IFBB Australian Pro GP 2013; information, photos, results..

AUSTRALIA GRAND PRIX XII – Melbourne, Australia

Three newly-crowned Arnold Classic champs make the trip Down Under this weekend, but don’t be surprised if at least one of those doesn’t start the season with back-to-back wins. The entire top three from a week ago will be on hand for both the Men’s Bodybuilding and Bikini divisions, while two of the top three from the Figure International will go pose-for-pose once again.

In Men’s Bodybuilding, Dexter Jackson will be looking for No. 4 for the second consecutive week. He tied Flex Wheeler’s record of four Arnold Classic wins a week ago in Columbus and now heads to Australia looking to break a tie with Chris Cormier (2001-2003) for the most wins in the history of that event. Jackson won in Australia in 2004 and in 2007-2008. Holding his condition while traveling has rarely posed problems for Jackson in the past, so Ben Pakulski (2nd at the Arnold Classic) and Toney Freeman (3rd at the Arnold Classic) will likely need to improve from last week in order to stand in Jackson’s way.

India Paulino won the biggest title of her career last week, finally cashing in at a major event after . She won’t get to rest on her laurels this week with both Nathalia Melo and Nicole Nagrani on hand. The Bikini division has consistently shown there are no sure things, as Paulino, Melo and Nagrani have traded placings the last few times they’ve met.

Erin Stern enters as the two-time defending champion in Figure, but she isn’t the favorite this time around. That distinction goes to Candice Keene, who won the Figure International a week ago. Stern finished third behind Keene and Heather Dees a week ago, the first time she failed to make the top two in a contest since 2009.