Sunday morning, the bodybuilding world woke up to some massive news: 4x Miss Physique Olympia
and inaugural Ms. Physique International Juliana Malacane would not be
competing at the 2018 Olympia, meaning we are guaranteed a new
champion this year. In our honest opinion, the IFBB might want to be
very careful with who they select as the new queen of women's
physique as this could go a long way toward how women's physique is
looked at for the foreseeable future. In fact, it was this very
mindset that actually played a part in why Juliana has decided not
to go for a 5th straight title. In fact, in all honesty,
we should have seen this coming a few weeks ago if we paid attention
to her Instagram nearly a month ago:
That post spoke volumes right there.
It's one thing for fans/spectators to say that the look is too much,
but when arguably the greatest women's physique competitor of all
time says that, that should be a wake-up call for the IFBB. I said
SHOULD but as history has shown, it won't be, not even for a
first-ballot Hall-of-Famer like Juliana. We mentioned to Juliana on
that post that we felt her best look was the Olympia she DIDN'T win:
2013. Her conditioning was pretty good, better than most of the field
(including those that placed above her as well) but what made her so
awe-inspiring that year was her shape, structure, and overall
combination of muscles and curves. Fans were in disbelief of her look
as it was crazy yet HEALTHY-LOOKING at the same time. It seemed
achievable and attainable. Fans were also in disbelief when she
placed 7th, which was bullcrap then and bullcrap now. No
disrespect to the competitors, but not all six women that placed
about Juliana were better than her that weekend. No way in hell, and
we'll take that to the grave. She finally got that win in 2014 and
would go on become a 4x Ms. Physique Olympia and would win the inaugural Ms. Physique International title in 2015. I was there for
that and it was unreal to see how graceful Juliana's physique was
compared to everyone else. There was no question as to why she's
not just the Queen of Women's Physique, she IS women's physique,
which is why the news of her not competing this year hurts and the
reason behind it is disheartening.
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| Many call this her best Olympia look ever...and she didn't even win this show! Photo credit: FLEX Online |
Rather than explain it, we will post
the two Instagram posts that broke the news: Juliana's good friends
Justin Miller (@astrongspirit) and Michael D. Bryson (who runs This Is Bodybuilding on Instagram)
After reading and seeing both posts
(and wiping a few tears...I sure as hell did), how can you blame her.
We only have one body and once it's gone, it's gone. We can never get
it back. I'm not bringing up their names to prove a point but just
these last couple of weeks, we lost IFBB Physique Pro Tracy Hess and
IFBB Figure Pro Chelsey Morgenstern due to (as of now) unknown
reasons. We have had competitors who lost their lives because they
went too far in the industry for the sole purpose of winning a show
or hell even winning a pro card! Some competitors are thankfully
still with us but have had their lives changed dramatically because
of their pursuit of getting that pro win or getting that pro card.
VERY FEW PEOPLE make money in this business, and I'm talking pros
here. You spend way more than you get back in return. There's an old
saying that you get what you put in. Well...in bodybuilding, nine
times out of ten, that's not the case! Competitors are making
GoFundMe accounts for fans to donate so they can actually compete,
for Christ's sake. Seriously, folks, that's crazy! And for what?! A
plastic trophy? An opportunity at MAYBE some cash that you WON'T be
able to keep because you have to pay for suits, supplements, travel,
training, food...yeah, I'm not even talking about the actual living essentials such as rent, bills, gas, etc. It's not like Miss
America where you are a legit ambassador and show up at events
throughout your reign. You don't see the Olympia champions going out
getting paid by the IFBB to being fitness ambassadors to children and
adults, do you?
I know I went on a rant there, but you
all know damn well Juliana Malacarne is more than that. Yes, she is
an athlete, one of the best this industry has ever seen, but first
and foremost...she's a woman...and as a woman, she wants to continue
to live her life AS a woman. That's one big reason why she never
wanted to compete as a bodybuilder, as she felt her femininity would
be lost in that division. She feels her femininity is gonna get lost
in the division that was seemingly made for someone like her as the
IFBB is seemingly going away with the original guidelines of women's
physique in the first place. In fact, each female division (minus
fitness we believe) is having some identity issues, which we will
DEFINITELY be discussing sooner than later. So rather than pushing
her body to the brink of no-return, Juliana is taking a stand her way
and saying, “NOPE” and going out on HER term. Now will she return
to the stage next year? We don't know. Is this an official retirement
from Juliana? NOT YET. So anyone who says she has retired is flatout
LYING. She is merely taking a well-deserved break from it all and
training like she wants to and living HOW she wants to.
With Juliana out, the IFBB has a
decision to make. To those that are entering the 2018 Olympia
Physique Showdown, they will be coming in at what they feel is their
best. My hope is that they will come in like what the actual
guidelines call for in women's physique, which we will post directly
from the NPC News Online website:
WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE JUDGING CRITERIA
- Symmetry, shape, proportion, muscle tone, poise and beauty flow
- Physique assessment and comparison will take place during prejudging
Women’s
Physique Division has been created to give a platform for women who
enjoy weight training, competing, contest preparation. Competitors
should display a toned, athletic physique showcasing femininity,
muscle tone, beauty/flow of physique.
The
following are examples of common terms used in the bodybuilding
industry. These words can be helpful to assess what should not be
descriptive to the physiques being judged in women’s physique:
Ripped,
shredded, peeled, striated, dry, diced, hard, vascular, grainy,
massive, thick, dense, etc.
While
all types of physiques will be considered when it comes to height,
weight, structure, etc. Excessive muscularity should be scored down
accordingly.
Women’s
physique competitors should have the overall aesthetics and look that
is found in figure with a little more overall muscularity.
Based off the critieria from their own website, who should be rewarded? The 2013 Juliana or the 2017 Juliana? We would go with the 2013 Juliana. If the judges choose the 2018 Ms. Physique Olympia based off THEIR OWN ACTUAL JUDGING CRITERIA ON THEIR WEBSITE, in my opinion it will go a long way towards Juliana possibly coming back to compete at least one more time in 2019, as well as others who feel women's physique has went the opposite way of what they were hoping for. The IFBB needs to do a better job in enforcing their own rules and guidelines or the IFBB will be in danger of losing its status at the best. Just because you're the biggest doesn't guarantee you're the best in your field (WWE, looking at you) and just because you're the biggest in your field doesn't mean you can't be threatened or weakened (NFL, NBA...looking at BOTH of you, for different reasons). IFBB, you're in danger of losing one of the greatest athletes you've ever had for good if things don't change. Other top competitors who CAN STILL GO TODAY no longer compete in the IFBB (Monica Brant, Jenny Lynn, Erin Stern, Jennifer Gates, Gina Aliotti, to name a few) for many of the reasons that were brought up here. This trend doesn't have to continue. Things can change for the better, but the IFBB has the be the one to make their move....and it starts at the 2018 Olympia.
For more on Juliana, follow her on the following links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julesfit10
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julesfit10
Instagram: https://instagram.com/julesfit10
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