“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.

Now the questions must be asked – what does Wolf do to get his game back on track? According to the Muscular Development.com forums, member The Mayor of Bodybuilding has stated that Wolf is confirmed to compete in the 2010 New York Pro on May 8.

While that is a fairly prestigious show, it is quite a ways away from the Arnold or O. That may be just what Wolf needs in order to qualify for the Olympia a few months later. but he is not an automatic by any means to even win in Manhattan. Last year, Evan Centopani took first place against a pretty good line-up that featured Markus Ruhl, Dennis James, Silvio Samuel and Hidetada Yamagashi.

So does Wolf concentrate on preparing for the Big Apple or does he go ‘balls to the wall’ for the Arnold and quiet all the naysayers? Weighing the differences, unless he finishes high in Columbus (minimum in the top six), it would be viewed as a failure for him and it may be difficult to get back into contest shape two months later. If he then qualifies for the Olympia, he would have to get back on stage four months after that and peaking two or three times in a year is a tough task for anyone, especially someone who is coming off a huge disappointment and is probably in dire need of a mental boost.

If Wolf is committed to the New York pro, then he probably will not compete in Ohio. That will lead to some criticism but it could be the best decision for him at this time.

But then again Amber Elizabeth Simerly is not just anyone.

“I received my first weight set when I was 12 years old and have been hooked ever since,” the 32-year-old mother of one said. “I powerlifted through high school and began bodybuilding in my 20′s. Six weeks out from my first show I dropped out and it drove me nuts for the past 10 years that I didn’t get up on that stage and finish what I started.”

What transpired since then was a whirlwind of negativity in Simerly’s life. “My mother was diagnosed with cancer for the third time, there were several deaths in my family and I was in a bad relationship,” she recalled. “I went through a divorce and had to face life as a single parent.”

Simerly met a woman in her gym, Natlia Zapata, that had competed in the past and won her class in fitness. After a short period of time, Simerly felt that the time was right to make her comeback. She had her sights set on the Elite Muscle Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina just a few short weeks ago.

“Even though I didn’t place, it didn’t discourage me one bit,” Simerly said confidently. “Natalia and I are going back for more in April at Johnny Stewart’s and North Carolina State.”

Because she has experienced such difficult times, Simerly uses her training as an outlet and something positive to focus on. “When I go in there I take every bit of passion, craziness and stress out on those machines,” she said. “I believe that you can literally think yourself hard. I love being able to say, ‘I want my glutes to come up.’

“Think of some crazy workout to do, do it two or three times and physically see and feel the results,” she added. “I believe, bottom line, is that it is all about intensity. In all aspects of life. You get what you put into it.”

And Simerly has put an awful lot into ‘it’ lately.

http://www.myspace.com/amberelizabeth77
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/AmberMagliocca/
http://community.worldphysique.com/profile/AmberElizabe…
http://www.muscle-ink.com/profile/AmberElizabethSimerly

Photos courtesy of Tyson Arts