It was tension down to the wire at the Tournament of Champions Pro Figure in Culver City, California, yesterday, specifically because it was the last show before the Olympia and three of the top contenders were tied for fifth in the Olympia points derby with seven points each. Two of them would make it to the Figure O in Las Vegas on September 27 and 28—the winner and the runner-up. From the callouts it was clear that the three were front-runners for a reason. Victoria Adelus, Candice John and Kimberly Sheppard (in alphabetical order) would indeed be the top three at the TOC, with Sasha Brown, who had joined them in the first callout, and Latorya Watts vying for the fourth and fifth spots in a tough lineup of 13. The nod went to Candice in a unanimous call, and it seemed like the right one to this observer.
Candice’s scores have been all over the map this year, with a top-three finish in Pittsburgh in May being her best placing. In recent outings she seemed to have lost her way. This time she was nicely conditioned but fuller than her last couple of shows—no striations, just smooth lines highlighting her swell V-taper.
From the judging it seemed that Adelus was going to leave the Culver City Veterans Memorial Auditorium with at least runner-up honors; however, the judges chose Sheppard, proving that a gal with a little more muscle—and a killer shape—can also get their attention. Victoria, with her lean (in a good way), balanced package had to settle for third, just missing out on that trip to Vegas.
Sasha, who’d filled out a bit since her out-of-the-running finish at the Tahoe Show two weeks earlier, took fourth with one her best look since turning pro. Fifth went to the shapely Latorya, who got her card by taking the overall at the USA in late July and showed promise by earning a total of five points in her first miniseason in the big leagues.
Find the complete results below. See you at the Olympia!
Photos
Top: Candice John gets the big sword.
The top five (from left): Sasha Brown, Kimberly Sheppard, Candice John, Victoria Adelus and Latorya Watts.
Bottom: A better look at Latorya.
’13 IFBB Tournament of Champions Pro Figure
1) Candice John
2) Kim Sheppard
3) Victoria Adelus
4) Sasha Brown
5) Latorya Watts
6) Vicki Dowell
7) Bjoana Vasiljevic
8) Beckie Boddie
9) Julie Mayer-Hyman
10) Alissa Parker
11) Olga Morales
12) Donna Lisa Rapoza
13) Karina Grau
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