This weekend in Lahti, Finland the IFBB pro figure and bikini competitors will hope to lock in their spot at next month’s Olympia. This is the last chance for the Bikini pros to head to Vegas and the next to last stop for the Figure Pros. The Figure competitors last stop will be the Tournament of Champions next week.
The Figure line-up will be interesting to watch. There’s no “big name” competitor in the mix and the majority of the women are from outside the USA. There’s a variety of shapes and sizes in the group with some women being a bit more muscular than others. The winner will qualify for the Olympia and is the one spot that will make the biggest impact on the Olympia. The 2-5 place finishers will get points however none of the women in this line-up are in the hunt with the Olympia qualification series.
2013 IFBB Nordic Pro Championships Figure
• Nicole Acker
• Katie Alander
• Lynsey Beattie
• Krista Dunn
• Ekaterina Gamagina
• Maria Jose Garcia Sanchez
• Candice Houston
• Inga Neverauskaite
• Natalia Revejova Leanrtova
• Kara Rogers
• Rahel Michele Ruch
• Elvimar Sanchez
• Giada Simari
• Heidi Sorsa
The Bikini competition is a bit more interesting to follow, at least in my opinion. Michelle Brannan is already qualified for the Olympia so the pressure is off her heading into this show. She’s one of the top bikini competitors in Europe so even though she’s already qualified don’t expect her to be anything less than her best.
Lacey DeLuca is tied for first in the point Series. If she places in the top five she’ll secure a spot in the Olympia. Even if she’s outside the top five, her 13 points should be enough to get in. Tawna Eubanks is tied for 5th in the point series with 10 points. If she places in the top four she’s in, fifth she might get in but no guarantee. Aly Veneno is tied for 7th in the point series. She was in the dreaded tied for 16th spot at last week’s St. Louis Pro and unless she had a miraculous change in her physique she’ll have a hard time cracking the top spots here. She needs to finish in the top four to have any chance of heading to the Olympia via the point series.
Jessica Renee has a good look and if she’s a tad tighter than last week could be a top contender however this line-up will be tough. Katie Chung Hua is one of the smaller competitors in the pro ranks in terms of muscle and will need to come in with a bigger booty and more muscle than we saw her last year. Amanda Otero is also in the deep waters with this line up and if she crack the top five it would be a win for her.
The dark horse in this mix is Anna Virmajoki. She’s a curvaceous blonde with a tight midsection but a bit more muscular legs than the other women in this line-up. She could be in the top three or the bottom of the pack depending what she presents on stage.
Don’t be surprised if the blondes take over this show and lock in your top three spots. Michelle, Tawna and Anna – the blonde trio would be my pre-show picks for the top spots. Anything can happen especially traveling overseas and in front of different judges.
2013 IFBB Nordic Pro Championships Bikini
• Michelle Brennan
• Katie Chung Hua
• Lacey DeLuca
• Tawna Eubanks
• Amanda Otero
• Jessica Renee
• Aly Veneno
• Anna Virmajoki
For more information visit: nordicfitnessexpo.com.
