Female bodybuilding

Female bodybuilding began in the 1970s when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

History

Beginnings

Physique contests for women date back to at least the 1960s, with contests like the Miss Physique and Miss Americana. However, these early "bodybuilding" contests were really not much more than bikini contests. The first U.S. Women's National Physique Championship was held in Canton, Ohio in 1978, and is generally regarded as the first true female bodybuilding contest - that is, the first contest where the entrants were judged solely on muscularity.

Related Topics:
1960s - Miss Physique - Miss Americana - Bikini contests - Canton, Ohio - 1978

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More contests started to appear in 1979. Some of these were the following:

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• The second U.S Women's National Physique Championship, won by Kay Baxter, with Marilyn Schriner second and Cammie Lusko third.
• The first Women's World Body Building Championship, held in June, won by Lisa Lyon, with Claudia Wilbourn second.
• The Best In The World contest, held at Warminster, PA in August, featuring a $5,000 prize fund, with $2,500 awarded for first place. Patsy Chapman was the winner, followed by April Nicotra, Stacey Bentley, Bette Brown, and Carla Dunlap.

However, these contests were generally held by promoters acting independently; the sport still lacked a governing body. That would change in 1980.

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1980 - the start of the modern era

The National Physique Committee (NPC) held the first women's Nationals in 1980. Since its inception, this has been the top amateur level competition for women in the US. Laura Combes won the inaugural contest.

Related Topics:
National Physique Committee - 1980 - Laura Combes

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1980 was also the year of the first Ms. Olympia, the most prestigious contest for professionals. The first winner was Rachel McLish who had also won the NPC's USA Championship earlier in the year. The contest was a major turning point for the sport of women's bodybuilding. McLish turned out to be very promotable, and inspired many future competitors to start training and competing.

Related Topics:
Ms. Olympia - Rachel McLish

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The 1980's

Rachel McLish became the most successful competitor of the early 1980's. She lost her Ms. Olympia crown by finishing second to Kike Elomaa in 1981, but regained the title in 1982. A new major pro contest, the Women's Pro World Championship, was held for the first time in 1981 (won by Lynn Conkright). Held annually through 1989, this was the second most prestigious contest of the time. McLish added this title to her collection in 1982.

Related Topics:
Kike Elomaa - 1981 - 1982 - Lynn Conkright - 1989

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As the sport grew, the competitors' level of training gradually increased (most of the competitors in the earliest shows had very little weight training experience), and the sport slowly evolved towards more muscular physiques. This trend started to emerge in 1983. With McLish not competing in the big shows, Carla Dunlap took both the Pro World and Ms. Olympia titles. Dunlap possessed a much more muscular physique than either McLish or Elomaa, and though she never repeated her successes of 1983, she would remain competitive for the rest of the decade.

Related Topics:
1983 - Carla Dunlap

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In 1984, a new force emerged in women's bodybuilding. Cory Everson won the NPC Nationals, then defeated McLish to win the Ms. Olympia. At 5'9" and 150 pounds, Everson's physique set a new standard. She would go on to win six consecutive Ms. Olympia titles before retiring undefeated as a professional, the only women ever to accomplish this.

Related Topics:
1984 - Cory Everson

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The Ms. International contest was introduced in 1986, first won by Erica Geisen. The contest was not held in 1987, but it returned for good in 1988. Since the demise of the Pro World Championship after 1989, the Ms. International has been second in prestige only to the Ms. Olympia. The 1989 Ms. International was noteworthy for the fact that the original winner, Tonya Knight, was later disqualified for using a surrogate for her drug test at the 1988 Ms. Olympia contest. Consequently, runner-up Jackie Paisley received the 1989 title.

Related Topics:
Ms. International - 1986 - Erica Geisen - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - Tonya Knight - Jackie Paisley

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Mainstream exposure in the 1980's

During this period, women's bodybuilding was starting to achieve some mainstream exposure. Pro competitor Anita Gandol created a stir by posing for Playboy in the mid-1980's, earning a one year suspension from the IFBB. Erica Mes, a Dutch competitor, followed suit. On a more positive note, Lori Bowen, winner of the 1984 Pro World's, appeared in a widely broadcast commercial for Miller Lite with Rodney Dangerfield.

Related Topics:
Anita Gandol - Playboy - IFBB - Erica Mes - Lori Bowen - 1984 - Miller Lite - Rodney Dangerfield

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In 1985, a movie called ' was released. This film documented the preparation of several women for the 1984 Caesars Palace World Cup Championship. Competitors prominently featured in the film were Kris Alexander, Lori Bowen, Lydia Cheng, Carla Dunlap, Bev Francis, and Rachel McLish. At the time, Francis was really a powerlifter, though she soon made a successful transition to bodybuilding, becoming one of the leading competitors of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Related Topics:
1985 - 1984 - Kris Alexander - Lori Bowen - Lydia Cheng - Carla Dunlap - Bev Francis - Rachel McLish - Powerlifter

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For several years in the mid-1980's, NBC broadcast coverage of the Ms. Olympia contest on their Sportsworld program. The taped footage was telecast months after the contest, and was usually used as secondary material to fill out programs featuring events such as boxing. Typically, the broadcasts included only the top several women. Nevertheless, Cory Everson and some of her leading competitors were receiving national TV coverage.

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