| Focus April 1, 2008
|
Allison Ethier (left),
one of our SAF Elite, performed wonderfully in Columbus, Ohio. She won the Short class and
then went on to win the Overall title in the fitness competition that was part of the 2008
Arnold Amateur IFBB International Championships.
(Photo March 2008 by Doug Schneider) |
|
The Girls of SAF Rule in Columbus
About a month ago, I went to the 2008 Arnold Sports
Festival in Columbus, Ohio. The Festival ran from February 28 through March 2 and there
were more than 100,000 spectators attending. There were also more athletes competing in
the various sports that go on there than there are competing at the Olympics. It’s
huge and there’s plenty to do. Mostly, though, I went to see our SAF women compete in
the amateur and professional figure and fitness events – and they all did incredibly
well
SAF Elite stars Natalie Waples and Francisca Dennis
competed in the figure portion of the Arnold Amateur IFBB International Championships,
while Allison Ethier, another one of our Elite, competed in the fitness event. Natalie won
the figure "E" class, and Francisca took the runner-up spot right behind her.
Allison not only won the fitness Short class, but the Overall title too – in order to
take the Overall title, Allison had to compete against the fitness Tall-class winner,
Chantal Dicaire. If Chantal’s name sounds familiar, it’s likely because she has
been featured in SeriousAboutFitness.com many times over the years. Congratulations to all
these women on amazing performances at such a prestigious international-level competition.
Mindi O’Brien, Canada’s top-ranked professional
fitness competitor, whom we’ve also featured in SeriousAboutFitness.com numerous
times, was there competing in her fourth consecutive Fitness International competition.
This year, she placed tenth – not her best outing at that competition. However, one
has to remember that the Fitness International is one of the toughest professional fitness
competitions in the world and being in the top ten isn’t at all bad. Furthermore,
most competitors are lucky if they get to this competition just once, let alone as many
times as Mindi has. I know Mindi would have liked to have done better in Columbus;
however, she’s already put the Fitness International behind her and she’s
started to prepare for the pro shows to be held this summer, and the Fitness Olympia in
Las Vegas this fall.
The four-day Arnold Sports Festival spectacle was an
exhilarating experience this year, and the fine performances of our SAF girls made me very
proud. They ruled in Columbus!
I was also happy to see such a strong start so early in the
year because even though the Arnold Sports Festival is already over, the 2008 competitive
season has really only just begun. There are more events happening soon that our SAF girls
will be competing at and, no doubt, taking home trophies too. Of course, there are also
the two SAF Model Search events happening in June and November. From these events, a total
of 12 more women will become qualified to be part of our SAF Elite roster. In addition, at
the June event we’re holding our first-ever SAF Elite competition where ten of our
current SAF Elite stars have already been invited to compete.
Columbus was a great way to kick off the year for SAF, but
there’s still plenty more excitement to come. Of course, we’ll be there for all
of it and you’ll be able to read about it in the coming months here at
Seriousaboutfitness.com.
...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com |
