A new location for such an important event as WNBF Worlds can be overwhelming, yet also Exciting! We want to thank all of the staff for their support and most importantly the athletes that put so much into dedicating themselves to feature their best physiques on the beautiful stage of the Federal Way PAEC. Planning began over a year out to be certain that the location of the venue and hotels would be convenient to the competitors.
As hundreds of incredible athletes made their way to Seattle, by all accounts their experiences of the check-in and polygraph testing were positive. It was nice to give warm blankets with the 2023 Worlds logo to everyone for Washington’s cool climate. Athletes from nearly 50 countries enjoyed coffee and red carpet photos at the hotel, and got a chance to talk with one another about their shared experiences of preparing for the competition. Teams bonded together, and the new USA warm-ups were worn proudly. For 3 days, the process was smooth, and culminated with athlete meetings on Friday night where classes were finalized by height and weights. The buzz was electric as everyone was ready to see all of the qualified amateurs compete on Saturday. The judging panel met, and which featured 7 different countries and most with the experience of judging for decades and for hundreds of events worldwide.
From the first Masters groups, and throughout the day, it was clear that the new Pro card winners would be ready to battle again on Sunday. The Livestream by Better Aesthetics allowed all of those cheering at home to enjoy the day with us. Every class was amazingly competitive, and eleven different affiliate flags were held high victoriously. Katy Wayman White, retired WNBF Pro and event promoter was celebrated with the Spirit of Natural Bodybuilding award. Athletes were provided feedback from the judges Saturday evening and new Pros registered to compete at the next level.
The later start time had everyone ready to go Sunday morning and the Pro Masters Men hit the stage a 9:00 am sharp! In that very competitive class of 14 the posedown to “Outshined” by Seattle’s own SoundGarden was Epic! As the day went on, many of the new Pros were in the top 5, and a couple of them like Miho Mizuno and Natalies Hays landed “dead center stage”. The Pro Men’s Lightweight group was the most competitive class in all of natural bodybuilding this year by far. The top 10 represented 9 different countries- this is Worlds, and Bodybuilding is clearly alive and well in the WNBF! Finally, Dirk Emmerich, Benjamin Schuster and Brian DeCosta squared off for the overall. Brian’s size was the determinant and his emotion was evident as he raised the USA flag and commented on important family members that he had recently lost and for whom he dedicated this win. Pro Men’s Physique and Pro Bikini were also extremely competitive with 3 classes each and Seung Hyeon Kim of South Korea and Michelle Elliott of Canada were crowned new World Champions.
We head back to the East Coast in Boston for Worlds 2024, and look forward to another competitive season. Thanks to all that have supported and continue to support the the WNBF!
Tina Smith
WNBF Secretary
