The Men’s and Women’s Physique seasons started off with a bang on Saturday as 35 of the IFBB Professional League’s best took the stage for the IFBB Pro Grand Prix in Culver City, California.
Matt Christianer won the first-ever professional Men’s Physique contest a year ago, an d he started off the 2013 season in the same fashion. Christianer, who’s first win came at the Governor’s Cup in March of 2012, fared much better in Los Angeles than he did when placing 8th here one year ago. The knock on Christianer then was that his arms and shoulders overpowered a physique that was too conditioned for the new division. But he rectified those mistakes on Saturday with a refined overall look and was rewarded by the judges.
The surprise of the night came when Mark Anthony – who came into the contest with a 3-0 record in IFBB Men’s Physique contests – was left out of the first callout. Anthony, the Grand Prix defending champion, was well off the mark from his performances last year and ended up in fifth.
Tyler Anderson (2nd), Alex Carniero (3rd) and Keenon LeBlanc Jr (4th) were the other top-five finishers in the Men’s division.
Patricia Mello entered as the precontest favorite in the Women’s Physique division and didn’t disappoint en route to the second win of her career. Mello has now finished in the top two of each of her four Women’s Physique contests.
Venus Nguyen packed on seven pounds of muscle for the 2013 season and it paid off here, as the added muscle – combined with the best overall conditioning in the show – helped her move into the runner-up spot. Karin Hobbs (formerly Kimura) placed third while Jill Rudison and Loan Leonard placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Go here to see the contest galleries!
SCORESHEETS
MEN’S PHYSIQUE
MEN’S PHYSIQUE
