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Three IFBB Pro League women’s contests will be featured at the 2023 Vancouver Island Showdown on Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Aside from Wellness and Women’s Physique action, it will be the opening contest of the 2023 season for Women’s Bodybuilding.
Sixteen competitors across all three divisions will pose on stage, hoping to win the show and qualify for the 2023 Olympia weekend, which will be held Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, FL. Outside of the Women’s Bodybuilding contest, the Wellness division is headlined by 2023 Wellness International champion Kassandra Gillis, who seeks her second straight win of the year. If Gillis wins the show, no Olympia qualification will be awarded as she is already qualified for the Olympia.
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2023 Vancouver Island Showdown Rosters
The rosters for all three divisions for this show are below:
Women’s Bodybuilding
Tananarive Efuru Huie
Shea Menchaca
Marcela Venegas Morales
Keisha Oliver
Melina Perron
Sherry Priami
Andrea Saurer
Julia Whitesel
Women’s Physique
Lisa Kudrey
Emilija Martic
Anne-Lorraine Mohn
Michele Steeves
Alejandra Chacon Velazquez
Wellness
Nicollette Burns
Kassandra Gillis
Jennifer Zollars
Women’s Bodybuilding Favorites
The three athletes detailed below stand out in the Women’s Bodybuilding contest as top competitors likely to contend for the gold callouts.
Sherry Priami
Regardless of who wins this contest, the champion will be a first-time qualifier for the Ms. Olympia competition. Sherry Priami has been knocking on the door of winning a show since 2022, when she took top three honors in three shows, including two runner-up positions in the Atlanta Pro and Chicago Pro. Priami can get shredded, so conditioning won’t be an issue for her. It’s a matter of having enough size to hold off her opponents and take first place.
Keisha Oliver
This is Keisha Oliver’s first 2023 appearance. We last saw her compete at the 2022 New York Pro, where she took fourth place. Donna Salib won that contest. Oliver actually turned pro at the 2020 NPC North American Championships as a Masters Heavyweight competitor, but she has held her own in Open shows as well.
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Julie Whitesel
Missouri native Julie Whitesel turned pro in Women’s Physique at the 2019 Arnold Amateur, but she will be making her first appearance in Women’s Bodybuilding at this contest. She is also coming off a year-plus-long absence from the stage. Her last appearance was at the 2021 Puerto Rico Pro, where she placed sixth.
Other Notes
Amateur competitions will be held at this event as well, with pro qualifications being awarded to the winners of each division. There will also be a pay-per-view livestream of this show, which is available on the Influential Sports website for $49.99 CAD.
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Featured Image: @kassgfit on Instagram
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