Oldschool
New member
Her full name is Yaxeni Milagros Oriquen Perez Garcia.....but for anyone remotely connected to women's bodybuilding, 'Yaxeni' is all that needs to be said. She long ago reached the status of those legendary few who are known by a single name. Arnold, Rachel, Cory, Lenda, Iris, we all know them instantly. And so it is with Yaxeni.
It would be enough to say that Yaxeni has earned her fame by virtue of winning the Ms. Olympia in 2005. But that really is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Her accomplishments aren't just stunning, they are, in every way, mind-numbing.
First Things First
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="72%">Yaxeni was born September 3, 1966 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She came from a family of nine. At the age of 16 she took an interest in modeling and appeared on several commercials on Venezuelan television. Her modeling also included bikini print work as well as bikini fashion shows. All through period of her life she aspired to be an actress and she enjoyed performing. Little did she know at the time the kind of performing she would devote her life to as she entered her 20's.
To stay in shape she began weigh training, and she liked the results and how quickly her body responded to the effort she put into her lifting. By 1989 she was entering her first bodybuilding contest, and a fourth-place finish at the 1989 Venezuelan Nationals would be the start of what has now become a career for the ages.
Embarking on an amateur bodybuilding career with a keen eye on qualifying for the professional ranks, Yaxeni entered the Venezuelan National two more times placing fourth again in 1991 and second in 1992. But in 1993 she experienced her breakthrough season. Along with winning the Venezuelan
Nationals she also won the Ibero American Championships, the South American Championships and the Central American Championships which qualified her for IFBB pro status.
</TD><TD vAlign=top width="28%">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The Long Pro Road to Fame
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>With impressive amateur contest credentials behind her and knowing her entry into the pro ranks would be a considerable challenge, Yaxeni's work ethic – which would become the benchmark to her entire competitive career – took over. Wasting little time, she entered two pro contests in 1994. She placed sixth at the European Women's Grand Prix in Prague, Czech Republic, and added a 10th-place finish at the Jan Tana Classic. The experiences were respectable, but not really memorable.
In 1995 she repeated the same two contests with similar results. She moved up one placement at each event. The efforts were still respectable, but her on stage appearance lacked impact. It was clear she would need to add more muscle to her 5-8 frame to be more competitive. Patiently she continued to learn, grow, cultivate, and improve her overall look. Meanwhile women's bodybuilding in the mid-90's was moving along at a rapid rate where higher levels of muscularity were concerned. Yaxeni was treading water.
With the coming of 1996, Yaxeni competed three times and the results were noticeably off her two previous campaigns as a pro. She placed eighth at both the European Women's Grand Prix and the European Women's Pro Invitational in Slovakia. In her third trip to the Jan Tana Classic she landed 12th. During this time Yaxeni was being trained by Tomas Garcia, and their marriage in 1996 might easily explain the distraction staying the course. Still she had gained valuable experience by competing seven times in three years.
In 1997 Yaxeni began to focus. She competed just once – at the Jan Tana Classic placing a very strong sixth and just one point outside fourth place. Her effort at this event helped set the stage for her invitation to the 1998 Ms. International. Again, her finish at this prestigious contest was uneventful – she placed 14th. Undaunted, she returned to her fifth straight Jan Tana Classic in August of that year and earned her highest finish as a pro - at that point - taking fourth. More importantly she had qualified for the Ms. Olympia where she made a solid first impression placing 10th.
Her joy over the Olympia placing was short-lived however, as she plummeted to 18th at the 1999 Ms. International to begin what would be a very busy competitive year. After the Ms International, she bounced back strongly with a third-place finish at the Women's Pro Extravaganza, second at the Jan Tana Classic, sixth at the IFBB Pro Worlds and 10th once again at the Ms. Olympia. The five contests in one year was the first and last time she would endure such a grueling undertaking. The 90's had seen Yaxeni compete 16 times. That said, she was only really just getting started as the new millennium approached.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
In 2000 Yaxeni was once again invited to the Ms. International and she responded with an eighth-place HW finish. But her overall look was much improved over the previous year. Then after a fifth-place finish at the Jan Tana Classic, she hit pay dirt with a very impressive fourth-place HW spot at the Ms. Olympia. It was a turning point in her competitive aspirations – like a fire had been lit under her.
With plans to enter four contests in 2001 she was on fire. Her fourth-place HW showing at the Ms. International was followed by a pair of runner-up HW placings at the Women's Pro Extravaganza and Jan Tana Classic. Finishing strongly, Yaxeni moved up to the third-place position in the HW class at the Ms. Olympia.
By 2002 Yaxeni was entering her ninth year as a pro, but it was in every way her breakout year. She began with a stunning overall victory at the Ms. International – an event she had been invited to four times previously. Later in the year she added another overall victory at the Show of Strength. The year ended with her finishing fourth at the Ms. Olympia. Yaxeni had, in every sense of the word, 'arrived'.
Focusing on just two events in 2003, Yaxeni won the HW and overall titles for the second consecutive year at the Ms. International, and finished third at the Ms. Olympia. Her stock was rising rapidly. She was now a legitimate contender for a Ms. Olympia title.
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="93%">In 2004 Yaxeni once again competed four times and was fiercely competitive through those four events. A HW winner at the Night of Champions in New York, she added another overall victory at the Show of Strength. Those wins together with a runner-up HW finish at the Ms. International and a third-place spot at the Ms. Olympia set her up nicely for the 2005 season. And what a season it would be.
Yaxeni prepped for just two contests in 2005. Two big contests. She wanted it to be a special year, and when she won the Ms. International she was clearly on the roll of her life. Throughout her competitive career Yaxeni had always displayed a humble aura. A woman of few words, she had let her physique do the talking. Now it was shouting. Entering the Ms. O in Las Vegas she was in excellent overall condition and as had been the case on other occasions, Iris Kyle was looking to add another Ms. O title to her own contest resume. But this was to be Yaxeni's weekend. Her stage presence was stirring and her posing performance carried an intangible quality that lifted her above the rest of the Olympia field. It was, in a word, magic. As she finished her evening posing performance, there was a split second of hestitation before the audience cut loose with a monumental applause. It was as if the crowd had taken a nano-second to realize they had just seen a very special physical display. The result brought Yaxeni Oriquen her first Ms. Olympia title, and it capped one of those rare years where a competitor had won both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in the same calendar. The victory came in her 28th pro contest in her 12th year competing as a pro. She was at the pinnacle of her chosen sport. Many asked her if she would now retire, assuming there would be nothing more to prove as an elite bodybuilder. Clearly, they weren't aware of the passion she held for bodybuilding, and her intense desire to excel.
</TD><TD width="7%">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="28%">
</TD><TD width="72%">It has been seven years since Yaxeni won that Ms. O title, and during the course of those seven years she has further cemented that fact that she is one of the rarest commodities ever seen in women's bodybuilding.
In 2006, however, she gained first hand experience with the phrase, “all good things must come to an end”. In Yaxeni's case, the end came much sooner than she expected. Duplicating her 2005 contest schedule of entering just the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia she slipped to third at the Ms. I before tumbling to seventh-place at the Ms. Olympia – her lowest finish at the Ms. O since 1999. It was a crushing blow.....but also a wake-up call. And wake up she did.
The 2007 season saw Yaxeni enter her 10th straight Ms. International and the result was favorable. She finished second to her ongoing nemesis Iris Kyle. More importantly, she bounced back solidly at the Ms. Olympia with a third-place finish.
Yaxeni returned to the winner's circle in 2008 with a win at the Ms. International – her fourth at that event, while, coincidentally, Iris Kyle dropped to the seventh spot. At the Ms. Olympia Yaxeni claimed another third-place finish with Kyle moving back to the lead position. Second went to Yaxeni's fellow countrywoman Betty Viana. Closing out the first decade of the new millennium, Yaxeni finished third at the Ms. International and fifth at the Ms. O in 2009.
Beginning the new decade, Yaxeni tuned up for the Ms. International by winning the 2010 Phoenix Pro Championship just two weeks earlier. It was her ninth contest victory as a pro. At both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia, Yaxeni finished second - both on the heels of Iris Kyle. Those two contest finishes would repeat themselves in 2011.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
With Yaxeni's remarkable career about to continue in 2012, her invitation to the Ms. International is her 15th consecutive entry at the Arnold Classic event. It is also her 48th contest as an IFBB pro. And barring accident or injury when Yaxeni enters the Ms. Olympia later in the year it will be her 15th straight visit to the Olympia stage. In both instances, each is a record (dating back to 1998) for longevity that will be extremely difficult to approach.
<CENTER>
</CENTER>
In total, Yaxeni Milagros Oriquen Perez Garcia is entering her 23rd year as a bodybuilder dating back to her days as an amateur in 1989, and she has never missed a year where she competed at least once. And in that time frame what she has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous.
Not many can make that claim.
And oh yes, there is that result from the 2012 Ms. International – First Place. The fifth time she has claimed that title
It would be enough to say that Yaxeni has earned her fame by virtue of winning the Ms. Olympia in 2005. But that really is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Her accomplishments aren't just stunning, they are, in every way, mind-numbing.
First Things First
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="72%">Yaxeni was born September 3, 1966 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She came from a family of nine. At the age of 16 she took an interest in modeling and appeared on several commercials on Venezuelan television. Her modeling also included bikini print work as well as bikini fashion shows. All through period of her life she aspired to be an actress and she enjoyed performing. Little did she know at the time the kind of performing she would devote her life to as she entered her 20's.
To stay in shape she began weigh training, and she liked the results and how quickly her body responded to the effort she put into her lifting. By 1989 she was entering her first bodybuilding contest, and a fourth-place finish at the 1989 Venezuelan Nationals would be the start of what has now become a career for the ages.
Embarking on an amateur bodybuilding career with a keen eye on qualifying for the professional ranks, Yaxeni entered the Venezuelan National two more times placing fourth again in 1991 and second in 1992. But in 1993 she experienced her breakthrough season. Along with winning the Venezuelan
Nationals she also won the Ibero American Championships, the South American Championships and the Central American Championships which qualified her for IFBB pro status.
</TD><TD vAlign=top width="28%">
The Long Pro Road to Fame
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>With impressive amateur contest credentials behind her and knowing her entry into the pro ranks would be a considerable challenge, Yaxeni's work ethic – which would become the benchmark to her entire competitive career – took over. Wasting little time, she entered two pro contests in 1994. She placed sixth at the European Women's Grand Prix in Prague, Czech Republic, and added a 10th-place finish at the Jan Tana Classic. The experiences were respectable, but not really memorable.
In 1995 she repeated the same two contests with similar results. She moved up one placement at each event. The efforts were still respectable, but her on stage appearance lacked impact. It was clear she would need to add more muscle to her 5-8 frame to be more competitive. Patiently she continued to learn, grow, cultivate, and improve her overall look. Meanwhile women's bodybuilding in the mid-90's was moving along at a rapid rate where higher levels of muscularity were concerned. Yaxeni was treading water.
With the coming of 1996, Yaxeni competed three times and the results were noticeably off her two previous campaigns as a pro. She placed eighth at both the European Women's Grand Prix and the European Women's Pro Invitational in Slovakia. In her third trip to the Jan Tana Classic she landed 12th. During this time Yaxeni was being trained by Tomas Garcia, and their marriage in 1996 might easily explain the distraction staying the course. Still she had gained valuable experience by competing seven times in three years.
In 1997 Yaxeni began to focus. She competed just once – at the Jan Tana Classic placing a very strong sixth and just one point outside fourth place. Her effort at this event helped set the stage for her invitation to the 1998 Ms. International. Again, her finish at this prestigious contest was uneventful – she placed 14th. Undaunted, she returned to her fifth straight Jan Tana Classic in August of that year and earned her highest finish as a pro - at that point - taking fourth. More importantly she had qualified for the Ms. Olympia where she made a solid first impression placing 10th.
Her joy over the Olympia placing was short-lived however, as she plummeted to 18th at the 1999 Ms. International to begin what would be a very busy competitive year. After the Ms International, she bounced back strongly with a third-place finish at the Women's Pro Extravaganza, second at the Jan Tana Classic, sixth at the IFBB Pro Worlds and 10th once again at the Ms. Olympia. The five contests in one year was the first and last time she would endure such a grueling undertaking. The 90's had seen Yaxeni compete 16 times. That said, she was only really just getting started as the new millennium approached.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
In 2000 Yaxeni was once again invited to the Ms. International and she responded with an eighth-place HW finish. But her overall look was much improved over the previous year. Then after a fifth-place finish at the Jan Tana Classic, she hit pay dirt with a very impressive fourth-place HW spot at the Ms. Olympia. It was a turning point in her competitive aspirations – like a fire had been lit under her.
With plans to enter four contests in 2001 she was on fire. Her fourth-place HW showing at the Ms. International was followed by a pair of runner-up HW placings at the Women's Pro Extravaganza and Jan Tana Classic. Finishing strongly, Yaxeni moved up to the third-place position in the HW class at the Ms. Olympia.
By 2002 Yaxeni was entering her ninth year as a pro, but it was in every way her breakout year. She began with a stunning overall victory at the Ms. International – an event she had been invited to four times previously. Later in the year she added another overall victory at the Show of Strength. The year ended with her finishing fourth at the Ms. Olympia. Yaxeni had, in every sense of the word, 'arrived'.
Focusing on just two events in 2003, Yaxeni won the HW and overall titles for the second consecutive year at the Ms. International, and finished third at the Ms. Olympia. Her stock was rising rapidly. She was now a legitimate contender for a Ms. Olympia title.
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="93%">In 2004 Yaxeni once again competed four times and was fiercely competitive through those four events. A HW winner at the Night of Champions in New York, she added another overall victory at the Show of Strength. Those wins together with a runner-up HW finish at the Ms. International and a third-place spot at the Ms. Olympia set her up nicely for the 2005 season. And what a season it would be.
Yaxeni prepped for just two contests in 2005. Two big contests. She wanted it to be a special year, and when she won the Ms. International she was clearly on the roll of her life. Throughout her competitive career Yaxeni had always displayed a humble aura. A woman of few words, she had let her physique do the talking. Now it was shouting. Entering the Ms. O in Las Vegas she was in excellent overall condition and as had been the case on other occasions, Iris Kyle was looking to add another Ms. O title to her own contest resume. But this was to be Yaxeni's weekend. Her stage presence was stirring and her posing performance carried an intangible quality that lifted her above the rest of the Olympia field. It was, in a word, magic. As she finished her evening posing performance, there was a split second of hestitation before the audience cut loose with a monumental applause. It was as if the crowd had taken a nano-second to realize they had just seen a very special physical display. The result brought Yaxeni Oriquen her first Ms. Olympia title, and it capped one of those rare years where a competitor had won both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in the same calendar. The victory came in her 28th pro contest in her 12th year competing as a pro. She was at the pinnacle of her chosen sport. Many asked her if she would now retire, assuming there would be nothing more to prove as an elite bodybuilder. Clearly, they weren't aware of the passion she held for bodybuilding, and her intense desire to excel.
</TD><TD width="7%">
In 2006, however, she gained first hand experience with the phrase, “all good things must come to an end”. In Yaxeni's case, the end came much sooner than she expected. Duplicating her 2005 contest schedule of entering just the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia she slipped to third at the Ms. I before tumbling to seventh-place at the Ms. Olympia – her lowest finish at the Ms. O since 1999. It was a crushing blow.....but also a wake-up call. And wake up she did.
The 2007 season saw Yaxeni enter her 10th straight Ms. International and the result was favorable. She finished second to her ongoing nemesis Iris Kyle. More importantly, she bounced back solidly at the Ms. Olympia with a third-place finish.
Yaxeni returned to the winner's circle in 2008 with a win at the Ms. International – her fourth at that event, while, coincidentally, Iris Kyle dropped to the seventh spot. At the Ms. Olympia Yaxeni claimed another third-place finish with Kyle moving back to the lead position. Second went to Yaxeni's fellow countrywoman Betty Viana. Closing out the first decade of the new millennium, Yaxeni finished third at the Ms. International and fifth at the Ms. O in 2009.
Beginning the new decade, Yaxeni tuned up for the Ms. International by winning the 2010 Phoenix Pro Championship just two weeks earlier. It was her ninth contest victory as a pro. At both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia, Yaxeni finished second - both on the heels of Iris Kyle. Those two contest finishes would repeat themselves in 2011.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
With Yaxeni's remarkable career about to continue in 2012, her invitation to the Ms. International is her 15th consecutive entry at the Arnold Classic event. It is also her 48th contest as an IFBB pro. And barring accident or injury when Yaxeni enters the Ms. Olympia later in the year it will be her 15th straight visit to the Olympia stage. In both instances, each is a record (dating back to 1998) for longevity that will be extremely difficult to approach.
<CENTER>
In total, Yaxeni Milagros Oriquen Perez Garcia is entering her 23rd year as a bodybuilder dating back to her days as an amateur in 1989, and she has never missed a year where she competed at least once. And in that time frame what she has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous.
Not many can make that claim.
And oh yes, there is that result from the 2012 Ms. International – First Place. The fifth time she has claimed that title
