so I have no idea about the rest of her physique.

7. Denise is underrated, I think. Not taken as seriously as she should be, because of her mammoth bazoomas and sex-kitten image. She was in great shape, good quality muscle, particularly tri's and abs - which she was able to pose this year without handlifting before mentioned hooters.

8. Jitka - I understand the fuss about her great genetic shape and symmetry, but she's doing nothing with it. She was soft, not particularly muscled, and unenthusiastic. Her placing, though only 8th, was still a gift. I saw absolutely no difference in her, and Yaxeni Oriquen, who I'm sad to say deserved her low placing [14] :(.

9. Andrulla - tho I personally do not like her one bit [ ask me, Gene ] I've always loved her as a bodybuilder. From the waist up, I'm not sure that any current pro can touch her pound for pound for high quality mass. But her lower half is completely overpowered, even though her quads would look enormous on most anyone else. I figured her to be around 6th, but can understand her placing.

10. Bongiovanni - from my seat, she was the hardest of anyone onstage, and looked little different than when she won Jan Tana. She has an unappealing look, to me that I can't quite put my finger on. Her skin looked dry and rough. A puzzling placement, almost as if to say her winning the JT was a mistake. I kind of see her around 8th.

11 - 17 - [Pariso was 15th in Jan Tana, Brehm and Kallstrom tied for last [ 22? - with some others], Erica was dead last at the 97 Ms I, and Unger hasn't competed as an IFBB pro in years, and has done nothing meaningful competitively in her carreer, much less lately. I have no idea how and/or why they received invitations.] Betty looked good, but her tan was atrociously mud-black. Degenaro has a lot of promise, and I expect will only get better as she adds some size to her great shape. Lynea was hard, with good quality muscle, her shape has several problems, ditto for Kallstrom, tho not so hard. Yaxeni, oh my, what went wrong? So soft, and just when it looked like she was on the verge of a major breakout after Jan Tana.

I would have placed them:

1. L Lewis
2. Moher
3. Meyers
4. Gates
5. Hughes
6. Massino
7. N Lewis
8. Blanchette
9. Bongiovanni
10. DeGenaro
11. Brehm
12. Pariso
13. Harizamova
14. Oriquen
15. Kallstrom
16. Kern, Unger

1998 Ms. International Prejudging Callouts

1.  Susan Meyers,         Yolanda Hughes,       Gayle Moher
2.  Yolanda Hughes,       Jitka Harazimova,     Gayle Moher
3.  Jitka Harazimova,     Gayle Moher,          Vicki Gates
4.  Susan Meyers,         Yolanda Hughes,       Leisa Lewis
5.  Vicki Gates,          Yolanda Hughes,       Leisa Lewis
6.  Andrulla Blanchette,  Yolanda Hughes,       Nancy Lewis
7.  Susan Meyers,         Jitka Harazimova,     Denise Masino
8.  Andrulla Blanchette,  Leisa Lewis,          Nancy Lewis
9.  Andrulla Blanchette,  Jitka Harazimova,     Chris Bongiovanni
10. Susan Meyers,         Chris Bongiovanni,    Lynea Breahm
11. Brigitta Carlsson,    Jacqueline DeGanero,  Yaxeni Oriquen
12. Susan Meyers,         Betty Pariso,         Andrulla Blanchette
13. Ericca Kern,          Betty Pariso,         Kathy Unger
14. Leisa Lewis,          Vicki Gates,          Susan Meyers
15. Leisa Lewis,          Betty Pariso,         Lynea Breahm
16. Susan Meyers,         Jitka Harazimova,     Andrulla Blanchette
17. Denis Masino,         Chris Bongiovanni,    Andrulla Blanchette
18. Nancy Lewis,          Brigitta Carlsson,    Gayle Moher
19. Yaxeni Oriquen,       Ericca Kern,          Denise Masino
20. Leisa Lewis,          Gayle Moher,          Susan Meyers
21. Yolanda Hughes,       Gayle Moher

1.  Susan Meyers,         Yolanda Hughes,       Leisa Lewis
2.  Susan Meyers,         Gayle Moher,          Vicki Gates
3.  Susan Meyers,         Gayle Moher,          Nancy Lewis
4.  Vicki Gates,          Yolanda Hughes,       Andrulla Blanchette
5.  Nancy Lewis,          Denise Masino,        Andrulla Blanchette
6.  Lynea Breahm,         Denise Masino,        Betty Pariso
7.  Jitka Harazimova,     Jacqueline DeGanero,  Andrulla Blanchette
8.  Chris Bongiovanni,    Susan Meyers,         Denise Masino
9.  Chris Bongiovanni,    Jacqueline DeGanero,  Betty Pariso
10. Jitka Harazimova,     Nancy Lewis,          Andrulla Blanchette
11. Gayle Moher,          Yolanda Hughes,       Leisa Lewis
12. Gayle Moher,          Susan Meyers,         Vicki Gates
13. Yaxeni Oriquen,       Kathy Unger,          Jacqueline DeGanero
14. Susan Meyers,         Denise Masino,        Andrulla Blanchette
15. Ericca Kern,          Brigitta Carlsson,    Kathy Unger
16. Yolanda Hughes,       Leisa Lewis

Last updated 4/2/98