2020 NPC USA Championships
Masters Bikini Over 40
(Tempe, Arizona - Dec. 11, 2020)
It's been way back in the film days in the early 2000's since we last attended a USA Championships...so much has changed since then and focus shifted. The
circumstances of 2020 aligned for a confluence of shows, initially in Las Vegas then partially shifting to Arizona. When all was said and done, this prestigious
event with 4 packed days of competition was another testament to "where there's a will, there's a way" and putting the athletes first! Picking particular
highlights was very tough, but the 40+ Bikini (which culminated Day 2 of Masters) particularly stood out.
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As an IFBB Pro League qualifier and ONLY the overall champion receiving that elusive Pro Card, the competition was fierce and intense all the way to the end!
A number of them had quite successfully competed the day before in the 35+ category including Jill Humphrey and Myra Colcord, both from the Pacific Northwest.
We'd seen Jill compete up there some 10+ years ago, brought a complete physique here! Myra more recently, having competed at the Emerald Cup in 2019 and originally
encountered at the 2018 Vancouver Naturals (now Open). Always shining on stage and great proportionality for the category...getting better and better. We had
done a nice gym shoot in 2019 and followed it up here with one outdoors! Such a pleasure to work with.
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And that brings us to those we had just met...Kristina Keppel had transitioned from a "model look" to a well toned physique athlete over the years, two first place wins at
Masters! Then there's the Overall Champion Dr. Ruth Montes, extraordinary lines and nicely sculpted muscle shape, both an audience favorite and definitely from a
photographer's perspective. She had competed the evening before in the 35+ Division, placing 2nd in her class. Using judges feedback, etc. she and her coaches tweaked
everything from her tan and posing to the 'hardness' of her look onstage. As a result, following the competition, she was
"summoned by @tamerelguindy (ty also @tkguindy @t_manion @musclecontest etc) to share my coaches & National judges feedback". Follow her on IG for that info @ifbb_pro_drruth
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So "on point" was her presentation that Southern California promoters Muscle Icon put together a graphic to
illustrate the "do's" of bikini posing.
A mini-shoot followed the next afternoon, some of which has been posted on social media. Find us at @david_twixpix on Instagram and it
will lead to much more of the content described in this article. Also at Muscle Insider who helped
facilitate covering this show! A huge thanks to the promoters at Muscle Contest, who put on some of the
very best NPC and IFBB events both in the country and around the world. Scorecards can be found at NPC News Online
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(Please notify me of any placing or name spelling errors, thanks.)
(click for full size)
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