But they are this time around, and anything less shouldn’t be expected from The Governor!

All four champions from 2011 will return and defend their crowns, not the most usual circumstance when you factor in a number of reasons why this is a special occurrence, indeed. Many competitors skip the Arnold to concentrate on the Mr. Olympia or have no choice in the matter if they suffer an injury. Take Branch Warren, for instance. The Texas native not only won the title last March, but also the Most Muscular Award. Outside of the British Grand Prix a few weeks later (which he also won), Warren will have not had donned the posing trunks in nearly 12 months when he hits the stage at the Arnold. A freak accident caused him to become injured and have to bow out of the Mr. Olympia.

Warren will have his work cut out for him against a line-up that includes Dexter Jackson (a three-time Arnold champion), as well as Dennis Wolf and Evan Centopani, who both finished in the top six a year ago.

In female bodybuilding, it will be once again the great Iris Kyle looking to monopolize the Ms. International first place prize, something that she has been able to do on six prior occasions. “I just take one year at a time,” Kyle said. “I do my homework and try to come in with the package that (the judges) are looking for.”

Of course, Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia will have something to say about that, herself a four-time winner in Columbus and a frequent runner-up to Kyle here and at the Ms. Olympia.

Adele Garcia will look to add a fifth Ms. Fitness International trophy to her growing collection and will have to fend off the likes of Tanji Johnson and Camala Rodriguez.

In 2011, the inaugural Ms. Bikini International took place and Nicole Nagrani was named its first champion. “I feel amazing right now; I’m on top of the world,” Nagrani commented backstage following the win.

The 19-year-old again stood in the winner’s circle at the Olympia and will have to watch out for Sonia Gonzales (second) and Nathalia Melo (third), who were directly on her heels last March.

Perhaps the most interesting battle will take place in figure, where Nicole Wilkins and Erin Stern have gone back and forth in Ohio and Las Vegas the last few years. Wilkins has tasted victory at the last two Ms. Figure International shows and will also have to keep her eyes on Ava Cowan and Cheryl Brown.

Keep in mind that these lists are just the people who have been invited to the 2012 Arnold Classic and there will be some who decline the invite for one reason or another. But competing here is an honor and most will in fact be up there on the stage at the War Memorial come March 2 and 3.

The official lists are as follows:

2012 Arnold Classic (14)
Fouad Abiad
Gustavo Badell
Lionel Beyeke
Matthias Botthof
Evan Centopani
Eduardo Correa
Brandon Curry
Dexter Jackson
Michael Kefalianos
Ben Pakulski
Shawn Rhoden
Branch Warren
Ben White
Dennis Wolf

2012 Ms. International (15)
Maria Rita Bello
Brigita Brezovac
Kim Buck
Tina Chandler
Alevtina Goroshinskaya
Monique Jones
Iris Kyle
Debi Laszewski
Cathy LeFrancois
Zoa Lindsey
Geraldine Morgan
Yaxeni Oriquen
Kim Perez
Alina Popa
Maria Segura

2012 Fitness International (17)
Michelle Blank
Jodi Boam
Myriam Capes
Regiane Da Silva
Tina Durkin
Allison Ethier
Adela Garcia
Oksana Grishina
Tanji Johnson
Diana Monteiro
Julie Palmer
Kayde Puckett
Camala Rodriguez
Daniella Ruban
Kizzy Vaines
Sheri Vucick
Bethany Wagner

2012 Figure International (16)
Jelena Abbou
Teresa Anthony
Cheryl Brown
Krissy Chin
Ava Cowan
Heather Dees
Alicia Harris
Raquel Hernandez
Candice Keene
Gloria Keplinger Tarpley
Sue Knott
Larissa Reis
Erin Stern
Gennifer Strobo
Latisha Wilder
Nicole Wilkins

2012 Bikini International (18)
Jennifer Andrews
Jaime Baird
Abbie Burrows
Juliana Daniell
Sonia Gonzales
Candyce Graham
Diana Graham
Jessica Jessie
Lexi Kaufman
Nathalia Melo
Justine Munro
Nicole Nagrani
India Paulino
Jessica Paxson
Natalie Pennington
Monique Ricardo
Tianna Ta
Christine Vargas

For more information, be sure to visit the official contest website, www.arnoldsportsfestival.com.

Since then, a scenario of ‘what can go wrong will go wrong’ seemed to be the mantra of Policky’s life. Injuries forced her to sit out the 2010 Arnold Classic (Ms. International) and then a series of personal problems that included going through a divorce, alcohol and drug use, as well as a stint in rehab, caused her to stay away from the sport and the fitness lifestyle in general.

Policky is back on track with her life now and although she is currently retired and has stated that she has no plans to ever compete again as a bodybuilder, we will see if a change to the new Women’s Physique Division may be in the cards for her.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 1:30 PM Eastern time on www.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived and available free on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes. Join us on the air by calling in at (347) 884-8157.

Be sure to visit Rhoden’s official website, www.heatherarmbrust.com, and his Facebook page.

MuscleSport Radio has enjoyed a steady flow of special guests since launching, with famous names in the bodybuilding and sports industry such as Samir Bannout, Bill Grant, Boyer Coe, Troy Brown, Ronnie Coleman, Gunter Schlierkamp, Leo Ingram, Heather Mae French, Cathy LeFrancois, Colette Nelson, Cathy LeFrancois, Dena Westerfield, Marshall Faulk, Bill Romanowski, Tony Mandarich, “Leapin’” Lanny Poffo, Taylor Boyd, Steve Michalik, Dan Lurie, Emy Silvagni, Rae Holitt, Tom Terwilliger, Dan “The Beast” Severn, Kevin Levrone, Layne Norton, Randy Roach, Debi Laszewski and more.

HEATHER’S COMPETITION HISTORY

In the fitness category, Adela Garcia defended her title successfully, holding off Tanji Johnson.

Sonia Gonzalez dropped from being the first Bikini Olympia champion a year ago to fifth place, as 2011 Ms. Bikini International Nicole Nagrani, 19, was named the winner.

In women’s bodybuilding, Dayana Cadeau and Mah-Ann Mendoza both competed for the last time. Both are veterans of the sport and will be missed.

FINAL PLACINGS

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

1. Iris Kyle
2. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
3. Brigita Brezovac
4. Debi Laszewski
5. Alina Popa
6. Sheila Bleck
7. Kim Perez
8. Nicole Ball
9. Monique Jones
10. Tina Chandler
11. Kim Buck
12. Heather Foster
13. Cathy LeFrancois
14. Halle Nielsen
15. Skadi Frei-Seifert
16. Dayana Cadeau
17. Mah-Ann Mendoza

FITNESS

1. Adela Garcia
2. Tanji Johnson
3. Myriam Capes
4. Tina Durkin
5. Oksana Grishina
6. Michelle Blank
7. Bethany Cisternino
8. Jodi Boam
9. Camala Rodriguez
10. Nicole Duncan
11. Diana Paula-Monteiro
12. Regiane Da Silva
13. Kizzy Vaines

BIKINI

1. Nicole Nagrani
2. Nathalia Melo
3. Dianna Dahlgren
4. Jaime Baird
5. Sonia Gonzales
6. India Paulino
7. Alison Rosen
8. Juliana Daniell
9. Abigail Burrows
10. Justine Munro
11. Diana Graham
12. Natalie Pennington
13. Christina Vargas
14. Vanessa Prebyl
15. Cristina Vujnich
16. Barbara Bolotte
16. Candyce Graham
16. Cristy Mendivil
16. Dina Al-Sabah
16. Jennifer Drennan
16. Jennifer Andrews
16. Jessica Jessie
16. Kelly Gonzalez
16. Marisa Lee
16. Missy Coles
16. Nathalie Mur
16. Shelsea Montes
16. Vanessa Campbell

“My appetite was nothing,” Kyle said backstage afterwards. “I was eating probably (only) like two or three times a day. My training, I had to scale back a lot. Normally I’m obsessed with training  and was doing only two or three hours in the gym as opposed to four or five hours. It really played tricks on me.”

It was apparent during the pre-judging that Kyle was having difficulty but that didn’t hurt her with the judges. She did not lose any muscularity even with the issues she had to endure, although she did admit that she dropped some weight by not being able to take in as many calories as she usually does.

“I was second guessing myself…I’m not as full, not as tight, but overall the package was winning.”

Once again, Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia finished as the runner-up and appeared drier in the evening compared to the afternoon pre-judging. But that wasn’t enough for her to make up the ground she had lost, finishing 10 points behind Kyle.

A mild surprise with Alina Popa finishing third. The native of Switzerland did very well for herself by squeaking by Debi Laszewski, 34 points to 36. She also brings a more streamlined and symmetrical look that the sport needs to get back to and Kyle surprisingly agrees that this may be a sign of things to come.

“It has a lot to do with your shape and physique,” she said. “The X-factor is most important, not just muscle but condition. Some of the other ladies had better shapes. I think that’s the way it should always go. I was never into big size. I was more into condition and the X-factor.”

Betty Viana-Adkins and Cathy LeFrancois rounded out the top six. The rest of the line-up finished as follows: Jeannie Paparone (7), Tina Chandler (8), Dayana Cadeau (9), Maria Rita Bello (10), Maria Segura (11), Antoinette Thompson (12) and Sarah Hayes (13).

FITNESS INTERNATIONAL

“Chica’ does it again in the fitness category and more familiar names followed. Adela Garcia has become the standard in this division and Tanji Johnson (second) has made some great strides in closing the gap. Trish Warren was beaming backstage with her third place finish and heard her husband Branch cheering her on from the audience.

“I did,” she said with a smile. “I’m really happy with third place. I didn’t want to fall down from the Olympia. I knew that Tanji and Adela were going to come in strong. You have to knock out the champion to win and I’m happy and honored to be here.”

FIGURE INTERNATIONAL

Nicole Wilkins won another here in Columbus and was looking much better than her runner-up, Erin Stern. This sets up an interesting Olympia, where Stern bested Wilkins in 2010.

Ava Cowan took third and looked outstanding, as did Felicia Romero (fourth). Cheryl Brown and Courtney West placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Kyle looked unbeatable from the rear, as usual. And her new hairstyle looks great. (Don’t want to sound like a sissy, but it does count for something with the women.) She did come in what was described as “a little under the weather” by MD’s Shawn Ray and it showed when she was on the side during the second call-outs. Kyle was being attended to by the show personnel and appeared to be dehydrating. Just goes to show you what a great champion she is.

The other three women in the first call-out were Debi Laszewski, Alina Popa and Betty Viana-Adkins. Laszewski looks as if she will either take third or even have a shot at the runner-up position if the judges agree that Oriquen-Garcia is off. Popa may be the surprise of the night and brings a much more streamlined look to the stage that is much needed in the sport. Viana-Adkins took a year off and that appears to have been the right move.

The finals will be here soon, so stay tuned with MSM, our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates and analysis.

In 2010, Kyle held off Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia at both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in two shows that could have went either way. We felt that Yaxeni bested Iris on both occasions and feel confident again in our prediction that the third time will be a charm.

OK, so here goes:

1 – Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia

2 – Iris Kyle

3 – Debi Laszewski

4 – Isabel Turell

5 – Dyana Cadeau

6 – Cathy LeFrancois

Laszewski looked on point at the Ms. Olympia and took third in Vegas. We expect more of the same here. Then there is a big drop off in this light line-up. Turell did not compete last year after placing seventh at the 2009 Ms. I. Cadeau has been competing forever and is always in the mix for the top six. LeFrancois can place well here and should.

One wild card in this group may be Maria Rito Bello, who will be making her pro debut after winning the Arnold Amateur a year ago. She may be small in size but her conditioning can loom large.

Listen – I personally have no problem whatsoever looking at women barely dressed cavorting on a stage and not feeling guilty about it, but for the sake of the sports world, bodybuilding differs greatly from the other three. As a man, staring intently at someone like Heather Mae French and calling it work is a great thing. But when I put on my sportswriter’s hat, it just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Interviewing Dennis Wolf or Iris Kyle is the other end of the spectrum. No knock against the smaller, svelte figures out there, but it’s similar to comparing an offensive lineman and a tennis player. Both are professional athletes, but prepare for their jobs completely different.

Surely, the marketing strategy has been to separate the women’s bodybuilding from the men’s so that ticket sales would be equally distributed both nights. But in the past few years, women’s bodybuilding has become less popular and only followed by a niche group of fans that seems to shrink more and more. The three other categories have grown in popularity and surely can handle the headliner spot now without suffering at the box office.

Using this strategy, the more mainstream audience would have their own night and the old school will not have to sit around for hours on end waiting for the completion of a contest. The best of both worlds, if you will.

There is certainly a place for fitness, figure and bikini. But just not on the same stage, same night as bodybuilding.

Last March, Kyle somehow was able to prevail in the Ms. International (Arnold Classic), even though Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia came into Ohio looking absolutely stunning. Judging is not an exact science, but it did appear that Oriquen-Garcia was more defined than Kyle. By winning five of the last six Ms. I shows, Kyle has been a tough competitor to say the least. In 2008, she came in off due to suffering an injury and fell all the way to seventh. Oriquen-Garcia won her fourth Ms. I that year.

Heading into the Ms. Olympia, it appeared that it would be a two-woman race once again. “I’m coming in in really good condition,” Oriquen-Garcia said the day before the contest. “I did my best and I’m ready to win.” As far as peaking in March or now, she commented, “I think now is my time. Iris is a great athlete, but we have totally different lines. Let’s see what the judges are looking for this year.”

Kyle and Oriquen-Garcia stood should-to-shoulder holding hands on the stage awaiting the announcement of the winner. Kyle’s reaction seemed to be one of relief and exuberance when she heard her name called and Oriquen-Garcia appeared disappointed but showed good sportsmanship. She knows how it feels to be champion, as she did in 2005 when she won the O, and will have to wait another year for the opportunity. But at 44, the window of opportunity may be starting to close for her.

Oriquen-Garcia has already stated that she will be competing at the Ms. International in 2011 and Kyle surely will be defending her title, so both women will have a chance to do it all over again.

In the men’s open pre-judging, it appears to be Jay Cutler again. The local boy received the loudest ovation from the crowd and he appears even more conditioned than last year. Phil Heath is still very young so he will have his day, but for now ‘The Gift’ will have to be content with the runner-up position. Branch Warren, who took second last September, was on point and could very well finish there again, but he should be top 3 either way. 2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson seems to be in  the fourth position, going by the call-outs. Then it gets really interesting…

Ronny Rockell – who we have been touting as a top 6 competitor since the Arnold – may make us look smart tomorrow evening. The German looked fantastic and was part of the top call-outs. Then the biggest surprise of the night heard his name in the second call-out. Dennis Wolf, who did not even place a year ago, appears much more drier then he has recently and may creep into the top 6. Timing is everything and even when we interviewed Big Bad Wolf last night at the “Meet The Olympians” he had that bloated look and appeared to be carrying too much fluids. He told us that he prepared for this show by himself without the help of a guru or a nutritionist and the results speak for themselves.

Some disappointments were Kai Greene and Victor Martinez. Both did not look as good as they did last time on this same stage and Charles Glass, Greene’s former trainer, was heard afterwards saying that he felt sorry for him.

A few of the IFBB officials were saying that many of the competitors were dehydrating backstage. The competition is so tight that is understandable.

MuscleSport Mag’s Top 6 Prediction:

1 – Jay Cutler

2 – Phil Heath

3 – Branch Warren

4 – Dexter Jackson

5 – Dennis Wolf

6 – Ronny Rockel

Armbrust was unable to compete in the Ms. International at the Arnold Classic in March due to injury and was on schedule with her training after recovering. When she was on MuscleSport Radio this summer, Armbrust stated that she was 100 percent and training hard for the O. But whatever occurred between then and now was serious enough for her to decide to forego what is her most important contest to date.

Iris Kyle is a true champion and surely would have welcomed the challenge that Armbrust surely would have brought, but now her sights must set on Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia, who finished second behind Kyle at the Arnold. Kyle has won five out of the last six Ms. Olympias, and the one exception came in 2005 when Oriquen-Garcia defeated her.

There is a big drop-off in the competitors list after these two women. Lisa Aukland and Betty Pariso have also qualified and are not competing, with speculation that either one or both will shortly announce their retirement. Perhaps a dark horse such as Zoa Linsey can sneak up on the competition and impress the judges. There is definitely room in the top six here.

It will certainly not be the same contest without Armbrust.

Ms. Olympia Qualified Competitors (NC=Not competing)

1. Sheila Bleck (USA)
2. Helen Bouchard (Canada)
3. Brigita Brezovac (Slovenia)
4. Dayana Cadeau (Canada)
5. Tina Chandler (USA)
6. Heather Foster (USA)
7. Iris Kyle (USA)
8. Debi Laszewski (USA)
9. Cathy LeFrancois (Canada)
10. Zoa Linsey (Canada)
11. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia (Venezuela)
NC. Heather Armbrust (USA)
NC. Lisa Aukland (USA)
NC. Betty Pariso (USA)