Troy Alves, Patricia Mello, Courtney King and Michael Anderson each won their respective divisions at the Europa Show of Champions in Orlando, Florida on Saturday.
For Alves, the win comes in his first foray into the 212 Men’s Bodybuilding division. It was his second Orlando Europa title, as Alves also won the open Men’s Bodybuilding title at the 2009 Show of Champions. The 46-year-old Alves, a 13-year veteran of the IFBB, becomes the latest in a line of 40-something competitors to achieve success in the men’s bodybuilding divisions. Dexter Jackson, Johnnie Jackson and Toney Freeman are other over-40 competitors who have placed in the top two of various contests over the past year. Raul Jiminez (2nd) and Marco Rivera (3rd) rounded out the top three.
Mello successfully defended the title she won a year ago and won for the third time in her Women’s Physique career. It was the second straight win for the 5’11 Brazilian, who was coming off a win at last week’s Pro Grand Prix. Mikaila Soto placed second, the third time she has finished as the runner-up in the last year. Amanda Dunbar placed third in her debut in the division.
Both King (Bikini) and Anderson (Men’s Physique) won for the first time in their short professional careers. King, currently the IFBB’s youngest competitor at just 19 years old, turned pro at last year’s NPC USA Championships. Her IFBB career is off to a fast start, as King has now placed first and second (IFBB Battle on the Beach) in her first two pro contests. Ashley Kaltwasser – the 2012 NPC Team Universe Overall winner – placed second, her highest finish in three IFBB competitions. Aly Veneno finished in third for the second straight contest. Veneno also placed 3rd at the Battle on the Beach.
Anderson, who earned his IFBB pro card by winning the Overall at last year’s NPC Masters Nationals, improved drastically from his 7th-place finish at last week’s Pro Grand Prix. That placing was Anderson’s first outside of the top five in four professional contests. Sadik Hadzovic finished as the runner-up, the third time he has finished in the No. 2 spot as a pro. Hadzovic has now placed in the top five in all five of his MPD competitions. Dean Fazzolari placed third, his highest finish in three pro contests.
Go here to see the contest photos from the Europa Show of Champions!
SCORESHEETS
212 MEN’S BODYBUILDING
BIKINI
MEN’S PHYSIQUE
WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE
