On June 9th and 10th the NABBA World championships and then the WFF Universe were held in the beautiful Austrian town of Baden near Vienna.  My thanks to the promoter, Toni Spindler and his partner Romina Paoli for assisting us in every way with our video production.

We taped 275 bodybuilders over the 2 days and the statistics do back up my feeling that this was an all-time record "marathon" shoot.

DAY 1:  The Worlds had 54 men competing in 6 classes and 31 women in 3 classes.  This was ok, with Prejudging starting at 9am, and the show concluding at 11.30pm.

DAY 2:  The WFF Universe had 190 competitors who competed in 34 different classes for men and women.  This was simply unbelievable.  The contest started at 4pm (far too late in my opinion) and went straight through the night to 5.30am the next day.  There was only a half hour break at around 10pm, making it a 13 ½ hour shoot.

All the trophies for each class were presented at the end of the event between 4.30am and 5.30am and sadly some of the competitors had left by then.  Others had to be woken from their sleeping bags to accept their trophies.  Fortunately "Red Bull" (a caffeine drink) kept me alive and focused throughout this marathon.

However it was a fantastic contest full of great athletes, including many new faces from the former European Eastern Block.  The event was very well run (once it got started) and the judging was exceptional over both days, in my opinion.  Not a single result or victory was undeserved and the audience was also treated to some exceptional entertainment such as "The Phoenix fire Dancers".

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THE MEN
(GMV-422 Men's Judging) (GMV-423 Men's show)

The results from both events are already listed on our site, so now a few comments about the athletes who most impressed me during the Worlds editing.  (All four tapes from the NABBA Worlds are now edited and are in the process of being published on the site.  The WFF Universe series of videos are presently being edited.  I'll give some comments on the stars of the WFF in my next Hard News column).

In the Junior Class, DAVID DAHAN of France had a physique maturity that was hard to believe.  His arms and shoulders were incredible in their thickness.  Third placed NICK DEAN of Australia showed the most potential with his height, great bone structure and superb back.  He has very full muscle insertions which is a rare genetic gift.

In the Masters Class, new guy PATRICK DE WIEST of Belgium took the title from the ripped, smiling and charismatic Russian DIMITRI ZOLIN.  TONY RIZZO of Australia placed an excellent 5th.

Men's Class 4 saw a well deserved victory for Englishman PAUL SUTTON.  He looked like an anatomy chart and his condition saw him easily win from Dutchmen BASCHA and MYNHALS.

Men's Class 3 was the class of the event, as it had 11 outstanding guys including the sensational Italian ORAZIO SALVATORI, the eventual overall Mr. World winner.  He was huge, ripped and symmetrical - what more can I say!  He had straight firsts from every judge with STEVE SINTON of Scotland in second place from FRANK GRAF of Germany in 3rd.

Men's Class 2 saw the huge and beautifully defined German RENE MEIER convincingly beat BILLY LEAHY  (USA) into second place.  Billy is a future winner with just a touch more size, as he had superb shape and definition and posed well.  Current Australian champion LEE NEWMAN placed an excellent 4th in an absolutely top class of 13 competitors.

Men's Class 1 was another convincing victory for massive ELI HANNA of Israel with straight firsts.  Easily the biggest man in the contest at around 6'3" and about 300lbs he was a monster.  Ripped to shreds he was in his all time best shape and at first it seemed he would win the overall title.  However, mass isn't everything and the overall package of size and symmetry from SALVATORI proved to be more appealing to the judges.  In the final score I am sure it was a very close thing between MEIER and HANNA as they pushed SALVATORI to the limit.  GUY GRUNDY the Aussie now based in Los Angeles, placed a very creditable 5th in this extremely strong class.  He has the potential to win this class in the future.

THE WOMEN
(GMV-424 Judging & Show)  (GMV-425 -Pump Room Men & Women)

Miss Figure Class 2:  A very high class lineup of 9 fabulous women.  It was obvious to me that the battle was between the very exotic Italian SABRINA PITERA and the two Aussies - TERRI ROBERTS and PAULINE NEWMAN.  Sabrina performed a remarkable routine and although she tied for points with Terri Roberts, Sabrina had one more 1st place vote than Terri, with Pauline a couple of points away in third.  Terri was in the best condition of her life and triumphed in the WFF Universe the next day.

Miss Figure Class 1:  A large and outstanding class of 18 competitors.  It came down to a battle between the Italian relative newcomer CLAUDIA CASALINI and the veteran French star SYLVIE ESMENJAUD with that wonderful routine that we have seen many times before.  LEE-ANN VINCENT of Australia took 3rd place with her flawless shape and symmetry, and is a future winner with a little more size.  It was her first international appearance, same as for Pauline Newman.  Casalini then took out the overall title of Figure World Champion.

Miss Physique:  Every so often, Germany has a new physique star who bursts onto the scene, and this time it was GABI HEIDECKER in her first World event.  She is short and compact but with superbly balanced musculature and easily won this class.  Next was the more massive but less pleasing physique of SANDRA WATERSCHOOT of Belgium, closely followed by Australian Champion JOANNE ROGERS.  Joanne has wonderful shape and proportions and was the best poser in this class.  All in all a top class of 6 outstanding physiques.

Until next time with comments on the WFF, it is back to the editing for the longest contest we have covered in 35 years.