2008 Arnold Classic Weekend

Feb. 28 - March 2, 2008 - by gene x hwang

Columbus, OH , USA - The 20th Arnold Classic was perhaps the biggest one ever with over 150,000 people checking out the expo and crowding the convention center over the three main days of the competition.  With the amateur competition being opened up to International athletes, the figure contingent was quite large.  

The fitness category was won by two Canadians - Chantal Dicaire in the tall class and Allison Ethier who won the short class and overall titles.  There were many solid competitors in the fitness including Brazilian Loana Muttoni and the rest of the top five in the short class.

Figure was huge and expanded to six classes to accomodate all the competitors.  The overall went to American Candice Houston who continues to place well and should be on track to her pro card this year. The short class was won by Sweden's Linda Fodor-Egelstig who edged out Melissa Froio. The B Class was Houston's and Pamela Soper won the C class and is also primed to turn pro soon.

The D class was won by Kristy McKinny, E was won by Natalie Waples and the F Class was one by Sandy Helmig.  A couple other outstanding athletes were Jennifer Hoffman who was lean and had great delts, Casey Jovan whos legs and shoulders were notable and presented a very balanced overall look.  Andrea Swanson may have had the best glutes of all the competitors and Francisca Dennis' v-shape was amazing.  

The bodybuilding competition was strong as well with 2007 North American champion Mary Carmen Gomez Segura again dominating and looking like a pro - we're not sure if she decided not to turn pro after the North American's or what. She beat out Mary Lynne Mackenzie who was ripped as usual and looking big.

In the middleweights, Alicia St. Germaine was  competing for the last time and looked awesome and finished second to Holly Nicholson who may have presented her most balanced physique to date.  Carrie Simmons also looked the best she has and her routine really sparkled too.

In the lightweights, it was the Jo Stewart show as she came on stage ready, with a well-balanced physique that was crisply conditioned.  She beat out Millie Cleveland to win the class title and Glenda Bozett was third ahead of Maryann Glasscock and Dee Lazard.

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On the pro side in fitness it was once again Kim Klein and Jen Hendershott as the 1-2 finishers respectively. Julie Palmer took third followed by the hot Julie Lohre who's been placing better and better of late. Tracey Greenwood took fifth and Germany's top fitness athlete Regiane da Silva rounded out the top six.

On the figure side it was going to be a new Arnold champ no matter what and this time it was Gina Aliotti taking the title just ahead of Jen Gates.  Amy Fry placed a strong third ahead of Chastity Sloan, Sonia Adcock and Paola Americo.

In bodybuilding there was a bit of controversy as when Iris Kyle was not among the top six.  The buzz going in was that it was between her and Dayana Cadeau with Yaxeni Oriquen also looking strong.  Those three were locked in a battle for the title, but when the top six came out sans Kyle, everyone knew something was up.

In the end, it was Yaxeni's show and she set the record for the most Ms. International victories of all time. Cadeau ended up second, and Kyle tied with Betty Viana-Adkins for seventh place. There were rumors that Kyle was disqualified but looking at the score sheets she just didn't make the cut for the third round to free pose.  Regardless, people will be interested to see if there's an official word on the results since something was definitely up

Lisa Aukland looked strong with a very balanced physique and continues to improve while Betty Pariso was very well conditioned and took fourth.  Brenda Raganot's balance and shape make her a threat, but she wasn't quite hard enough to place higher, while Cathy Lefrancois presented the best physique she ever has with wicked conditioning throughout.

Two new pros made their debuts with Tracy Beckham and Kristy Hawkins gracing the Arnold stage for the first time. While jumping into the big leagues is tough, it is especially so at the Arnold.  Look for more from the new pros in future competitions and hopefully on the Olympia stage as well!

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The expo was the highlight of the event for many fans, but as usual it was so crowded that getting through was sometimes a huge pain.  We didn't cruise the expo as much as we usually do so there will be less coverage from the floor, but there was not a lack of talent.  

Check out our message boards to discuss and follow the weekend live, post your thoughts and chat with the athletes!

Results

PRO Ms. International Bodybuilding Overall: Iris Kyle 1) Yaxeni Oriquen* 2) Dayana Cadeau* 3) Lisa Aukland* 4) Betty Pariso* 5) Brenda Raganot* 6) Cathy Lefrancois* 7 tie) Iris Kyle 7 tie) Betty Viana-Adkins 9) Annie Rivieccio 10) Rosemary Jennings 11) Tazzie Colomb 12) Debbie Laszewski 13) Antoinette Thompson 14) Kristy Hawkins 15) Colette Nelson 16) Tracy Beckham Figure International 1) Gina Alioiti* 2) Jen Gates* 3) Amy Fry* 4) Chastity Sloan* 5) Sonia Adcock* 6) Paola Americo* 7) Latisha Wilder 8 tie) Catherine Anderson 8 tie) Natalie Benson 10) Kristal Richardson 11) Nicole Wilkins 12) Juliana Malacarne 13) Briana Tindall 14) Debbie Leung 15) Bernadette Galvan Fitness International 1) Kim Klein* 2) Jen Hendershott* 3) Julie Palmer* 4) Julie Lohre* 5) Tracey Greenwood* 6) Regiane da Silva* 7) Stacy Simons 8) Bethany Gainey 9) Mindi O'Brien 10) Oksana Grishina 11) Tina Durkin 12) Tanya Merryman * qualifies for 2008 Olympia

AMATEUR Bodybuilding Overall: Mary Carmen Gomez Segura Lightweight: 1) Joanne Stewart 2) Millie Cleveland 3) Glenda Bozet 4) Maryann Glasscock 5) Dee Lazard Middleweight: 1) Holly Nicholson 2) Alicia St. Germaine 3) Becky West 4) Carrie Simmons 5) Christy Resendes Heavyweight: 1) Mary Carmen Gomez Segura 2) Mary Lynne Mackenzie 3) Marcia Ferguson 4) Evy Rusted 5) Fie Ottosen Figure Overall: Candice Houston A Class 1) Linda Fodor-Egelstig 2) Melissa Froio 3) Lindsey Bundy 4) Kandi Allen 5) Kelli Ann Correa B Class 1) Candice Houston 2) Denise Marcus (sp?) 3) Amber Hill 4) Jean Jitomir 5) Misty Schaffer C Class 1) Pamela Soper 2) Casey Jovan 3) Tina Davis 4) Daphne Bascom 5) Leah Berti D Class 1) Kristy McKinny 2) Kenda McAdams 3) Karen Kimura 4) Dixie Reynolds 5) Celeste Bonin - (please contact us) E Class 1) Natalie Waples 2) Francisca Dennis <- (please contact us) 3) Tami Delzenero 4) Gabriela Cioban 5) Jamie Meade F Class 1) Sandy Helmig 2) Jennifer Hernandez 3) Valerie Richman 4) Jennifer Peckham 5) JoHanna DuBose Fitness Overall: Allison Ethier Short 1) Allison Ethier 2) Sylvia Tremblay 3) Megan Tennant 4) Loana Muttoni 5) Valerie Brown-Stephens Tall 1) Chantal Dicaire