In the bikini division, India continues with her winning streak followed by Nicole Nagrani and Nathalia Melo. India Paulino exuded plenty of confidence on stage coming off her Arnold classic victory last week. The travel may have taken its toll ever so slightly but the momentum she carries as the girl to beat from the Arnold was enough to get her across the line. Nicole Nagrani looking lean and athletic carried a slimmer look than her close competitors from last week at the Arnold. There were no signs of jet lag or water retention on Nicole. Though she is young, Nicole has proved to peak successfully in international shows. Nathalia Melo was very confident, shapely and looking fresh. With a commanding stage presence Nathalia took control drawing the crowd’s eyes. Probably the crowd favorite, I have yet to figure out why she never places higher.
In the figure division, Candice Keene replicated her Arnold win with Erin Stern moving up to second. Clearly the crowd favorite, Erin Stern will have to regain the judges confidence in her physique. I really liked Candice Lewis's look. She has the tools required to win, it's just a matter now of being given that nod by the judges.
And for the men division, Dexter Jackson managed to maintain his crispness on stage which in turn rewarded him with a win here at the 2013 Australian Pro. It seemed to me Dexter hardly changed between the Arnold and here in Melbourne. As full as Toney Freeman was and as hard as Ben Pakulski became, they simply could not catch the former Mr Olympia.
Toney Freeman moved up a spot to take second. Bigger and fuller from the Arnold, TOney at first stepped on stage a little too full. But as pre-judges progressed, Freeman became dryer and dryer allowing him to cinch second place. Ben Pakulski rounded the line-up with a third place finish. I argue Ben looked better than he did at the Arnold but for whatever reason, it didn't benefit him. Ed Nunn received better recognition here in Melbourne but with such a heavy line-up ahead of him, there was no way Ed Nunn would have been allowed to surmount passed Pakulski, Freeman and Jackson.
The Top 5 results from the three divisions are as follows:
