Grant,
I too was a bit surprised at Val's placing. She trained with me and some of my buds from about 12 weeks out until about 6 weeks out, at which point she needed to specialize her training, and thus trained alone. I think she brought her best package to the contest, so she doesn't have anything to "fix" with regards to her physique, IMO.
I asked her what feedback she got from the judges, and she said they told her that her legs were too hard. That's unfortunate, because the girls can pose softer if they're asked. At the North American a couple of years back they told the figure girls to flex, and then to relax. I think that would be a good idea for the O and the Arnold, that way the judges can compare apples to apples, so to speak.
Just more evidence that the lack of clear guidelines makes it difficult for the women to properly prep for the show.
I don't want to take anything away from the other girls, I'm sure they all worked hard, but Val sure appeared to be on another level, IMO.