A year ago, at this very same contest, Sonia Gonzales suffered the most devastating loss of her career. On Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio, she experienced the other end of the spectrum by winning the Bikini International and reclaiming her spot atop her sport.
Gonzales won the first-ever Bikini Olympia in 2010, which normally sets the standard for the following Year’s Bikini International at the Arnold Sports Festival. But her status as the top bikini competitor in the world was short lived, as Gonazles finished as the runner-up to Nicole Nagrani four months later.
For the rest of 2011, it was more of the same – Gonzales placed third at the Europa Super Show in August and fifth at the Olympia in September. Nagrani, meanwhile, continued her run by winning the Olympia.
In Columbus this year, however, the tables were turned as Gonzales once again rose to the top, while Nagrani fell to third behind Gonzales and India Paulino.
The competition was one of the closest in recent memory among the top three, as only a single point separated Gonzales from Paulino and Paulino from Nagrani. Jamie Baird (fourth) and Nathalia Melo (fifth) were also separated by a single point.
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FINAL RESULTS
1. Sonia Gonzales
2. India Paulino
3. Nicole Nagrani
4. Jamie Baird
5. Nathalia Melo
6. Julianna Danielle
7. Diana Graham
8. Jessica Paxson
9. Candyce Graham
10. Monique Ricardo
11. Natalie Pennington
12T. Lexi Kaufman
12T. Jennifer Andrews
14. Christina Vargas
15. Tianna Ta
16T. Abagail Burrows
16T. Jessica Jessie
