Until today, Ben White was best known as the World’s Second Strongest Bodybuilder. But that all changed on a balmy midsummer night in Florida, as White captured the first pro win of his career at the 2010 Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships and, in the process, reclaimed some bragging rights from Johnnie Jackson.
Troy Alves, searching for the second win of his career, finished second while Jackson – who defeated White in the World’s Strongest Bodybuilder contest at last year’s Olympia Weekend – placed third. In other notable news, Hidetada Yamagishi withdrew from the competition after the morning’s prejudging. With a win and two runner-up finishes under his belt so far in 2010, Yamagishi came to Tampa as the precontest favorite. But he was visibly off the mark in the prejudging before withdrawing from the contest before the night finals. He later revealed a hamstring injury he suffered earlier in the week was the reason for his withdrawal. At the start of the season, Yamagishi stated he would attempt to compete in every contest held in the United States this year. He had followed through with that prediction to date by competing in the Phoenix Pro, the Arnold Classic, the Europa Show of Champions and the New York Pro. But Yamagishi will be forced to sit out next week’s Europa contest in Hartford and will now most likely compete only one more time this year, at the 2010 Olympia.
In the 202 division, Jose Raymond managed to claim his first pro victory with Steve Namat and Tricky Jackson grabbing the number two and three position and qualifications for the Olympia 202 Showdown.
In women’s bodybuilding, Brigita Brezovac started off her pro career in grand style. Brezovac, competing in her first pro competition, topped in Tina Chandler (2nd) and two-time New York Pro winner Cathy LeFrancois.
Nicole Nagrani, who won her pro card just one week ago by winning the overall at the 2010 Team Universe, continued her phenomenal run with a victory in the bikini division. Jamie Baird and Vanessa Campbell finished second and third, respectively.
