Ms. Olympia

Ms. Olympia is the title given to the winner of the women's bodybuilding portion of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international professional bodybuilding competition that was held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). It was first held in 1980, and from 2000 to 2014 it has been held at the same time as the Mr. Olympia contest as part of the "Olympia Weekend". The 2000 contest also saw the introduction of weight classes. No overall winner was named in 2000, but starting in 2001, a posedown between the two class winners decided the overall title. In 2005, the contest returned to the one open class format. The top overall winners are Iris Kyle (ten overall and two heavyweight), Lenda Murray (eight), Corinna Everson (six), and Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls (four).

History

1980–1989

In 1980, the first Ms. Olympia (initially known as the "Miss" Olympia) was held with Rachel McLish winning and becoming the first Ms. Olympia. Rachel was dethroned by Ritva Elomaa in 1981, but regained the title 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 female bodybuilding grew and progressed, the competitors' level of training gradually increased, with 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 won the 1983 Ms. Olympia. Dunlap possessed a much more muscular physique than previous Ms. Olympia winners McLish or Elomaa.

In 1984, Corinna Everson won the Ms. Olympia title and She would go on to win six consecutive Ms. Olympia titles in a row before retiring in 1989 undefeated as a professional, the only woman ever to accomplish this.

1990–1999

Normally, competitors must qualify for the Ms. Olympia by achieving certain placings in lesser pro contests. However, the cancellation of the Women's Pro World contest in 1990 left only the Ms. International as a Ms. Olympia qualifier. Consequently, the IFBB decided to open the 1990 Ms. Olympia to all women with pro cards, and a field of thirty competitors entered. This is also the first Ms. Olympia without the incumbent Ms. Olympia champion defending her title. Lenda Murray earned a decisive victory by winning her first Ms. Olympia competition she attended in 1990 and emerged as the successor to Corinna Everson. The 1991 Ms. Olympia was the first to be televised live. Lenda Murray barely edged out Bev Francis, a former Australian powerlifter, by a single point that year. Lenda Murray faced a serious challenge from Denise Rutkowski in 1993, and some argue that Rutkowski, not Murray, should have won that year. Rutkowski shocked the Ms. Olympia contest by retiring in 1994, just as her career was gaining mainstream popularity and her potential for winning a Ms. Olympia title was high.

In the 1996 Ms. Olympia, six consecutive Ms. Olympia champion Lenda Murray was dethroned by Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls. Chizevsky-Nicholls had previously placed 2nd in the 1995 Ms. Olympia, but her victory came as something of a surprise, since many had regarded Murray as virtually unbeatable. After being defeated by Chizevsky-Nicholls and placing 2nd place again in the 1997 Ms. Olympia, Murray retired from bodybuilding. Chizevsky-Nicholls went on to win the 1998 Ms. Olympia. The 1998 Ms. Olympia was held in Prague, Czech Republic, the first and only time the competition had been held outside the United States.

1992 Ms. Olympia changes

In response to the increased size displayed by Murray and Francis at the previous Ms. Olympia, the IFBB made an attempt to "feminize" the sport. The IFBB, led by Ben Weider, had created a series of "femininity" rules; one line in the judging rules said that competitors should not be "too big". The judges’ guide to the competitors stated that they were looking for a feminine, but not emaciated physique. Advertising in Muscle & Fitness for the 1992 Ms. Olympia featured Ana Schreiner of Germany prominently, relegating two-time defending champion Murray to a small "also competing" notice. Nevertheless, Murray apparently met the "femininity" requirements, and managed to retain her title; Schreiner finished 6th, and promptly retired from competition. After 1992, the judging rules were rewritten. The new rules retained provisions for aesthetics, but allowed the contests to be judged as physique contests. Murray went on to win six consecutive Ms. Olympia's between 1990 and 1995, matching Corinna Everson's record.

1999 Ms. Olympia controversy and retirement

The 1999 Ms. Olympia was originally scheduled to be held on October 9 in Santa Monica, California. However, one month before the scheduled date, the IFBB announced that the contest had been cancelled. The main cause was the withdrawal of promoter Jarka Kastnerova (who promoted the 1998 contest in Prague) for financial reasons, including a low number of advance ticket sales for the 1999 event. The backlash following the announcement led to a flurry of activity, with the contest being rescheduled as part of the Women's Extravaganza (promoted by Kenny Kassel and Bob Bonham) in Secaucus, New Jersey on 2 October. Last minute sponsorship came from several sources, most significantly in the form of $50,000 from Flex magazine. Amid all the turmoil, Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls won her fourth consecutive Ms. Olympia title. Also notable about the 1999 Ms. Olympia was that this was the first Ms. Olympia Iris Kyle competed in. However, after the 1999 Ms. Olympia, Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls retired from bodybuilding and began competing in fitness and figure competitions in 2001.

2000–2005

The 2001 Ms. Olympia featured a "surprise" win from Juliette Bergmann who returned to competition after not competing since 1989. Entering the Olympia as a lightweight, she defeated heavyweight winner Iris Kyle for the overall title. In the five years that the Ms. Olympia was contested in multiple weight classes, this was the only time that the lightweight winner took the overall title.

After five-year absence, six-time Olympia winner Lenda Murray returned to the 2002 Ms. Olympia, with Bergmann won lightweight and Murray winning heavyweight and overall. Murray went on to win both the heavyweight and overall in the 2002 and 2003 Ms. Olympia. Murray was for the second time in her career was dethroned of her Ms. Olympia title by Iris Kyle in 2004, who won the heavyweight and overall. After her 2004 Ms. Olympia defeat, Murray, retired from bodybuilding.

2000 Ms. Olympia changes

The IFBB introduced several changes to Ms. Olympia in 2000. The first change was that Ms. Olympia contest would no longer be held as a separate contest, instead became part of the "Olympia Weekend" in Las Vegas and held the day before the men’s show. The second change was when heavyweight and lightweight classes where added. The third change was the new judging guidelines for presentations were introduced. A letter to the competitors from Jim Manion (chairman of the Professional Judges Committee) stated that women would be judged on healthy appearance, face, makeup, and skin tone. The criteria given in Manion's letter included the statement "symmetry, presentation, separations, and muscularity BUT NOT TO THE EXTREME!" The 2000 Ms. Olympia is the only Ms. Olympia with no overall winner, with Andrulla Blanchette winning lightweight class and Valentina Chepiga winning heavyweight class.

2005 Ms. Olympia changes

The IFBB introduced the so-called '20 percent rule', requesting "that female athletes in Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure decrease the amount of muscularity by a factor of 20%". The memo stated that the request "applies to those female athletes whose physiques require the decrease". Another change added to the 2005 Ms. Olympia, was the abandonment of the weight class system adopted in 2000. In 2005 Ms. Olympia, Iris Kyle was dethroned by Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia.

2006–2014

Iris Kyle reclaimed her Ms. Olympia title in 2006. Iris Kyle has gone on to win eight consecutive Ms. Olympia's in a row from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. With ten overall wins, Kyle has won more Olympia titles, male or female, than any other bodybuilder, and announced her retirement right after winning the title in 2014.^[1] The Ms. Olympia contest was discontinued shortly thereafter.

Year	Overall	Heavyweight	Lightweight	Venue
1980	Rachel McLish			Philadelphia, U.S.
1981	Ritva Elomaa			Philadelphia, U.S.
1982	Rachel McLish			Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
1983	Carla Dunlap			Warminster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1984	Corinna Everson			Montreal, Canada
1985	Corinna Everson			New York, U.S.
1986	Corinna Everson			New York, U.S.
1987	Corinna Everson			New York, U.S.
1988	Corinna Everson			New York, U.S.
1989	Corinna Everson			New York, U.S.
1990	Lenda Murray			New York, U.S.
1991	Lenda Murray			Los Angeles, U.S.
1992	Lenda Murray			Chicago, U.S.
1993	Lenda Murray			New York, U.S.
1994	Lenda Murray			Atlanta, U.S.
1995	Lenda Murray			Atlanta, U.S.
1996	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls			Chicago, U.S.
1997	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls			New York, U.S.
1998	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls			Prague, Czech Republic
1999	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls			Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.
2000	Overall category not held.	Valentina Chepiga	Andrulla Blanchette	Mandalay Bay Arena, Paradise, U.S.
2001	Juliette Bergmann	Iris Kyle	Juliette Bergmann	Mandalay Bay Arena, Paradise, U.S.
2002	Lenda Murray	Lenda Murray	Juliette Bergmann	Mandalay Bay Arena, Paradise, U.S.
2003	Lenda Murray	Lenda Murray	Juliette Bergmann	Mandalay Bay Arena, Paradise, U.S.
2004	Iris Kyle	Iris Kyle	Dayana Cadeau	Mandalay Bay Arena, Paradise, U.S.
2005	Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia	Heavyweight category not held.	Lightweight category not held.	Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2006	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2007	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2008	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2009	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2010	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2011	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2012	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2013	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.
2014	Iris Kyle			Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, U.S. The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Paradise, U.S.

Ranking	Ms. Olympia champion	Year(s)	Number of wins
Ranking	Ms. Olympia champion	Year(s)	Overall	Heavyweight	Lightweight
1st	Iris Kyle	2001 (heavyweight), 2004 (overall & heavyweight), 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014	10	2	0
2nd	Lenda Murray	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002 (overall & heavyweight), and 2003 (overall & heavyweight)	8	2	0
3rd	Corinna Everson	1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989	6
4th	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls	1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999	4	0	0
5th	Rachel McLish	1980 and 1982	2	0	0
6th	Juliette Bergmann	2001 (overall & lightweight), 2002 (lightweight), and 2003 (lightweight)	1	0	3
7th	Ritva Elomaa	1981	1	0	0
7th	Carla Dunlap	1983	1	0	0
7th	Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia	2005	1	0	0
8th	Valentina Chepiga	2000 (heavyweight)	0	1	0
8th	Andrulla Blanchette	2000 (lightweight)	0	0	1
8th	Dayana Cadeau	2004 (lightweight)	0	0	1

Ranking	Ms. Olympia champion	Years	Number of consecutive wins
Ranking	Ms. Olympia champion	Years	Overall	Heavyweight	Lightweight
1st	Iris Kyle	2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014	9	0	0
2nd	Lenda Murray	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002 (overall & heavyweight), and 2003 (overall & heavyweight)	8	2	0
3rd	Corinna Everson	1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989	6	0	0
4th	Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls	1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999	4	0	0
5th	Rachel McLish	1980 and 1982	2	0	0
6th	Juliette Bergmann	2001 (lightweight), 2002 (lightweight), and 2003 (lightweight)	0	0	3

References

↑ Who is Qualified for the 2015 Olympia?

External links

Ms. Olympia competitions

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Ms. Olympia winners

1980: McLish
1981: Elomaa
1982: McLish
1983: Dunlap
1984: Everson
1985: Everson
1986: Everson
1987: Everson
1988: Everson
1989: Everson
1990: Murray
1991: Murray
1992: Murray
1993: Murray
1994: Murray
1995: Murray
1996: Chizevsky-Nicholls
1997: Chizevsky-Nicholls
1998: Chizevsky-Nicholls
1999: Chizevsky-Nicholls
2000: (Overall: None) (HW:: Chepiga) (LW:: Blanchette)
2001: (Overall: Bergmann) (HW: Kyle) (LW: Bergmann)
2002: (Overall: Murray) (HW: Murray) (LW: Bergmann)
2003: (Overall: Murray) (HW: Murray) (LW: Bergmann)
2004: (Overall: Kyle) (HW: Kyle) (LW: Cadeau)
2005: Oriquen-Garcia
2006: Kyle
2007: Kyle
2008: Kyle
2009: Kyle
2010: Kyle
2011: Kyle
2012: Kyle
2013: Kyle
2014: Kyle

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.