Iris Kyle Faces Tough Task at Ms. International

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: March 1, 2009

There’s no logical reason to think that Iris Kyle will not win the 2009 Ms. International coming up next weekend in Columbus, Ohio, but there are no guarantees that she will, either. The top female bodybuilders will convene in their end of the Arnold Classic and Kyle, who is the reigning three-time Ms. Olympia, also has won three of the last five Ms. International competitions. She didn’t compete in 2005 and slipped to seventh last year.

In 2008, Yaxeni Oriquen won her third Ms. I and finished in third place at the O. She always comes in ready and this show should be no exception.

Dayana Cadeau will be looking to do some damage. She was visibly disappointed when her name was announced as fifth at the Ms. O and that may have given her that extra incentive to work on her weaknesses.

There will 13 women gunning for Kyle, who will turn 35 this August. This will be her 15^th year competing and although her recent record may not reflect it, time may be running out on her to keep up with a hungry field. Age may be just a number, but training and dieting time and time again can get difficult, even for a seasoned pro like Kyle.

A few other names to keep an eye on are Betty Adkins (2008 Ms. Olympia runner-up), Cathy LeFrancois and Dena Westerfield, who could sneak up on some people for a respectable finish. Dr. Dena may be three years older than Kyle, but has only been competing since 2006 and can be likened to a fresh body off the bench in the fourth quarter of a close game. In five shows on the professional circuit, Westerfield has two top three and four top six finishes.

They say you have to knock out the champ to take the title. There will be a lot of ladies wearing the proverbial boxing gloves in one week.