It's no easy task making it to the Yorton Cup stage. To make it competitors first have to win an IFPA Pro qualifying contest. Select events held by IFPA amateur affiliates (OCB, NANBF, UNBA, NOBA, NPAA, GBFA, NBON, FIBBA) are IFPA Pro qualifiers.
Once that step is achieved, competitors then need to place in the top half of their class at an IFPA Pro show. At this point they can then move on to the Yorton Cup stage... but not until they pass a polygraph test.
A polygraph test is a pre-show screening method used to detect banned substances. The second wave of drug testing occurs post-show. The top-three finishers in every class are given a urine test.
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Bodybuilder and Yorton Cup champion Doug Miller[/caption]
Doug Miller Returns
The big story for this year's event was the highly anticipated return of 2009 Yorton Cup champion Doug Miller. He was away from the stage for five years. Doug Miller's return did not disappoint.
His mammoth size and rock-hard conditioning led him to his second Yorton Cup title. Miller had to knock off two-time champion Cleveland Thomas in the Middleweight class before moving on to square off against the young Heavyweight champ Russell Harleston and an amazing over 50 competitor Marshall Johnson, the Lightweight winner.
Men's Physique, Women's Bodybuilding and Women's Figure
This year saw the Men's Pro Physique category added to the lineup for the first time. Edwin Carter's stacked shoulders and chest saw him to becoming the category's first Yorton Cup title holder.
On the women's side of things, there was a showdown between another 2009 Yorton Cup champion, Dianne Brown, and 2013 champion Candice Scott. Both would have to settle for top-three finishes however. Erin Duggan stepped up to overcome both and clinch the Cup due to her incredible conditioning and hardness.
The Figure category's Class B saw an amazing battle between two ladies who showed up in phenomenal shape. In what had to be a close call, Sharmane Williams overcame Stephanie Casella to advance to the division overall judging, where she won out over Class A champion Charina Fargesen to become the new Figure Yorton Cup champion.
Yorton Bikini Champion
This was the second year that Bikini had been part of the event. There were lots of stunning ladies in the lineup.
The judges got a workout trying to sort placements out on their scorecards. To rise to the top were class winners Danika Johnson and Misti Weatherford. Johnson made it two in a row. The new Yorton Cup Bikini champion was victorious at the IFPA Gaspari Nutrition Pro Classic that took place just two weeks prior.
From L to R: Men's Physique champion Edwin Carter, Women's Bodybuilding champion Erin Duggan, Figure champion Sharmane Williams and Bikini champion Danika Johnson.
Join the Yorton Cup in 2015
In all the 2014 Core Nutritionals IFPA Yorton Cup awarded over $54,000 in cash prizes. The 2015 show is scheduled for October 24th in the Washington, DC area. Keep up to date at
YortonCup.com and
IFPApro.com.