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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, promoted by Henry McGhee and held in Canton,
Ohio in 1978, is generally regarded as the first true female bodybuilding
contest - that is, the first contest where the entrants were judged solely on
muscularity (Todd, 1999).
More contests started to appear in 1979. Some of these were the following:
The second U.S. Women's National Physique Championship, won by Kay Baxter, with
Marilyn Schriner second and Cammie Lusko third.
The first IFBB Women's World Body Building Championship, held on June 16, won by
Lisa Lyon, followed by Claudia Wilbourn, Stella Martinez, Stacey Bentley, and
Bette Brown.
The Best In The World contest, held at Warminster, PA on August 18, featuring a
$5,000 prize fund, with $2,500 awarded for first place. Patsy Chapman was the
winner, followed by April Nicotra, Bentley, Brown, and Carla Dunlap. (Levin,
1980)
The Robby Robinson Classic, held at the Embassy Auditorium in Los Angeles on
August 25. Bentley finished first, also winning best legs and best poser,
followed by Brown, Lusko, and Georgia Miller. (Roark, 2005)
Although these early events were regarded as bodybuilding contests, the women
wore high-heeled shoes, and did not clench their fists while posing.
Additionally, they were not allowed to use the three so-called "men's poses" —
the double biceps, crab, and lat spread. The contests were generally held by
promoters acting independently; the sport still lacked a governing body. That
would change in 1980.
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.
The first World Couples Championship was held in Atlantic City on April 8. The
winning couple was Stacey Bentley and Chris Dickerson, with April Nicotra and
Robby Robinson in second. Bentley picked up her third consecutive victory in the
Frank Zane Invitational on June 28, ahead of Rachel McLish, Lynn Conkwright,
Suzy Green, Patsy Chapman, and Georgia Miller Fudge.
1980 was also the year of the first Ms. Olympia (initially known as the "Miss"
Olympia), the most prestigious contest for professionals. Initially, the contest
was promoted by George Snyder. The contestants had to send in resumes and
pictures, and were hand-picked by Snyder based on their potential to be fitness
role models for the average American woman. 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. Stacey Bentley finished in fifth place, in what turned out to be
her final competition.
The 1980s
Rachel McLish became the most successful competitor of the early 1980s. 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 Conkwright). Held annually
through 1989, this was the second most prestigious contest of the time. McLish
added this title to her collection in 1982. George Snyder lost the rights to the
Ms. Olympia in 1982, and after this the contestants were no longer hand-picked,
but instead qualified for the Ms. Olympia through placings in lesser contests.
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.
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 woman
ever to accomplish this.
The Ms. International contest was introduced in 1986, first won by Erika 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. Knight
was suspended from IFBB competition through the end of 1990, and was forced to
return her prize money from the 1988 Ms. Olympia and 1989 Ms. International, a
total of $12,000 (Merritt, 2006).
The American Federation of Women Bodybuilders was also founded during this time
period, representing a growing awareness of women bodybuilders in America.
Winning competitors such as Laurie Stark helped to popularize the federation.
Mainstream exposure in the 1980s
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-1980s, earning a one year suspension from the IFBB. Erika Mes, a Dutch
competitor, posed nude for the Belgian issue of Playboy in September, 1987, also
earning a one year suspension.
Lori Bowen, winner of the 1984 Pro World Championship, appeared in a widely
broadcast commercial for Miller Lite beer with Rodney Dangerfield. Additionally,
competitors Lynn Conkwright (1982) and Carla Dunlap (1984) were included in
ABC's Superstars competition.
In 1985, a movie called Pumping Iron II: The Women was released. This film
documented the preparation of several women for the 1983 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 actually a powerlifter, though she soon made a
successful transition to bodybuilding, becoming one of the leading competitors
of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
For several years in the mid-1980s, 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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