I’m finally going to get to meet Jarka Lorie Schneider—and thank her for the wonderful time I had at the ’98 Ms. Olympia, which she promoted in Prague, Czech Republic, and which I was fortunate enough to cover. It was a fabulous weekend, and Jarka wined us and dined us; however, she was not actually present in Prague and was directing the action from this side of the Atlantic. Now she’s putting on another fab weekend, the IFBB Pro World Masters competition and Florida Pro Bikini, which will be rockin’ the Fillmore Theater in Miami this Saturday, December 10, and I have to admit, I was wishing I could go. So when Jay Hammett of BODTV ask if I’d like to go to come on down to help with the video coverage of Jarka’s big gathering of bodybuilding talent and history, I jumped at the chance.
The Return of the Legends will be crammed full of legends both in and out of the lineup. Guests of honor: Lee Haney, Frank Zane and Lou Ferrigno—and they tell me the Big Nasty, Mr. Ronnie Coleman will be in the house. A pro seminar with Dorian Yates and star posing from Robby Robinson, Juliette Bergmann, Vince Taylor and Andy Hamm are on the program. Shawn Ray will do the master of ceremonies honors, and he’s bringing his talented young daughter, Asia Monet Ray, who will also guest pose. (In case you’ve never seen the six-year-old dynamo in motion, she who could probably blow away the Fitness Olympia lineup.)
With $240,000 up for grabs in the masters show and a $20,000 total purse for bikini, the contests have attracted top talent, with Dexter Jackson, Toney Freeman, Troy Alves and Tricky Jackson standing out on the masters list, along with some of my old faves like Darrem Charles and Pavel Jablonicky.
India Paulino, Missy Coles, Juliana Danielle, Tianna Ta and Brittany Tacy are among the attention getters who’ll do the bikini contest. You can find the updated lineups at www.IFBBPro.com.
Look for me on the red carpet, interviewing one and all before the finals, not to mention at the press conference, VIP reception, Meet the Pros session, awards banquet and the contests themselves. Whew, I’d better get packing.
If you’re going to be in south Florida this weekend, you’ll definitely want check it out. For tickets—or more info: www.jarkasgym.com.
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