Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507310096
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITE-R
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the eighth annual Jan Tana Classic at the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium, the bodybuilders weren't the only eye-catching sights Saturday night.
A $25,000 backdrop was built to make just as big an impression.
``It is the most incredible set in bodybuilding history,`` said the event's founder and sponsor, Lynchburg resident Jan Tana.
The set, based on an Aztec theme, featured running water, billowing smoke, and even an Aztec ambassador, Javier Alacorn, who was brought in to do a fire dance.
Amidst all of that, a high-stakes bodybuilding competition could have gotten lost. But the contestants didn't let that happen.
Katsumi Ishimura and Michelle Willoughby, the overall professional men's and women's champions, led a group of contestants who qualified for the Mr. and Ms. Olympia contests in September. Rod Koontz made the Mr. Olympia cut and Gillian Hodge and Nancy Lewis qualified among the women.
Light heavyweight Albert Woolridge and middleweight Cynthia James won the overall amateur championships, which were sanctioned by the the National Physique Committee. Blacksburg resident Ash Mohamed Makki placed fifth in the men's NPC lightweight division.
Monica Brandt won Friday night's Pro Fitness competition to qualify for the Ms. Fitness Olympia contest in September. Brandt, 24, became the first Fitness Olympia qualifier in Jan Tana Classic history. In the fitness category, women combine an aerobics routine with an evening gown competition into a sort of bodybuilding beauty contest.
Ishimura and Willoughby each qualified for the first time, and while Willoughby, 24, looks to be rising through the ranks, Ishimura's victory was just the latest in an already-lengthy career.
At 56, Ishimura has been building his body for 23 years. He directed television commercials in Japan until he was 33, when a bad diet and worse habits such as smoking and drinking too much sake began to catch up with him. He developed a serious stomach ailment.
``Too much stress,`` he said.
He restricted himself to a diet of brown rice and vegetables, and only recently did he add soybeans and fish to his menu. By sticking to that diet for six meals a day, his 5-foot-3 frame expanded from 115 to 173 pounds.
He won Mr. Japan six times before coming to Venice, Calif., 11 years ago. Without any knowledge of the English language, however, Ishimura had trouble finding work. He went to work washing dishes in a sushi kitchen until he grasped the language.
Once that time came, he decided to buy a company that dealt in food supplements and personal training, CBA Systems.
``I don't care about prizes and I don't need money,`` Ishimura said. ``I only want to qualify for Olympia.``
Now that he and Willoughby have done that, they never have to worry about it again.
In only her second year as a professional, Willoughby is in great shape for the future. ``Words can't describe it,`` Willoughby said before adding, ``it's incredible.``
Similar words were uttered about the set, never before seen in this kind of event. Tana said she wanted the audience to be entertained throughout the show, and acknowledged that seeing all those bodies one after the other can be ``too much of a good thing.``
Tana turned to Earl Stone, a former television set designer now based in Charlotte, N.C., to design a stage show that would draw attention without detracting from the athletes.
Stone has been in that kind of work for more than a decade, designing paint jobs for cars and tractor trailers for the Winston Cup racing circuit. He takes credit for the first Darrell Waltrip Tide car, in addition to vehicles for Budweiser, Quaker State and Kodiak.
Stone currently does designs for the Rick Hendrick and Robert Yates racing teams, but for the past three weeks he has dedicated his time to the Jan Tana Classic. Along with his son, he spent 18 hours a day building the unique set.
``It's pretty lavish,`` he said.
Tana added, ``What we were trying to do this year was really entertain the audience.``
by CNB