Few amateur competitors have entered the ranks of the pros with a more impressive contest record than Lisa Aukland. A three-time winner of the overall NPC Team Universe title in 1999-2001, and the overall 2001 IFBB North American champion, Aukland also took the silver medal at the IFBB World Amateur Championships as a heavyweight in 1999. Now a first rate competitor at the pro level, Aukland has collected a number of strong placings in her four-year pro career.

Since 2002 Aukland has placed in the top five of two Night of Champions contests, and has placed third at the 2004 GNC Show of Strength. In three previous invitations to the Ms. International Aukland has finished as high as fourth in 2005. Last year was also a high point competitively for Aukland as she placed sixth in her first visit to the Ms. Olympia. With many bodybuilding observers agreeing that Lisa is greatly underrated in the pro ranks, her effort at the 2006 Ms. International will be watched with a great deal of interest due to the elimination of the weight classes from the women’s division. Dr. Aukland works professionally as a CSPI (Certified Specialist in Poison Information), and earned her Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Maryland.

Not only did Dayana Cadeau become one of Canada’s most successful amateur bodybuilders, but during her 13-year competitive career she has also become its top IFBB pro. Competing since 1992, Cadeau turned pro in 1997 winning the overall Canada Cup crown. Since then Cadeau has amassed an impressive list of competitive accomplishments including six trips to the Ms. Olympia – winning the lightweight class in 2004 and placing third in 2005. Dayana also won the 2003 Jan Tana Classic middleweight class, and is a two-time lightweight winner at the Ms. International in 2001 and 2004. The 2006 Ms. International will mark the seventh time Dayana has been invited to Columbus for the Arnold Classic Weekend, and she will most certainly make her presence felt in this impressive field of 14 contestants.

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Angela Debatin is another of the outstanding bodybuilders from South America who have drifted north to become both a familiar face and physique within the IFBB pro ranks. Making her pro debut at the 1999 Jan Tana Classic, Angela first competed at the Ms. International in 2000. She has competed at the Arnold Classic event ever year since. In her six previous visits to this contest she has placed as high as fourth in the lightweight class in 2003. Debatin is a frequent entrant having competed in such events as the Night of Champions, Charlotte Pro Championships, Europa Super Show, Southwest Pro Cup, IFBB Pro Worlds, and Ms. Olympia - where she finished fifth in 2004. In a total of 20 previous pro contest entries – which includes three straight qualifications to the Ms. Olympia in 2001-2003 - Angela’s best showing was as the lightweight winner at the 2002 Southwest Pro Cup. The 2006 Ms. International will be Angela’s seventh in her pro career, and she can be expected to bring her special brand of colorful stage presence as Brazil’s most successful female bodybuilder.

As the single most significant occurrence within women’s bodybuilding circles during the 2005 competitive season, the return of Czech star Jitka Harazimova to the contest stage stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Not only did she return, but with little fanfare she swept to victory at the Charlotte Pro Championships and added a strong fourth-place finish at the Ms. Olympia just two weeks later. As a dazzling young newcomer in 1997, Harazimova impressed everyone with her structural perfection, muscular beauty, and youthful appearance. Making her pro debut that year, Jitka placed fourth at the Ms. International, followed by a sixth-place finish at the Ms. Olympia. After placing fifth at the 1998 Ms. International and seventh at the Ms. Olympia the same year, Jitka drifted from the competitive scene to start a family after placing 10th at the 1999 Ms. International. It was thought she would never return to the competitive stage, but most fortunately for the sport, she is back. And the Ms. International in Columbus will be friendly territory as the contest venue is where she made her scintillating pro debut nine years ago.

Kim Harris has experienced a somewhat unique competitive career since turning pro after winning the middleweight class at the 2000 NPC Nationals and qualified for the pro bodybuilding ranks. Originally from Virginia before moving to California four years ago, Kim won the middleweight class at the 1996 Jan Tana Amateur Grand Prix early in her competitive career. Making her pro debut in 2001 she returned to the Jan Tana event to place third in the middleweight class again – this time in the pro division. Later in the year she won her first pro contest taking the middleweight division at the Women’s Pro Extravaganza. She earned qualification for the 2001 Ms. Olympia at that contest netting her a seventh-place finish in the lightweight division. In 2002 Kim placed fourth in the GNC Show of Strength as a lightweight, and competed three times in 2003 placing seventh in the heavyweight class at the Ms. International, first middleweight at the Night of Champions, and seventh at the Ms. Olympia. In 2004 she made the switch to figure competitions, but was back on the bodybuilding trail in 2005 placing third in the heavyweight class at the Europa Super Show. With model good looks and a pleasing level of balanced muscularity, Kim can still remain competitive even with the elimination of the weight class system. This is Kim’s second invitation to the Ms. International.

Rosemary Jennings is a glowing example of a bodybuilding survivor. Beginning her competitive efforts in 1997, Rosemary found herself finishing 14th in the middleweight class at the 1998 NPC Nationals. By 2000 she had moved up to the 12th-place position – not exactly a meteoric rise to the top. But things were about to change. In 2001 she won the NPC East Coast overall title and in 2002 she struck gold capturing the middleweight and overall crowns at the NPC USA. Suddenly she was a card-carrying member of the IFBB pro ranks. Since then Rosemary has competed on seven occasions including a runner-up finish at the 2003 Night of Champions and a lightweight/overall victory at the New York Pro Championship in 2005. Jennings has also reached the top of the sport with two entries at the Ms. Olympia finishing eighth in 2003 and ninth in 2005. This year she will add the Ms. International to her contest resume for the first time. Self-described as a “no nonsense individual”, bet on Rosemary to bring her best no-nonsense physique to Columbus.

Few bodybuilders have ever carried as much intensity and will to win to the competitive stage as Iris Kyle. A winner of the Ms. International in 2004 – the same year she went on to win the Ms. Olympia – Iris had been the proverbial ‘lady in waiting’ with a string of frustrating runner-up finishes on her pro contest resume. All that changed in 2004 with her grand slam double victory, but the years prior to 2004 are nonetheless impressive. After winning the overall NPC USA crown in 1998, Iris made her debut at the Ms. International in 1999. Since then, she has never placed outside the top five at a pro event having competed in five Ms. Internationals and seven Ms. Olympias. Kyle has finished second at the Ms. Olympia (including her runner-up finish in 2005) on three occasions, while she has finished second twice at the Ms. International. Iris was also the runner-up at the 1999 IFBB Pro World Championship. As she quietly moves through her career as a pro bodybuilder, Iris can always be depended upon to compete in top condition, showing a level of muscularity throughout her physique that is complete and highly defined. No matter how many more years this devoted bodybuilder decides to compete at the highest levels – straight up, her effort will be of Olympian proportions. Her legions of fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

A stalwart amateur competitor from her beginnings in 1990 until she earned her pro status by winning the overall crown at the 2001 NPC USA, this structurally sound veteran with a highly cultivated level of musculature made her pro debut at the 2002 Southwest Pro Cup placing fourth. Since then she has competed sparingly, always working towards the continued perfection of her physique. Competing just once in 2003 at the Ms. International, another year’s training brought her success when she won the 2004 Southwest Pro Cup lightweight class, followed by a sixth-place lightweight finish in her first visit to the Ms. Olympia. More improvement followed when Mah-Ann placed second at the 2005 Ms. International as a lightweight, once again qualifying for the Ms. Olympia where she placed 11th in a field of 14. Interestingly, had there been weight classes at last year’s Ms. Olympia, Mah-Ann would have placed fifth among the women who were lightweights. The 2006 Ms. International will be Mah-Ann’s third trip to the Veteran’s Auditorium stage.

Working as an Oklahoma City firefighter we can say with confidence Tonie Norman is adept at putting out fires. But more recently this multi-faceted member of the IFBB pro ranks has been creating considerable heat with her latest contest entries and she’s managed to light a fire under her own contest efforts of late. With her competitive bodybuilding career beginning in 1996, Tonie earned her pro status at the 2002 NPC Team Universe where she went on to compete at the IFBB World Amateur Championships the same year. Tonie chose the 2003 Jan Tana Classic to make her pro debut placing eighth. From there, it has all been progressively positive with a lightweight third-place finish at the 2004 Night of Champions, followed by a runner-up placing at the 2005 Europa Super Show, and a victory at the Charlotte Pro Championships, qualifying her for the Ms. Olympia where she placed 10th. Tonie has accepted her first invitation to the 2006 Ms. International with every intention of firing up the always enthusiastic audiences at the Arnold Classic Weekend event.

If Yaxeni Oriquen wins this year’s edition of the Ms. International, she will become the belle of the Arnold Classic Weekend ball. A winner of this contest on three previous occasions, no other competitor has ever won the coveted title four times. Yaxeni rates as a strong favorite to become the first. As the most active competitor in the ranks of pro bodybuilding history, this Venezuelan native from Caracas is becoming one of the sport’s true success stories as she moves ever closer to legendary status. Turning pro in 1994, Yaxeni has competed in 35 contests over the years, and during that time she has also won two GNC Show of Strength titles in 2002 and 2004, the 2004 Night of Champions, and most recently the 2005 Ms. Olympia. Further distinguishing herself as one of the best ever in women’s bodybuilding, Yaxeni became only the third competitor to win both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in the same calendar year – Kim Chizevsky in 1996 and Iris Kyle in 2004 are the others. Equally impressive is the fact that Yaxeni will be entering her ninth Ms. International in 2006, to go with the eight trips she has made to the Ms. Olympia. As Yaxeni enters her 13th year as a pro, she does so as the reigning champion of the world’s two most coveted bodybuilding events for women.

Along with Yaxeni Oriquen, Betty Pariso is one of the Ms. International’s senior contestants having accepted her ninth consecutive invitation to this event. No other competitors have entered this contest on more occasions. Betty is a senior competitor at this contest in another way, as she will turn 50 on January 29th making her the eldest competitor ever to take part in the Ms. International – an impressive testament to her perseverance and dedication to remaining in top physical condition. Beginning her competitive efforts in 1992, Betty turned pro in 1996 after winning the heavyweight crown at the 1996 NPC Nationals. Throughout her years in the pro ranks, Betty has also competed at the IFBB Pro Worlds, the Women’s Pro Extravaganza, and at the Ms. Olympia, where she placed sixth three times (2001, 2003, and 2004) and eighth in 2005. An overall winner at the 2001 Jan Tana Classic, Betty has also involved herself in other capacities within the sport, serving as a promoter at both the amateur and professional level, and also as the athlete’s representative for the IFBB pro women’s division.

Although Bonny Priest’s contest resume is short – beginning her amateur efforts in 1997 with an overall win at the NPC Heart of Texas – it is also sweet as she has made the most of her competitive exploits with each effort. As the 2002 NPC Southwest USA overall winner before winning the 2003 NPC USA overall crown a year later, Priest made her pro debut at the 2004 Ms. International placing seventh. Five months later Priest won her first pro contest taking top honors at the Southwest Pro Cup (the pro sister contest to the amateur Southwest event she had won in 2002) qualifying her for the 2004 Ms. Olympia. After placing seventh among the heavyweights in her first Ms. Olympia contest, Bonny bounced back to win the heavyweight and overall titles at the 2005 Europa Super Show, again qualifying for the Ms. Olympia. In a field of 14 contestants, Priest finished sixth in her second Ms. Olympia. Now, Bonny will compete in her second Ms. International and once again she will compete against another very competitive 14-woman field of the best in the IFBB pro ranks.

When it comes to desire, dedication and the strongest levels of perseverance as a bodybuilder, Annie Rivieccio has to top most everyone’s list as a glowing example. With a competitive amateur career that began in 1988, it took Annie 15 years before she reached the threshold of the pro ranks. After competing in no less than six NPC USAs and seven NPC National contests – not to mention numerous local, state and regional events - Annie won the overall NPC National title in 2003, and all the while content to enjoy the competitive ride. In 2004 as a pro for the first time, Annie made her debut at the Ms. International placing fourth in the heavyweight class. She began to enjoy her pro experience even more in 2005 when she won the heavyweight class at the New York Pro Championships, and realizing her long-time goal of finally qualifying and competing in the Ms. Olympia. Enjoying a huge fan following that appreciates her blue-collar approach to the sport she loves - together with her impressive brand of thick, highly-cultivated musculature - Annie is also an accomplished powerlifter. In her first competitive attempt at the national level in 2004, Annie finished second in the 181-pound class and is already considered one of America’s top powerlifters. This year’s Ms. International will be Annie’s second visit to the Arnold Classic event, and you can bet she’ll once again enjoy the ride.

Prior to 2000 Christine Roth had a difficult time deciding whether she would become a bodybuilder or figure competitor. She had good success competing in both. Luckily, for bodybuilding, Roth has steadily added the necessary muscle to her beautifully balanced physique and has now become one of the most visually impressive competitors in the pro ranks. Competing sparingly since earning pro status with a runner-up heavyweight finish at the 2003 Canadian Championships, she made a notable pro debut at the Ms. International in 2004 finishing sixth in a very competitive heavyweight field. Later the same year, Christine once again displayed a strong level of aesthetic muscular beauty to place fourth at the GNC Show of Strength. Once again invited to the Ms. International in 2005, Christine claimed the fifth spot among the heavyweights and spent the remainder of last year working on the improvements she hopes will guide her to higher placings in the future. Invited to the Ms. International for the third time, Christine will find herself in a field of 14 contestants who make up the most competitive group ever assembled at this event.