Cydney Gillon: Back to back champion Olympia Figure category

Once was not enough for IFBB Pro Cydney Gillon, so after winning the figure category at the 2017 Olympia she beat out 24 other contestants and repeated as the 2018 champion!

Cydney earned $35,000 for the victory.

The top three Figure finishers:

1. Cydney Gillon

2. Candice Lewis-Carter

3. Nadia Wyatt

Shanique Grant wins 2018 Women's Physique Olympia

After taking first in 2016 and 2017 at the New York Pro competition, Shanique Grant's Olympia dreams were derailed after a vicious attack that left her unable to compete in the 2017 Olympia Women's Physique competition.

Grant didn't let that incident stop her dreams. She overcame adversity, worked even harder in 2018, then stepped onto the Olympia stage for the first time and won her first of what could be many Women's Physique Olympia titles.

The Chicago Illinois native won $35,000 for her first place finish.

The Women's Physique Olympia top five:

1. Shanique Grant

2. Natalia Abraham Coelho

3. Jennifer Taylor

4. Daniely Castilho

5. Heather Grace

Shawn Rhoden wins Mr. Olympia!

Shawn Rhoden wasn't on the radar of many to win the 2018 Mr. Olympia due to his backsliding to a 5th place finish in 2017, his inability to compete at the 2018 Arnold Classic due to illness, and his lack of progress pictures and videos on social media. There was an assumption made that the Jamaican wasn't in peak shape. That assumption was proven wrong as Flexatron won the 2018 Mr. Olympia triumphing over 7X champ Phil Heath.

Rhoden earned a $675,000 payout, the largest in the history of the Mr. Olympia competition.

At 43 years old he ties the record for oldest bodybuilder to win the Olympia with Chis Dickerson.

The top 5 finishers were:

1. Shawn Rhoden.

2. Phil Heath.

3. Roelly Winklaar.

4. William Bonac.

5. Brandon Curry.

SHAWN RHODEN MR OLYMPIA VICTORY INTERVIEW!

Stacey Abams, Ben Jealous, and Andrew Gillum appear together at Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference

It was a raucous scene that could have been backstage at a rock concert: camera flashes, fans clamoring for autographs, scowling bodyguards, reporters hungry for a scoop.

But the center of this attention wasn't Beyonce or the Rolling Stones. It was three black gubernatorial candidates who stood side by side in a throng of admirers, soaking up all that love.

If elected, Stacey Abrams of Georgia, Ben Jealous of Maryland and Andrew Gillum of Florida would give America its largest number of black governors ever. That historic possibility was not lost on them, or the black voters who hope to make that history happen, as they shared the stage at the Congressional Black Caucus' annual legislative conference this week.

"This moment, and the significance of it, won't seep in for some time from now," said Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee, and at 39 the youngest of the three.

"What this signals is not only the continued evolution of our country but the increasing recognition of diversity, not only of capacity but of backgrounds," said Abrams, 44, later.

Abrams, who could become the nation's first black female governor, is getting the most national attention. But all three were squired around the Washington Convention Center by black politicos who are strategizing ways to help on turnout, campaigning and fundraising.

Jealous, 45, faces the steepest challenge, down in polls against incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Abrams and Gillum are running for open seats.

After the three spoke together on stage, Jealous listened attentively backstage as Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas laid out plans to help him with voter turnout and fundraising. Gillum, meanwhile, stood nearby shaking hands with other state elected officials and Abrams conducted a media interview.

"I believe what we see in this current electoral cycle is not going to stop," Abrams said. "We have more diversity in the candidates running and in the candidates winning and particularly for women of color. ... I'm proud to be part of a national trend and I think it's a trend that's becoming a permanent one for America."

None of them were heavy favorites in their primaries. Abrams is a longtime state official and former state House leader; Gillum has been a fixture of local Tallahassee politics since his college days; and Jealous is a former head of the NAACP and was a venture capitalist and activist before entering the governor's race last year.

Their historic primary wins - and the national attention it brought - will bring out Democratic voters who might not have voted in a midterm election otherwise, they said. Midterm elections typically draw fewer than half of those eligible to vote.

"I know we have people keep wanting to hedge on these races: 'Oh, you can win in the primary, but what happens in the general?'" Gillum said. "I honestly believe for all three of us, we are the best, and frankly, the most likely of the whole lot we were in to bring the kind of energy necessary in order to win states like ours."

The political trio seem comfortable together and readily quote one another in interviews. They also tease one another, as they did when they turned Abrams' observations about overcoming gender and racial barriers into jokes about their respective skin tones.

"I'm of a very rich brown hue," Abrams said.

"I'm richer," Gillum interrupted. "It's the only thing I'm rich in."

Jealous, who is biracial, smiled, then quipped: "No comment."

The three of them have known one another for many years, Jealous said. He met Abrams when they were both around 20 years old, he said, and they've known Gillum since he was about that same age.

"It's a special joy when you look to your left and look to your right and the people you see are the people you know and the people you trust," Jealous said.

P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana was the nation's first black governor during Reconstruction, serving from 1872 to 1873. The next would not come until 1990, when Douglas Wilder would be elected in Virginia. Deval Patrick was elected in 2007 and David Paterson served as New York governor from 2008 to 2010.

There has never been a black female governor in American history.

"What's more important to me is that I'm opening the doors for others who may not have seen themselves in positions of power and leadership, and I can speak for communities that are unseen and unheard," Abrams said.

All of them recognize the change their campaigns represent and what could be a unique place in history if they are all successful.

"It is a wonderful season we are in," said Bernice King, a daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., at a later event honoring black female lawmakers. "I'm excited about the midterm elections, and I know that regardless of what the outcome is that God still has his hands on us."

[SOURCE: Black governor nominees become stars in bid for history]

Letitia James Makes History by Winning Attorney General Primary in New York

Letitia James became the first black woman to win a major party statewide nomination on Thursday, easily defeating three rivals in New York’s Democratic primary for attorney general.

With her win, Ms. James, 59, the New York City public advocate, has positioned herself as a prominent face of resistance to the policies of President Trump, a role that the New York attorney general’s office has embraced since Mr. Trump took office.

“This campaign was never really about me or any of the candidates who ran,” Ms. James said in her victory speech. “It was about the people, but mostly it was about that man in the White House who can’t go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.”

With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in New York State by a margin of more than two to one, Ms. James will be heavily favored in November against the Republican candidate, Keith Wofford, 49, who ran unopposed. If Ms. James wins, she would be the first black woman to assume statewide office, just five years after becoming the first black woman elected to citywide office in New York.

Read more: Letitia James Makes History by Winning Attorney General Primary in New York