Toronto, Ontario, June 1: A year ago Slovenia's Brigita Brezovac took home the inaugural honors as the first winner of this new event. Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the event was a great success and the ten women who traveled to the Ontario provincial city in 2011 helped establish the beginning of a tradition for this contest. Now in its second year the new Physique division has been added and nine Bodybuilders and 13 Physique contestants further pointed to an annual event that has the capacity to grow dramatically in the coming years. A quick look at the level of quality in the top placers in each of these divisions is evidence enough of that reality.
Understandably, a notable Canadian presence was evident in both the Bodybuilding and Physique classes. In fact, no less than five previous Canadian bodybuilding champions had signed on to compete – two in bodybuilding and three in Physique. Of those past Canadian champions, two – Laura Davies and Laura Carolan made courageous comebacks to highlight the fields in both divisions. In Laura Davies' case, her return to the pro ranks dates back to when she competed in the 1982 Ms. Olympia – a year in which the winner was none other than Rachel McLish. She was also the first Canadian middleweight champion as an amateur in 1981. Now in her 50's her presence added a distinctly historic flare to the event. No less historic was fellow Canadian champion Laura Carolan. In her competitive career that dated back to 1989, Carolan won the overall Canadian title in 1992. She also competed at the pro level until 1995 finishing as high as fifth at the 1993 Jan Tana Classic. Her return to the stage after 17 years also pointed to the resilience many of the women bodybuilders have shown over the years. When both Davies and Carolan were winning their Canadian titles they hailed from the Ontario province, so both no doubt felt right at home.
Three additional former Canadian overall champions included Rhonda Lee Quaresma, Lyris Cappelle, and Nicole Ball. All three elected to go the route of the Physique division to test the waters of a new judging criteria. In Rhonda Quaresma's case, her last pro competition came in 2003 as a Figure competitor at the Night of Champions. Cappelle was making her pro debut at this contest, while Ball was entering a Physique division event for the first time after a successful run as a pro bodybuilder having won two previous pro contests and competing in four Ms. Olympias.
With nine contestants entered in this division, Canada got off to a fast start with the rise of Lisa Giesbrecht standing out from the first comparison of pre-judging. From Victoria, British Columbia, the 5-8 former Figure competitor used a exceptionally well-balanced overall structure in tandem with equally well-shaped muscle shapes to make a convincing claim to the top spot. In a comparatively short competitive career dating back to 2007 she competed regularly at the national level as both a figure competitor and bodybuilder. But it was as a bodybuilder at the 2011 Canadian Masters Championship where she won the HW and overall titles to earn her IFBB pro status. Making her pro debut at the Governor's Pro Cup in California on March 24th, Giesbrecht opted to enter the Physique division and found out quickly that her level of muscle was not in favor and she slipped to a ninth-place finish. Undaunted, and just nine weeks later, Giesbrecht blossomed once again as a full-fledged bodybuilder and she received universal raves for her overall look.
The victory here qualifies her for the upcoming Ms. Olympia in September, and the $3,000 in prize money is a nice added perk in her first-ever pro bodybuilding contest.
Giesbrecht's victory was well-earned but she had plenty of competition. Specifically, American Kim Buck
matched Giesbrecht in several areas as both women stood 5-8 with several bodyparts causing judges and observers to resemble fans at a tennis match. Accomplished in her own right, Buck qualified for the Ms. Olympia last year after winning the Battle of Champions. Since then she placed 11th at the 2011 Ms. O, and followed that with a very impressive fifth-place finish at the 2012 Ms. International.... so clearly, Giesbrecht's victory has her running in some pretty fast company. For Buck, her check for the runner-up position totaled $2,000 bucks along with solid points to return to the Ms. Olympia.
For pre-contest prognosticators third-place finisher Wendy McCready may not have been on their collective radar. A pro since 2005, the former British overall champion has competed five times previous to this event with only a fifth-place finish at the Tampa Pro in 2008 as a high water mark. But there was little question that she came well-armed for this event and showed plenty of muscle to get the point across along with a level of stage presence to gain the attention of the judging panel. As RX's Bryan Hildebrand described her outstanding quads, they were “stupid terrific”. Indeed, they were. For her effort she collected a check for $1,000.
With little argument, the most surprising competitor to finish outside the top three was Cathy Lefrancois. A veteran of so many pro events, there has been precious few times she hasn't presented a competitive look. Here, she was simply off. It happens. But for Cathy Lefrancois those occasions are very rare. Odds are she'll bounce back to a sharper form when she next competes.
Russian Alevtina Goroshinskaya wowed the crowd with muscle density that even impressed several male bodybuilders upon seeing her flow through the compulsories. A former two-time silver medalist at the IFBB World Amateur Championships, and the overall winner at the Arnold Amateur Classic in 2011, her less than idyllic structural lines kept her from placing in the money.
Sweden's Frida Palmell made her pro debut here in Toronto but the former Swedish champion appeared out-muscled in this field. At 5-7 ¾, and weighing 145 pounds, she needed and extra ten pounds to fill out her otherwise nicely balanced frame.
Another pair of Canadians who carried plenty of muscle into this contest was Gillian Kovack and Janine Lankowski. While Lankowski has the longer amateur career resume going back to 2003, both competitors earned their pro status at the 2011 IFBB North American Championships. Kovack was the HW and overall open winner, while Lankowski scored her pro card as the HW and overall Masters champion.
As for Laura Carolan, she ranked a second call-out in the pre-judging round and looked to be in the hunt for a top-five placing. At 5-6, she carries her 157 pounds very well with even development from her broad shoulders, tapered waistline, right down to her diamond-shaped calves. For the many who remember her from the mid-90's, she got two well-deserved thumbs up.
With 13 contestants in the Physique division, the numbers got even more interesting. Seven of the 13 hailed from Canada, and three of those squeezed out any of the five Americans who aspired to a top three placing in this class. With the Physique division making its inaugural appearance at this event, the contest was the seventh on a season calendar that will eventually end the year with a dozen pro physique contests. But on this night it was all about Canada, eh.
Like country mate Lisa Geisbrecht in the bodybuilding division, the Physique division crown went to 5-8 Kim Tilden from Oshawa, Ontario. Another former figure competitor who not only had good success in Canada, she was also a figure class winner at the 2009 IFBB North American Championships and competed at the 2006 IFBB World Amateur Championships. Tilden turned pro at the 2009 Canadian Nationals as the overall figure champion. Her pro debut was at the 2010 Figure International where she placed 15th. This year she made the switch to Physique and placed ninth at the Show of Champions, before flexing her way to the top of this field with fluid lines and nice muscle shapes throughout her physique. Competing since 2005 when she began at local events and quickly moved into provincial, national and international levels, Tilden now has a pro Physique title to add to her growing resume.
Chasing Tilden was Saskatchewan's Cea Anna Kerr in second place. Tracing her long competitive career 
back to 1993 where she began as a lightweight bodybuilder in her home province, she earned her pro status with a Masters figure victory at the 2007 Canadian Nationals. At 5-4, Kerr has competed as a figure competitor six times since 2008 missing a top ten finish in each. But in 2012 when she made the switch to Physique, a change was in the wind. She placed eighth at both the LA Grand Prix and Show of Champions before adding her highest-ever placing here.
Third went to Debbie Barrable-Leung another Canadian with a lengthy contest record that includes the distinction of being a Canadian LW bodybuilding champion in 2002, followed by a Canadian National overall Figure winner in 2004. With a runner-up finish at the 2005 Toronto Pro Figure Championships as her best pro placing, 5-2 Leung has also competed at three Figure Internationals and the 2005 Figure Olympia. With all of that in her past, the Physique division may now be her best bet for future competitions due to her pleasing overall shapes and a structure that carries well-shaped muscle groups.
Outside the top three even more Canadians impressed. Nicole Ball took her first steps as a Physique competitor and the jury's still out on how she will fare as she continues to downsize her physique. With two previous victories at pro contests and four entries in past Ms. Olympias, it looked like she was in the process of firmly establishing herself as one of Canada's best-ever pro bodybuilders. It will be of interest to watch her navigate the waters of a new and inconsistent Physique division criteria.
When 2009 Canadian champion – Lyris Cappelle – turned pro she single-handedly brought her hometown into the 
limelight. Had anyone ever heard of Swift Current, Saskatchewan? Now they have. So with two pro contests under her belt including a fifth-place finish at the 2011 Toronto Pro Supershow as a bodybuilder, she returned this year in the Physique division. Many observers at the event stated that she still looked like “an outstanding bodybuilder”. And that could be considered a compliment. At 5-4 (the same height as Nicole Ball) these two have a ways to go in dropping more muscle mass to fit closer to the criteria..... A sad refrain that will echo in virtually every pro Physique division contest in the foreseeable future.
Rhonda Lee Quaresma also suffered from the dreaded criteria evaluation. Showing a good amount of muscle on her 5-1 frame, she also displayed a level of hardness that further accentuated her look towards bodybuilding. Quaresma was the 1995 Canadian National overall champion before turning pro and competed at 128 pounds at the Jan Tana Classic in 1998. Switching to Figure in 2003 she had dropped her weight to 119 pounds. Here, she looked upwards of that weight.
One of Canada's newest pros was Janessa Roy from Winnipeg, Manitoba. With two amateur Physique events to her credit in 2012 ,she won the Manitoba Provincial and the Canadian World Qualifier to earn her pro status. Roy also got encouraging notice at this event when she found herself in the first call-out that showed what looked to be the top six.
...AND THE AMERICAN FIVE
Georgian Michelle Blank was the lone American to make the first call-out in the pre-judging, and after a runner-up finish at the St. Louis Pro and then more recently a sobering tie for 16th at the New York Pro, she deserves a level of sympathy for her rollercoaster ride through the early Physique division events. In her hip pocket, however, is that sterling sixth-place finish at the Fitness Olympia last year.
Marina Lopez....what can you say? She's a tough cookie. This was the seventh pro Physique event in 2012, and Lopez has competed in all seven. No one else can make that claim. Unenviable as it may be. How can you not admire her perseverance?
New Yorker Tammy Patnode along with Ball, Cappelle and Lefrancois are the lone returness to this event from last year. 
With plenty of experience in bodybuilding it has been interesting to watch her systematically downsize her physique to reach the favorable criteria level . The look she showed at the Show of Champions is markedly different than what she presented here. She is most assuredly a work in progress.
Newest competitors to join the ranks of the pro Physique division stateside are Amie Francisco from Hamburg, New York and Gloria Faulls from Blackwood, New Jersey. Both are relative newbies to the competitive scene (and making their pro debuts at this event)with Faulls placing second at the 2011 IFBB North American Championships in her Physique class. Francisco was the runner-up to eventual overall winner Karin Kimura at the 2011 NPC Nationals in her class. Faulls had previous bodybuilding experience, while Francisco came by way for the figure division.
View all the PHOTOS & RESULTS for the 2012 TORONTO SUPERSHOW.
Subscribe to RxMuscle on Youtube
