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Congratulations to Lee Banks for signing with Champion Nutrition. Champion Nutrition recently announced the signing of IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Lee Banks to its “Team Champion” group of amateur and professional athletes! Lee, inspired by his late father, Lee Andrew Banks, experimented with lifting weights at the age of 16 and after many years of dedicated training he competed for the first time at the age of 30 entering the All Star Bodybuilding Championships in Jacksonville, Florida. After success at the local level, Lee’s drive to him to the national stage where he gathered two third place and three second place finishes before turning pro in 2010 by winning the overall title in the NPC North American’s. Lee is training right now getting ready for the 2011 Europa Pro in Orlando at the end of April and the New York Pro in New York City in May. Please welcome Lee once again to the Champion Team!

Betancourt Nutrition is excited to announce the addition of Brandon Ray, the 2010 NPC Nationals Light Heavy-weight champion and exemplar of the 202 lb aesthetic physique to it’s team. Jorge Betancourt, the teen bodybuilding legend who possessed one of the most aesthetic structures of his time has seen great potential in Brandon and his ability to help bring the classic physique back to the forefront of professional bodybuilding. Jorge Betancourt says, “Brandon can help bring back to bodybuilding the physique that everyone can envy, the type of physique that this sport needs to maintain its credibility so it can continue to thrive.” Brandon is ready to take the 202lb class and the rest of the bodybuilding world by storm and realize his potential with the help of Betancourt Nutrition. “I’ve been gaining knowledge and hearing about how much potential I have from some of the most experienced and successful bodybuilders in the industry” says Brandon. “I love the direction that this company is headed in and the innovative mark they are leaving in the sports nutrition industry. It’s motivating to know that the Betancourt Team feels that I reflect the image of their company and I’m excited to see where…

Congratulations to Camala Rodriguez for winning the 2011 IFBB New York Pro Fitness. It was a battle between Camala and Bethany Wagner, who came in second. Both were heavy favorites to place in the top three before the contest, and they did not dissapoint. Michelle Blank placed third! Here are the complete results 1. Camala Rodriguez 2. Bethany Wagner 3. Michelle Blank 4. Kristina Rojas 5. Jodi Boam 6. Stacy Wright 7. Carrie Simmons 8. Nicole Duncan 9. Hollie Stewart 10. Sylvia Tremblay 11. Victoria Larvie 12. Allison Ethier 13. Ryall Garber-Vasani 14. Tamee Marie 15. Stacy McDowell 16. Venus Nguyen 17. Melissa Frederick

Updates via Twitter from the IFBB New York Pro Fitness contest…

Amanda Latona came back with top honors at this contest, not only winning the contest, but also scoring a Flex Magazine cover a few days earlier. Dina Al-Sabah, after placing 4th at the St. Louis Pro a week ago, earned her Olympia qualification here with second place, while Abbie Burrows, in her first pro show, secured third place and a trip to the Olympia! 1. Amanda Latona* 2. Dina Al-Sabah* 3. Abbie Burrows* 4. Zhanna Rotar 5. Anca Marcus 6. Christina Vargas 7. Leigh Brandt 8. Vanessa Prebyl 9. Jennifer Dietrick 10. Natalie Abrhiem 11. MaryJo Cooke-Elliott 12. Laura Calderon 13. Christie Marquez 14. Lindsey Morrison 15. Kelly Gonzalez 16. Jennifer Pimentel *Qualifies for the 2011 Bikini Olympia

The second Mr. Europe six months after the first continues with Ronny Rockel continuing his winning streak here, with Roelly Winklaar in second place. James ‘Flex’ Lewis, who decided to enter this contest a week after winning the 202lb and Under in the English Grand Prix, stunned everyone by qualifying for the Mr. Olympia in this contest. Congratulations! 1. Ronny Rockel – Germany 2. Roelly (Egberton) Winklaar – Netherlands 3. Flex (James) Lewis – United Kingdom 4. Robert Piotrkowicz Poland 5. Toney Freeman – USA 6. Essa Obaid – UAE 7. Sergey Shelestov – Russia 8. Thomas Benagli – Italy 9. Alvin Small – United Kingdom 10. Marcos (Mcweeny) Chacon – Spain 11. Mario Van Steenberghe – Belgium 12. Raul Carrasco – Spain 13. Angel Higueras – Spain 14. Antonio Morales – Spain 15. Serdar Aktolga – Turkey 16. Arnaud Plaisant – France

The IFBB Pro Men’s Bodybuilding contests move from London, England to Madrid, Spain for the March 26 contest. Favor Ronny Rockel is looking for a win here, and the top three at this contest get an invite to the 2011 Mr. Olympia? The competitor list includes: 1. Serdar Aktolga (Turkey) 2. Thomas Benagli (Italy) 3. Marcos Chacon (Spain) 4. Toney Freeman (USA) 5. Daniel Hill (Germany) 6. Flex Lewis (United Kingdom) 7. Essa Obiad (UAE) 8. Robert Piotrkowicz (Poland) 9. Arnaud Plaisant (France) 10. Ronny Rockel (Germany) 11. Sergey Shelestov (Russia) 12. Michael Sheridan (United Kingdom) 13. Mohammed Touri (Morrocco) 14. Mario Van Steenberghe (Belgium) 15. Egberton Winklaar (Netherlands)

The first NPC Men’s Physique contest in California will be held on Saturday, March 26th, at the 2011 GNC MuscleContest NPC Bodybuilding, Figure, Men’s Physique and Bikini Championships in Culver City. The event wil be held at the Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Avenue, Culver City, California 90230. Prejudging will begin at 11am, while finals will begin at 6:30pm. Here is the final list for the competitors for the 2011 IFBB Musclecontest in Culver City. 1. Natalie Abrhiem, USA 2. Dina Al-Sabah, Kuwait 3. Leigh Brandt, Canada 4. Abigail Burrows, USA 5. Laura Calderon, USA 6. Mary Jo Cooke-Elliott, USA 7. Jennifer Dietrick, USA 8. Kelly Gonzalez, USA 9. Amanda Latona, USA 10. Anca Marcus, USA 11. Christie Marquez, USA 12. Lindsey Morrison, USA 13. Jennifer Pimentel, USA 14. Vanessa Prebyl, USA 15. Zhanna Rotar, USA 16. Christina Vargas, USA For more information, click below www.Musclecontest.com

We are fortunate enough to partner with bodybuilding.com in taking a ton of pictures from various IFBB and NPC contests from around the season. You can check out some of the pics from the IFBB British Grand Prix, Australian Grand Prix, Arnold Classic, Flex Pro, and many others in the Getbig.com Picture page, which links them up. To see the latest pics, click below Getbig.com Picture Area

Branch Warren continues the dominance two weeks after winning the Arnold Classic with an impressive win here in England over Roelly Winklaar and Johnnie Jackson. A tremendous in shape Ronny Rockel was in 4th place, although many have said that he should of placed higher. Place – Name – Country – Judging – Finals – Total 1. Branch Warren – USA – 5 – 5 – 10 2. Roelly Winklaar – Netherlands – 11 – 11 – 22 3. Johnnie Jackson – USA – 14 – 15 – 29 4. Ronny Rockel – Germany – 19 – 20 – 39 5. Michael Kefalianos – Australia – 25 – 29 – 54 6. Toney Freeman – USA – 29 – 26 – 55 7. Essa Obaid – UAE – 35 – 37 – 72 8. Alvin Small – United Kingdom – 40 – 38 – 78 9. Thomas Benagli – Italy – 45 – 45 – 90 10. Tomas Bures – Czech – 50 – 50 – 100 11. Mario Van Steenberghe – Belgium – 55 – 55 – 110 12. Ian Wadley – United Kingdom – 60 – 60 – 120 13. Dainius Brazinskas – Lithuania – 64 – 65…

Congratulations to Jennifer Andrews, in her first IFBB pro win! It was a very close race between the top three, with one point separating Jennifer Andrews, Jessica Jessie and Jessica Paxson-Putman! Here are the results Place – Name – Country – Score 1. Jennifer Andrews – USA – 5 2. Jessica Jessie – USA – 6 3. Jessica Paxson-Putnam – USA – 7 4. Dina Al-Sabah – Kuwait – 12 5. Angela Leong – USA – 17 6. Christy Merritt – USA – 17 7. Trina Goosby – USA – 21 8. Jessica Clay – USA – 24 9. Kendra Elias – USA – 27 10. Jennifer Drennan – USA – 31 11. Nicole Moneer-Guerrero – USA – 32 12. Michelle Lamb – USA – 36 13. Safiya Johnson – USA – 39 14. Janet Harding – USA – 42

Nicole Wilkins continued her dominance on the top, winning the St. Louis Pro Figure two weeks after winning the Figure International. Teresa Anthony leaped over Ava Cowan to take second place (impressive since she was in 7th at the Figure International). Here are the results Place – Name – Country – Score 1. Nicole Wilkins – USA – 3 2. Teresa Anthony – USA – 6 3. Ava Cowan – USA – 9 4. Monica Specking – USA – 13 5. Michelle Battista-McDonald – USA – 15 6. Melissa Frederick – USA – 18 7. Jodie Minear – USA – 21 8. Tivisay Briceno – USA – 27 9. Tamee Marie – USA – 28 10. Josie Zamora – USA – 29 11. Mikaila Soto – USA – 30 12. Karly Woodle – USA – 36

Erin Stern, after placing 2nd at the 2011 Figure International in Columbus, won the Australia Figure Pro a week later, and continued her success by winning here in New Zealand. Latisha Wilder took second place, while Raechelle Chase took the third Olympia qualification. Head judge was Ken Taylor. Here are the results Place – Name – Country – Score 1. Erin Stern – USA – 3 2. Latisha Wilder – USA – 6 3. Raechelle Chase – New Zealand – 9 4. Darlene Escano – Australia – 11 5. Ellena Reidie – Australia – 15 6. Kristy Thompson – New Zealand – 18 7. Jeni Briscoe – Canada – 22 8. Kelli Johnson – Australia – 23

The 2011 IFBB British Grand Prix Men’s Bodybuilding competition is coming up this weekend in London, England, and it looks like it is going to be a most excellent competition, with two IFBB contests, the Men’s Open and the Men’s 202lbs and Under. Here is the competitor lists. Men’s Open Branch Warren (USA) Ronny Rockel (Germany) Toney Freeman (USA) Johnnie Jackson (USA) Essa Obiad (UAE) Michael Kefalianos (Australia) John Hodgson (United Kingdom) Thomas Benagli (Italy) Paul George (United Kingdom) Danius Barzinskas (Lithuania) Hennie Kotze (South Africa) Ian Morgan (United Kingdom) Michael Sheridan (United Kingdom) Alvin Small (United Kingdom) Mario Vansteenberghe (Belguim) Ian Wadley (United Kingdom) Egberton Winklaar (Netherlands) Men’s 202lb and Under Competitor List James ‘Flex’ Lewis (United Kingdom) John Armstrong (United Kingdom) Raul Carrasco-Jimenez (Spain) Eric Castagnet (France) Shaun Joseph-Tavernier (United Kingdom) Michael King (United Kingdom) James Llewellin (United Kingdom) Nana Ofosu-Manu (United Kingdom) Jerry Ossi (Finland) Mirko Petrovski (Macedonia) Cvetko Stojmenovski (Germany)

Defending Figure Olympia champ Erin Stern took the trip to Australia from her hometown of Florida and won the Australian Pro after losing to defending Figure International champ Nicole Wilkins at the Arnold Classic a week earlier. Alicia Harris took second, while new pro Darlene Escano, who won the Arnold Classic Amatuer Figure a wek earlier, now is qualified for the Figure Olympia. Wow – what a week for Darlene. Place – Name – Country – Total 1. Erin Stern – USA – 4 2. Alicia Harris – USA – 5 3. Darlene Escano – Australia – 9 4. Raechelle Chase – New Zealand – 15 5. Ellena Reidie – Ausralia – 15 6. Daniela O’Mara – Australia – 17 7. Kelli Johnson – Australia – 19 8. Sara Picken-Brown – Australia – 22 9. Summer Bernard – Australia – 27 10. Lisbeth Halikka – Finland – 31 11. Jeni Briscoe – Canada – 32 12. Kristy Thomson – New Zealand – 32

A revitalized Dennis Wolf flew over from Columbus, USA to Melbourne, Australia to win the 2011 Australian Pro, in one many consider an incredible comeback after not doing so well at the Flex pro. Here are the results from the 2011 IFBB Australian Pro. Place – Name – Country – Prejudging – Finals – Total 1. Dennis Wolf – Germany – 5 – 5 – 10 2. Johnnie Jackson – USA – 10 – 10 – 20 3. Michael Kefalianos – Australia – 15 – 15 – 30 4. Ben Pakulski – Canada – 20 – 20 – 40 5. Grigori Atoyan – USA – 28 – 28 – 56 6. Adorthus Cherry – USA – 29 – 29 – 58 7. Darryn Onekawa – New Zealand – 35 – 34 – 69 8. Luke Timms – Australia – 41 – 40 – 81 9. Varinder Singh – Australia – 48 – 46 – 94 10. Daniel Hill – Germany – 46 – 49 – 95

Here are the results of the 2011 Arnold Classic contests, both for the IFBB Pro contents and the Amateur contents. Between them over 600 competitors competed in bodybuilding, figure, fitness and bikini, making it one of the biggest weekends of contests. Here are the results 2011 Arnold Classic Men’s Pro Bodybuilding 2011 Figure International 2011 Fitness International 2011 Ms. International 2011 Bikini International 2011 Arnold Classic Men’s Amateur Bodybuilding 2011 Arnold Classic Figure Amateur 2011 Arnold Classic Fitness Amateur 2011 Arnold Classic Women’s BB Amateur 2011 Arnold Classic Bikini Amateur

It is going to be a busy 2011 Arnold Sports Festival Weekend, with much of the live updates going to be via Twitter since we won’t be in our rooms every moment of the day. We will also be updating various pictures as we get them. Here are the links in which you can check out to follow the action. Getbig Twitter Link Page Getbig’s Main G&O Forum Board Bodybuilding.com’s Main Arnold Page / Pics – There is also going to be a free Webcast from Bodybuilding.com so that is awesome for those of you who are not going to be here this weekend.

The 2011 Arnold Classic is right around the corner; and here is a contest to see if you can predict the top six! This is probably one of the most interesting contests of the year, with bragging rights involved! So lets see how good you really are! By each name, click on whether the competitor will place first, second, third, and so on. If you do not think the competitor will place in the top six, you don’t have to put anything next to their name. Good luck! You can do more if you want, but only the top six count. The top three winners that pick the top six in order will receive some supplements and more (but I can only send it in the USA, not outside the US). The rest will just have bragging rights. Have fun. The last date and time that the entry will be accepted is Friday night midnight, 12 hours before prejudging begins. Click on the link to enter and see how well you do… Getbig’s Arnold Classic Top Six Contest

Over 1,500 pictures from the 2011 Flex Pro and Flex Model Bikini Search from Santa Monica, California taken by Ron Avidan, at bodybuilding.com and on the IFBBPRO.com web site.  Here are the links to your favorite pics. IFBB Flex Pro Bodybuilding Pics Flex Pro Athlete Meeting Pics Flex Pro Men’s Prejudging Bodybuilding Pics Flex Pro Men’s Finals Bodybuilding Pics