2005 IFBB Women's World Bodybuilding, Fitness and Bodyfitness Championships

September 24-25, 2005 - by genex hwang

Santa Susanna, Spain, Europe - A warmer than usual September meant an even busier time in Santa Susanna as the city was filled with vacationers and fans for the 2005 IFBB Women's World Championships.

With about 200 athletes from over 40 countries competing, there was a bounty of talent on display from countries as diverse as Serbia-Montenegro, Japan, New Zealand, Guam and Greece.

There were a lot of returning athletes as well as a bevvy of new faces and this year countries aside from the host country were allowed to bring a "B" team and Russia and the Czech Republic both took advantage of the new ruling. In Russia's case it may have helped the most as their "B" team in the fitness short class took two top five placings including the class title to Svletlana Kochkina. Russia ended up 2nd in the team rankings behind Slovakia and just ahead of Germany.

As in the states, body fitness (figure) has grown andthe classes were huge while fitness has declined a bit. The caliber of athletes hasn't changed as much though at the Worlds, with the class winners being quite impressive and a bit more artistic in their performances than at American shows.

As mentioned before, Svetlana Kochkina won the short fitness and the tall class was won by Germany's Regiana Da Silva. Oksana Grishina took 2nd in the short ahead of Germany's Rosanna Muller. Muller actually was performing with an injury and has one of the tightest physiques in the class.

Fourth went to another Russian, Lyudmila Somkina and Spain's Vanesa Vallet completed the top five. Rahel Ruch from Switzerland was extremely lean and had great stage presence, but finished in 14th place and Spain's Daria Akinshina performed very smooth floor moves that indicated a dance background.

Belgium's Natalia Tonglet had the best abs in the class but her ground moves weren't quiate as strong as her impressive tumbling and she finished in 8th place.

In the tall class there were two super hero themed routines - Italian 5th place finisher Antonella Ferretti's Spiderman routine, and Canadian Chantal DiCaire's catwoman routine. Standouts in the tall class include Uruguay's Marta Aquiar who was technically impressive and very strong, as well as third place Russian, Svetlana Silakova.

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The women's bodybuilding was up next and when the lightweights came out, 2004 class winner Svetlana Lomachevksaya looked totally on. She was the class of the lightweights, but German Nathalie Falk looked tremendous as well and would push the Russian. Falk's conditioning was spot on with crisp cuts and a great routine, but the defending champ won not only her class, but the overall as well, qualifying her for Pro status if she chooses to accept it.

Romania's Flrina Visan was probably the most excited third place finisher of all the competitions as she jumped around and beamed with delight at her placing. Natalia Dichkovskaya from the Ukraine showed impressive shape, but her conditioning was not quite on unlike Eleanor Cockburn. The kiwi was conditioned perfectly and sparkled on stage completing the top five in the class.

Canada's Frances Manias took sixth with her great aesthetics while the lone American, Dallas Johnson took seventh.

The middleweights also saw a defending champion return to claim her crown again as Slovakia's Jana Purdjakoba edged Poland's Daria Piznal by a single point. This year the IFBB adjusted the rules so that during the first round, the scores are only used to qualify for the finals (top five). During the finals, the two rounds are both scored from scratch so the routine is suddenly more important and it played an important role in the heavyweight class results.

Back in the middleweights, the tightest competitor, Poland's Halina Kunicka took third, and her structure and conditioning was impeccable. However, her overall mass and size wasn't enough to crack the top two. Fourth went to the shredded Lithuanian, Alina Cepurniene who was the most conditioned athlete in all of the classes displaying cuts all over including her glutes, but her back wasn't thick enough to place higher in the ultra-competitive class.

Romania's Irina Muntean was in fifth on the strength of her shape just ahead of last year's top five finisher Salla Kauranen from Finland. 2004's most improved athlete, Ludmila Tuboltseva finished in seventh as her conditioining was a bit off but she still displays some of the nicest lines and shapes.

New Zealand's Jo Stewart took eighth and two other notables who are perfect examples of feminine bodybuilders were the Czech Republic's Renata Sperlova and Russia's Olga Gurjeva.

The left the heavyweights and with Colette Nelson gone to the pro ranks, it looked like Aurelia Grozajova would be primed to take the class. Grozajova came in looking very good, but was hammered in the routine round and subsequently placed third although she was in first after the prejudging. Some of that was more because of newcomer Elena Shportun, the second place finisher.

The elegant Russian showcased some incredible body lines and captivating stage presence and when she performed her routine, the entire audience was entranced. Graceful posing, artful expression and a solid display of muscle earned her the routine round win easily and Shportun represents the best of the future of women's bodybuilding combining grace, poise, a strong physique and femininity.

Of course that left open the top spot for Poland's Agnieszka Ryk to take. Ryk was the most balanced competitor in the class with sharper conditioning than Shportun and Grozajova. Shportun and Ryk actually finished tied in points, but because Rky was ahead in the first round she took the class and was shocked at her victory.

Italy's Carla Cabeau made a return to the stage after a years absence and took fourth ahead of the most muscular and tight athlete in the class, Austria's Jana Linke Sippl. American Debbie Patton was sixth and one to keep an eye on next year is Czech Eva Lippertova - yet another of the young crop of female bodybuilders that shows great promise and femininity.

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Body fitness continues to grow and the three classes were packed full of athletes causing elimination rounds once again. Expanding the classes to four next year would alleviate some of the problem and would be more fair to the cadre of competitors that are now not getting enough of a good look.

The surprise of the competition might have been that Brazilian Juliana Malacarne took the short class and overall. The Eastern European countries usually take most of the top spots, but South America prevailed this time around.

Germany's Dorota Szczesna took second and Spain's Eva Crespo was also impressive. Crespo and Malacarne both possessed the best wheels in the class.

In medium Slovakia's Katarina Verbovska barely beat out Lithuanian Zivila Raudoniene. Raudoniene is one of the most striking women in the competition and was seslected as one of Europe's Ten Fittest Women after the 2004 Worlds by Muscle and Fitness Magazine's John Plummer.

Another striking competitor, Barbora Benesova placed third. Outside the top five there were so many incredible athletes that were overlooked including Dutch phenom Jessica DeGroot who came in looking even better than in 2004, but was not in the top five.

Greece's Eleni Kritiaeoulqu was a bit tighter and more balanced this year too, and Monica Hoyer, Patricia Criconia, Julia Bukch, Petra Lundin and Irina Molokova were all notables.

The tall class was the largest with 32 competitors and many that didn't make the cut still looked great such as Spain's Joana Romano Cano who was ripped and very muscular but too much so for the judging panel.

Another Slovakian Lenka Chalupkova won the class ahead of former fitness champ Gabriela Kubesova who was crushed by her admirable second place finish. Third went to Spain's Celeste Gonzalez who last year was a point away from the class title.

Petra Mertl from the Czech Repulic was fifth although she looked amazing and should have been higher. Swedish sensation Cecilia Soderstrom was in sixth and rivals Raudoniene as one of the most memorable faces in the competition. Look for Soderstrom to make the Top Ten when Muscle and Fitness again does it's roundup of the most impressive women from the worlds. Danish photographer Lennart Bergstrom said he got some amazing shots that should be in the pages of the magazine in the next several months.

Others who didn't make the finals but that stood out include the always improvingm Kiwi Corina Schuler who sports a nice v-taper, Dutch athlete Adriana Radix, Norah Josephson from Denmark, and Dagmar Eva Simmen from Switzerland.

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The party following the competition was rained out of it's original location and the makeup spot worked out, although the crowd and party weren't quite as happening as the year before. Hopefully the weather will cooperate more in 2006 when Santa Susanna will once again host the competition.

Also, for those in Europe, keep an eye out for Muscle and Fitness magazine's coverage of the worlds which will include some photography from the FTV team.

Check out additional notes on our new message boards and post your thoughts on the competition.

Results

Women's Bodybuilding Overall: Svetlana Lomachevkaya* Lightweights (up to 52 Kg) 1) Svetlana Lomachevkaya* 2) Nathalie Falk 3) Florina Visan 4) Natlia Dichkovskaya 5) Eleanor Cockburn 6) Frances Manias 7) Dallas Johnson 8) Florencia Galang Middleweights (up to 57 Kg) 1) Jana Purdjakoba 2) Daria Piznal 3) Halina Kunicka 4) Alina Cepurniene 5) Irina Muntean 6) Salla Kauranen 7) Ludmila Tuboltseva 8) Joanne Stewart 9) Sonia Cabre 10) Bianca Seiberichs 11) Olga Gurjeva 12) Adriana Zavacka 13) Renat Spirlova 14) Mary Bowles 15) Shannon Holman Heavyweights (over 57 Kg) 1) Agnieszka Ryk 2) Elena Shportun 3) Aurelia Grozajova 4) Carla Cabeau 5) Jana Linke Sippl 6) Debbie Patton 7) Maria Rita Bello 8) Miljana Pavkovic 9) Anne Grethe Torgersen 10) Nidia Hermosilla 11) Eva Lippertova Fitness Overall: Regiana Da Silva* Short (up to 1.64m) 1) Svetlana Kochkina 2) Oksana Grishina 3) Rosana Muller 4) Lyudmila Somkina 5) Vanesa Vallet 6) Nathalie Tabouillet 7) Natalya Nazarenko 8) Natalia Tonglet 9) Daria Akinshina 10) Lenka Borutova 11) Olga Votchal 12) Maria F. Vigliano 13) Susana B. Cacavieli 14) Rahel Ruch 15) Anaida Ruiz 16) Norma B. Cavalcanti 16) Lydia Collart 16) Maria L. Cerbelli 16) Brenda Santiago 16) Rosita Casolanetti Tall (over 1.64m) 1) Regiana Da Silva* 2) Silvia Malachovska 3) Svetlana Silakova 4) Monika Szekely 5) Antonella Ferretti 6) Marta Aquiar 7) Chantal Dicaire 8) Alla Sukaryeva 9) Tomoko Mikuni 10) Ivana Poludvorna *eligible for IFBB Pro Status

Bodyfitness Overall: Juliana Malacarne* Short (up to 1.58m) 1) Juliana Malacarne* 2) Dorota Szczesna 3) Kateryna Zadorozha 4) Matalia Lenartova 5) Eva Crespo 6) Martina Tarcova 7) Linda Maria Fodor 8) Maria Luisa Lopez 9) Arina Manta 10) Juliet Velazquez 11) Agnese Russo 12) Masae Tagami 13) Nadia Rogaleva 14) Magdalena Grimalt 15) Nathalie Chabbert 16) Beatriz Gomez 16) Chary Andujar Medium (up to 1.64m) 1) Katarina Verbovska 2) Zivila Raudoniene 3) Barbora Benesova 4) Eva Rudolfova 5) Diana Goytia 6) Irina Molokova 7) Patricia Criconia 8) Petra Lundin 9) Jessica DeGroot 10) Julia Bukch 11) Monica Hoyer 12) Maria Merino Chong 13) Eleni Kritiaeoulqu 14) Sandra Correa 15) Kadri Kuusik 16) Shizuka Nakamura 16) Inmaculada Martin 16) Asa Hallstorp 16) Shari Guillen 16) Magali Picry 16) Marina Gois Beis 16) Dorina Csap 16) Olga Cherniievska 16) Kris Marie Koppel 16) Paternakova Dagmara 16) Elizabeth Casset 16) Claudia Ester Bent 16) Geni Alves De Oliveira 16) Fiona Roberts 16) Christy Wolfe Medium (over 1.64m) 1) Lenka Chalupkova 2) Gabriela Kubesova 3) Celeste Gonzalez 4) Sona Kopcokova 5) Petra Mertl 6) Cecilia Soderstrom 7) Anastasia Goncharova 8) Inna Shelekhova 9) Lina Eklund 10) Anna Stachoniak 11) Alive Tealdi 12) Adrianna Radix 13) Corina Schuler 14) Heidrun Sigurdardottir 15) Brigita Grof 16) Zaida E. De Sole 16) Jayne Pickering 16) Susanna Alonso 16) Ljuba Pantovic Subotic 16) Nina Futseth 16) Mariana Simonetta 16) Norah Josephson 16) Miriam Sanchez 16) Dagmar Eva Simmen 16) Cornelia Shandinele 16) Kimberly Tilden 16) Lola Ceballos 16) Joanna Romano Cano 16) Melissa Tucker 16) Suzana Salopek 16) Vivana Casarubbia * eligible for IFBB Pro Status