Contest Preview - 2008 IFBB Jacksonville Pro Figure Classic

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Greetings from hot and slightly steamy Jacksonville, where we have the opportunity to preview and cover a very exciting pro figure show that has a little bit of everything! What once was thought to be a major second addition to the pro circuit in Florida has now turned out to be a replacement for the Palm Beach Pro, which was canceled at least for this year. The two major and highly anticipated comebacks by Jessica Paxson-Putnam and Mary Elizabeth Lado would be worth the price of admission to Dexter Jackson's event all by themselves.

Two years ago Jessica hit the stage at the New York Pro in what may have been one of the best overall presentations that we have ever seen outside of the Olympia or Arnold. Her gorgeous appearance spawned an unprecedented interest in pink and baby blue posing suits, and she filled out her physique perfectly with just the right combination of mass and conditioning. It was a "wow" moment, glamorous but without overdoing it on the sequins, hard but with all the right curves and without excessive separation, absolutely perfect arms and delt caps. Seeing if Jessica will be able to duplicate that perfection in Florida is enough to make this show interesting in itself.

Jessica's chief competition at the top will come from Lado, a former Arnold champion who has described herself as being somewhat "distracted" as she competed at the pro level over the past year. Mary wasn't quite up to her usual standards at the Olympia but it was still enough to place 10th ... and frankly she looked amazing to us even with a little healthier and fuller look, along with her trademark tiny waist and superb leg shapes. She doesn't have far to refine from last year's Olympia stage to this year's new criteria - keep in mind that Felicia Romero did not place well at the Olympia but then vaulted her way to the top this year. Their situations are similar. The word is that Mary is ready for this one, and we're betting that she'll earn the Olympia invite here that will have her dieting like crazy during her 30th birthday celebration in September.

Mary is currently ranked among the top ten IFBB pro figure competitors nationally, but there will be one competitor at this show who currently is sitting a teensy bit higher than her on the list. Kristal Richardson is one of the more underrated athletes on the circuit, but she has broken out as a media machine in the past couple of months and we think she'll be getting a lot more notice on stage. Kristal has etched abdominals that should never go out of style regardless of judging criteria (heck, female abs are in style just walking down the street), and like Paola Almerica she has the genetic shape to look good softer or rock hard. Either way, we have Kristal in our pre-contest top five.

Elisha Archibald had a string of stage successes dating back several years before heading into the Houston Pro last month, where she placed 19th. In 2007 this Tallahassee native just missed an Olympia qualification twice, finishing 4th at both the Pittsburgh Pro and the Colorado Pro, and at both shows she presented a very streamlined and muscular (but not overly hard) look. Elisha has a very thick back and delts so going overly soft doesn't suit her well, but if she can match the reasonable level of conditioning from last year's Pittsburgh show look for her to rebound in her home state.

To see the rest of the great athletes competing at this show please go to the main coverage page and click on the "BW" icon next to each name. The "BW" always takes you to photos and a contest history for each competitor.

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