After prejudging it looks like Olympia Figure runner-up Amber Littlejohn will be crowned the champ. Amber looked every bit as good here as she did last week at the Olympia. Nipping at her heels is top 6 Olympian, Gina Aliotti. Gina looks to be in second followed by Tara Scotti in third. Tara looked much better at this show then she did last week at the Olympia. It will be a nice ending to her IFBB pro career as this is the last time she will put on the clear shoes and strut her stuff on stage. I did a bit of an interview with Tara last night and more to come on that later. In 4th it looks to be Danielle Hollenshade who was able to bring things together for her best pro showing to date. I'd have Christine Wan in 5th based on the callouts but getting there isn't a walk in the park for her at this show with a few others looking to slide into that spot.
One to watch in the upcoming shows is a BEAUTIFUL and stunning woman from Brazil, Juliana Malacarne. She was a bit hard for this show but if she were to bring a similar package to the Arnold stage (and I she gets my vote for an invite) she is a contender.
Fitness:
This is Julie Palmer's show. She brought her best physique to date and was much more polished then in her earlier shows of the year. She looked better here then she did at the Olympia and I thought she looked great at the O. Julie deserves to be called out next to Fitness Champ Adela Garcia at the Arnold if she brings this same look to the stage. She's improved on her routines and wins this show without question. Second looks to go to Angie Semsch based on callout and in the top three will also be Amy Haddad. They both look great and definitely deserve to be in the top 5. My fitness stand out has to go to Julie Lohre though. Julie looks the best I have seen her, very poised on stage, great physique, looks smaller and tighter then when I saw her in Dallas. Her 45 second routine was one of the best of the day. I'd personally have her in the top three and for her I hope she gets the O qualification here as she is worthy of it from what she brought to the stage. Mindi O'Brien should round out the top five. She didn't get the top 5 callouts in the first round but should have, they moved her up into the top five callouts in the second round. Mindi brought a much softer look this show and it looks great on her. The 45 second round should go to Jane Prado, this woman has mad hops and if she could streamline her physique she'd do some damage.
The venue is small and I've heard that the competitors don't have much room to get ready back stage. Only women are allowed backstage so I haven't seen it for myself. The stage is super small and I was impressed that the women were able to pull off their 45 second routines as well as they did this morning. I sincerely hope no one gets hurt doing their routines as the stage is far too small in my opinion. I'm not sure if there is an IFBB rule or not but I would suggest it to them to implement a stage requirement for promoters. If there is and this meets it then I am suprised as it's not big enough for some of the competitors to do their routines.
West Palm Beach is beautiful and the weather is perfect. Oh and Getbig's Dina looked great, had some of the best stage presence and has the tinest waist I've seen. Her callouts were less then stellar but she still held herself with class on stage.
Tonight things start at 7 and we should be out of there by 8:30 and then it's off to the after party at Blue Martini. Should be a festive time!
Isaac
