It’s been nearly 20 years since the IFBB Pro League has held a show in the Windy City. As of today, 73 men and women will take the stage in Chicago looking to do what Dorian Yates did in 1996… win! The women’s events will consist of Bodybuilding, Physique and Figure. There will also be a National Qualifying NPC event held in conjunction with the Pro show. The IFBB Pros will take the stage at noon on Saturday, July 7, 2012 and the finals will be held at 5pm the same day. This is a rare schedule for the pros but one that the overwhelming majority will favor. It means the women won’t have to pay for hair and make up twice as well as potentially another round of tanning.
THE HARDBODY 411:
Women’s Bodybuilding:
We’ll see 18 women in the pro bodybuilding division and one will leave with an Olympia qualification. There are only 7 women in the 2012 Olympia to date. This certainly makes things more exciting for the competitors and fans knowing that more is on the line than at other shows. This show also has more prize money up for grabs than other shows. The top five women will leave with some coin and a total purse of $9,500 is on the line for these women. There is no clear favorite heading into this show so your guess is as good as ours when it comes to who will leave with the Olympia qualification. Wendy McCready and Monique Jones are both tied for 4th in the new Olympia Point Series with 3 points. If either of them finishes high at this show they could punch their ticket to Vegas via the new qualification system.
2012 IFBB Chicago Pro Women’s Bodybuilding Competitors:
1. Natalia Batova
2. Debbie Bramwell
3. Giusy Caputo
4. Tazzie Colomb
5. Nathalie Foreau
6. Judy Gaillard
7. Alevtina Goroshinskaya
8. Aurelia Grozajova
9. Monique Jones
10. Nancy Lewis
11. Sharon Madderson
12. Wendy McCready
13. Elizabeth Meza
14. Emery Miller
15. Helle Nielsen
16. Amy Sibcy
17. Sherry Smith
18. Melody Spetko
Women’s Physique:
This women’s physique line up should provide a solid group for the judges to compare. Tamee Marie is coming off a win at the Greater Gulf States however this time around she’ll have some stiffer competition. Jennifer Robinson continues to make her presence known and if she can come in a bit sharper with better posing, she should be in the mix for the win. Trina Thompson and Nola Trimble will be making their IFBB Pro debuts. Trina achieve pro status at the Jr.USas and Nola went pro at the 2011 North American Championships. Both women could land in the top five their first time out. The dark horse in this lineup and one who will likely shake things up in the division if she nails her posing is Monica (formerly Mark) Escalante. She’s been marked down for being too muscular in Figure and will make the switch to Physique where she should fair better. Kim Tilden could be the one to beat in this lineup, at least based on the look the judges have favored and what she’s presented on stage. Paul Williams-Gulman will try her hand at the division after a debuting in Fitness. Paula finished at the bottom of the pack at the 2012 Flex Pro and will see if Women’s Physique is a better fit.
2012 IFBB Chicago Pro Women’s Physique Competitors:
1. Carri Baldwin
2. La’Drissa Bonivel
3. Laura Davies
4. Melissa DiBernardo
5. Monica Escalante
6. Tamee Marie
7. Jennifer Robinson
8. Mikaila Soto
9. Trina Thompson
10. Kim Tilden
11. Nola Trimble
12. Paula Williams-Gulman
Pro Figure:
This will be one of the biggest Figure competitions to date and only two of the 22 are qualified for the Olympia. Chelsey Morgenstern is one who quietly finds her way along each year and has been up and down in her placings. She was 16th at the 2011 Phoenix Pro, 12th at the Olympia and then finished in second at last year’s Kentucky Muscle Pro, qualifying her for the Olympia. This was one of the last shows where you didn’t have to win to qualify. On the flip side, Candice Lewis is coming off a win at the 2012 Omaha Pro. She show cased incredible structure and a nice balance in her upper and lower body. Her shape is one of the best in the pro ranks, if she comes in on point and maybe just a tad sharper than Omaha, she’s the one to beat. Cheryl Brown will look for the win but is she doesn’t she could still rack up points in the new Olympia Points system. She’s currently not qualified for the Olympia but sits in second, just one point behind Allison Frahn. Nipping at her heels in the point standings are Aleisha Hart, Kimberly Sheppard and Alea Suarez. Each of the ladies are tied for third an this show could put one of them ahead in the standings. If Alea Suarez brings the the look she presented at the Omaha Pro, night show she will be a contender for the win. Natalie Waples could be an X-factor as she’s either in the hunt or at the bottom of the pack. Chikondi Mseka has one of the better structures in this line up but has yet to get some love in the pro ranks.
A little fun fact; Tiffany Archer, Candice Lewis, Vicki Counts and Gloria Tarpley all turned pro on the Chicago stage last year. The women faced off for the overall at the 2011 NPC Jr. Nationals and Candice prevailed as the overall winner..
2012 IFBB Chicago Pro Figure Competitors:
1. Yolanda Alvarado
2. Tiffany Archer
3. Michelle Bates
4. Cheryl Brown
5. Becky Clawson
6. Vicki Counts
7. Aleisha Hart
8. Catherine Holland
9. Jacqueline Hoppe
10. Charmayne Jackson
11. Candice Lewis
12. Georgina Lona
13. Chelsey Morgenstern
14. Chikondi Mseka
15. Eleni Plakitsi
16. Tiffany Procopio
17. Sherlyn Roy
18. Kimberly Sheppard
19. Alea Suarez
20. Laura Sutter
21. Gloria Tarpley
22. Natalie Waples
If you are following the action on twitter use the hashtag #ChicagoPro. For more info on the show schedule and events visit www.chicagoproshow.com.
