Australian Grand Prix Pics, 12 and 13 March, 2011

Preview
11 March: As we see the competitor lists get completed for the Men's and Women's Pro classes, we begin to see what the high caliber of athletes are going to be presented to us on Saturday.

Men: While the Men's class is considerably smaller that in 2010, the battle for the top 3 Olympia spots could perhaps be a close one.  Ofcourse Dennis Wolf would have to be favourite after placing 2nd at the Arnold Classic last weekend with his massive conditioned physique.  Johnnie Jackson wasn't quite as sharp but a week is a long time in bodybuilding and he could make some big changes for the Melbourne showing.  I think the dark horse could be the greek/aussie athlete Mike Kefalianos.  He had a great condition and nice symmetry when I saw him in 2010, so if he presents the same or even better he could make it into top 3.  We are not quite sure if Silvio will get his visa but if he does, and comes in hard condition, he'll give Dennis a run for his money although Dennis might just outmuscle him. Greg Atoyan has a very 'old school' muscular physique but if he can shredded he could get some comparison.  Notforgetting ofcourse our very own Darryn Onekawa.  We have not seen Darryn since his impromptu posedown at the NZIFBB Nationals in 2010 so we look forward to seeing him at his pro debut.  As long as he comes in great condition with full deep muscles, he should get a few callouts against the big guns.

Women: The hot favourite for this class would have to be the athletic figure of Erin Stern, the current Ms Olympia and 2nd place at 2011 Arnold Classic. From the pics from the Arnold's, looks like judges are looking good symetrical figure with full round muscle which is not too muscular. To be honest I'm not too familiar with the figure athletes so not sure who I'd pick my top 3.  

Of course I'd have to put forward our own kiwis Raechelle Chase and Kristy Thomson!  both have great shoulders which is what the judges are looking for as frame for their figures.  We know Raechelle has great presentation and Kristy would've done her research in this department too. I saw Ellena Reidi (2nd) and Sarah Picken Brown compete in Elite comp NZ in 2009.   I remember Ellena had great presentation and she had that X factor.  Both these girls have great bodies.  Well they all do really!  so I don't envy the judges when they have 12 gorgeous girls in front of them on Saturday.

Its just going to be great seeing the Pro figure girls compete in Australia for the first time.  And they might even outshine the guys with their numbers and quality.

Make sure you follow me on twitter to get the live callouts and seeing how our girls faired!

Lisa, Go Figure