With 29 competitors, the New York Pro laid claim to hosting the largest – and deepest – Women’s Physique lineup of the year. IFBB Pro League Chairman and New York Pro Head Judge Jim Manion breaks down the top three and the lineup as a whole.
(Related: New York Pro Final Report)
3 – PENPRAGHAI TIANGNGOK
“She has very good shape. I’m sure some people are looking at it thinking she’s built more along the lines of Juliana than the 2nd-place finisher, but in certain poses she was almost too muscular. Her deltoids and legs were showing a little too much muscularity. If she can smooth out those areas a little bit she’s going to have a great future. She was just a little too hard, but if she she can tone it down just a little bit she’s going to be right in there with everybody.”
(See all of Penpraghai Tiangngok’s photos here)
2 – TERESITA MORALES
“She has very good shape and posed very well. She could use a little more size. Her conditioning was good – don’t get any harder. Good shape, small waist, conditioning was right on – and the fact that Penpraghai was just a little too hard to be any higher than third. “
(See all of Teresita Morales’ photos here)
1 – JULIANA MALACARNE
“To me, Juliana is probably the best overall women’s physique competitor we’ve seen this year. She looked very, very good. She used to be in figure but she was always too big for that division. Great frame, great stage presence, great balance. Her legs have always been great. She did very well in the posing. Juliana has muscle, but she wasn’t overpowering. She doesn’t have that hard look and doesn’t look stringy. From her back, that’s probably where she’s the hardest. But the amount of muscle and overall conditioning was right in line with what it should be.”
(See all of Juliana Malacarne’s photos here)
OVERALL
“With 29 competitors, this was our deepest event along with figure and, to me, this was the hardest division to judge. There are so many girls in the same area. There were some that still aren’t getting it and coming in too big – and a few are actually getting too skinny. We want smaller but that doesn’t mean skinny. This was the first Women’s Physique show I’ve seen live, and comparing the pictures to what I saw here, these women are definitely understanding what the division is supposed to be.
“It’s a new division, and when you have different judging panels looking at it – they could be looking at the same physiques and you’re going to get different results. Like any of our other divisions, it’s going to take a good year of judging to really know what we’re looking for. But you can only judge what’s in front of you, so finding the right package in every show just isn’t always going to happen.”
