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| We're here at last! Photo credit to the original owner |
This year has been crazy, but somehow...someway, we are getting an Olympia. By the time this weekend is over, we will crown the best of the muscle world. Obviously, since this is a female muscle site, we will be focusing on the female muscle side of things. The big story without a doubt is the return of Ms. Olympia, but all the divisions are loaded. Will we see new champions crowned? Will returning favorites return to glory? Will any new faces shock the world? Chcck out our predictions on what many are calling the biggest Olympia...EVER.
Women's Physique Olympia
For the last couple of years, Shanique Grant has dominated women's physique with an iron fist. Other than Juliana Malacarne, no one has owned the divison quite like Shanique. She might be on her way to being the best to ever do it, and a win this weekend will definitely strenthen her case as the GOAT. I feel Natalia Coelho is in the same boat as Shanique but is not talked about NEARLY enough despite being a 2x (and current) Women's Physique International Champion, but I'll in a future blog post after the holidays. Sarah suprised me with her runner-up placing last year, which she will do her best to show everyone that that runner-up placing was no fluke and she's legit. Valentina brings a great physique at the biggest shows and after what she felt was a disappointment in an earlier show this year, she will look to rebound from it with a big showing at the biggest show of the year. Rulying Bian brought an incredibe physique in Arizona, and I think she will carry that momentum to Orlando in her Olympia debut. Tanya Chartrand came from the same group of competitors as Shanique and Natalia in crossing over from figure to women's physique and having immediate success. I think with a full year of women's physique training under her belt, Tanya is going to do SERIOUS damage in the women's physique division, and we will get a nice taste of that at this year's O. As far as a wildcard is concerned, I'm going to go with Laura Richards on this one. I feel she has what it takes to crack the top 6 if she comes in nicely.
WOMEN'S PHYSIQUE OLYMPIA TOP 6 PREDICTIONS AND WILDCARD:
1. Shanique Grant
2. Natalia Coelho
3. Sarah Villegas
4. Valentina Mishina
5. Rulying Bian
6. Tanya Chartrand
WILDCARD Laura Richards
Fitness Olympia
There have been stacked line-ups, and honestly, I feel this is the most stacked Fitness Olympia lineup EVER, and this is despite not having Adela Garcia in the mix. She was originally scheduled to come out of retirement, however she didn't feel she was up to par with how she wanted to present herself, the fitness division, and the IFBB as a whole. With that being said, she opted to hold off on coming out of retirement for now, be we hope to see her return at some point. It doesn't make this year's event any less epic, though. Whitney Jones, the defending champion, is in for the defesne of her career and one of the rare times I will call her an underdog. The fact that I feel she's an underdog this year speaks volumnes on the competition she has this year. Ariel Khadr is under new training and is coming in crazier than ever before in her career. Missy Truscott has been WOWing folks with that many are calling her best physique ever (and that's saying something considering she has brought one of the best physiques in the fitness division the last few years) and she has promised a routine that is going to WOW the audience this year. If they both click like they have in the past, we could see a new champion. And oh yeah...OKSANA FREAKING GRISHINA IS BAAAAAAACCCCCCK!!!! From 2014-2017, she ran the fitness diviison with an iron fist, with many considering the best pure athlete to ever compete in the fitness division. Her routines were works of art, and there's no telling how she's going to grace us in her return, but if it's anything like her previous performances...we are in for a SHOW this weekend! I see Tiffany Chandler and Derina Wilson having Top 6 perforamces with my wildcard being Minna Pajulahti.
FITNESS OLYMPIA TOP 6 PREDICTIONS AND WILDCARD:
1. Missy Truscott
2. Oksana Grishina
3. Whitney Jones
4. Ariel Khadr
5. Tiffany Chandler
6. Derina Wilson
WILDCARD: Minna Pajulahti
Figure Olympia
History is on the line for the current Figure Olympia champion Cydney Gillon. She currently has 3 titles. If she wins this weekend, she will tie with Nicole Wilkins, who has the most Figure Olympia titles with four. If Cydney wins, it's time to put her in the conversation of GOAT in the figure division. But it won't be easy. Latorya Watts is a former Miss Figure Olympia in her own right and she looked she could have potentially beatedn Cydney last year. Nadia has showned that she is just a big of a threat to a major title as anyone and I can see her right in the mix. Bojana is another one who is hard to ignore and I feel she has one of the best shapes of any woman in the figure division. I personally don't know what else she needs to do to get over the hump but I think if she continues to bring it, it's going to be downright impossible to ignore her. Jessica is in the same boat to me as Bojana in terms of shape and conditioning. Jessica has that hard-to-ignore look about her that has made her a top figure competitor. BTW, how cool would it be to be crowned Miss Figure Olympia ON HER BIRTHDAY?! (Yes, her birthday is the same day as this year's Figure Olympia). I also see the current Figure International champion Natalia Soltero making some noise in this year's event. The rest of the field looks pretty awesome, but the newcomer I have my eye on is Samantha Jerring. She has developed quite the following for a couple of years and in one weekend, she competed for a pro card and won the right to compete in the Olympia. She might be new to the States as a competitor (her first show in the United States will be the freaking Olympia) but her physique could be too good to ignore. We predict Samantha is going to be someone folks are gonna talk about a LOT when this weekend is over.
FIGURE OLYMPIA TOP 6 PREDICTIONS AND WILDCARD:
1. Cydney Gillon
2. Latorya Watts
3. Nadia Wyatt
4. Bojana Vasiljevic
5. Jessica Reyes Padilla
6. Natalia Soltero
WILDCARD: Samantha Jerring
Bikini Olympia
This division is never easy to predict for me. It definitely wasn't until Ashley Kaltwasser became champion in 2013. She would go on a 3-year winning streak until she was dethroned by Courtney King in 2016. Angelica Teixeria would win the title in 2017 and 2018 and Elisa Pecini won last year. Three of the last four champions are competing which right there makes one of the toughest divisions to judges even tougher. And oh yeah...this is without a doubt the biggest line-up in ANY division this year. There was nearly 45 QUALIFIED competitors, which is more than double of most other divisions! Now, you can argue that is a BIG too many for the most prestigious show of the year, but we'll talk about that another day if anyone wishes to hear about it. But it doesn't change the fact that this is a deep division that is one of the hardest to judge. The crowning of this year's champion is very important because of the imcoming Wellness Olympia next year, so the look of the Bikini Olympia needs to remain as far apart of the inargual Wellness Olympia look as possible. I know Elisa is the defending champion, but Ashley has been on an absoulte hot streak this year, officially cementing herself as the most winningest bikini champion of all time. Despite it being a bit since she's won the Bikini Olympia title, I'm going with Ashley to win her first Bikini Olympia title since 2015, followed by Elisa, Angelica, Janet, Jennifer R., and Monica. And honestly, I'm just choosing at random for a wild card here, so I'm going with Jennifer Dorie.
BIKINI OLYMPIA TOP 6 PREDICTIONS AND WILDCARD:
1. Ashley Kaltwasser
2. Elisa Pecini
3. Angelica Teixeira
4. Janet Layug
5. Jennifer Ronzitti
6. Monica Ellis
WILD CARD: Jennifer Dorie
Ms. Olympia
We have not has a Ms. Olympia since 2014, which is a damn shame in our book because this was the reason there are even any female Olympias in the first place in any division. But with new ownership, a big wrong was righted and the Ms. Olympia is finally back, as we will embark on a new era in the sport with the crowning of the first Ms. Olympia since 2014. I have no idea what direction they are going to go with as far as who will be the new face of women's bodybuilding, but my guess will be that it will be someone who has done well in shows post-2014 like Margie Martin and Helle Trevino. Yaxeni Oriquen is a former Ms. Olympia so that automatically makes her an instant contender. Iris Kyle is arguably the most dominating female bodybuilder of all time with 10 Ms. Olympia titles (2004, 2006-2014). That ALONE makes her a favorite to kick off the new era as Ms. Olympia. However, I feel they will go with a different look to kick off the new era and it HAS been a minute since Iris has stepped on stage, otherwise I would have her winning this weekend. (Same reason why I don't have Oksana winning the Fitness Olympia as well). With that being said, I'm doing with Margie Martin to usher in the new era of women's bodybuilding as the new Ms. Olympia with Iris taking 2nd place, followed by Helle, Monique, Asha, and Andrea, with Theresa as my wildcard. Either way, the real winners this weekend are fans of women's bodybuilding because the Ms. Olympia competition is BACK! Now we need to get the Ms. International to return in 2021. Your move, Arnold...
MS. OLYMPIA TOP 6 PREDICTIONS AND WILD CARD:
1. Margie Martin
2. Iris Kyle
3. Helle Trevino
4. Monique Jones
5. Asha Hadley
6. Andrea Shaw
WILDCARD: Theresa Ivancik
This weekend will be one to remember for so many reasons, and you can view it all via pay-per-view. Go to OlympiaProductions.com for more on how to order the PPV, which you can watch on any device, as well as watch some free content from this weekend. To everyone that was able to get this together despite how this year has went, my hats off to all of you. To everyone that is competing and were able to get it done despite how this year has went, my hats off to you as well. Here to one hell of a weekend for everyone, whether you are in Orlando or watching from the comforts of home.
