One of the major Olympia categories that seems to have garnered attention over the years is the Ms. Olympia. The Ms. Olympia came as an afterthought after Mr Olympia had already started making waves in the 60s.
The maiden event of the Ms. Olympia took place in 1980 in Philadelphia, US and was won by the great Rachel McLish. The event would go on to get the same reception as the Mr Olympia and is now widely anticipated. This year’s event promises some blood-thumping performances from stellar female athletes who have proven over the years to be worth their salt.
Below are some of the qualified athletes for this year’s Ms Olympia which would be holding by mid-December:
- Andrea Shaw (USA)
- Angela Yeo (USA)
- Helle Trevino (USA)
- Sherry Priami (USA)
- Natalia Kovaleva (USA)
- Julia Whitesel (USA)
- Alcione Barreto (Brazil)
- MayLa Ash (USA)
Past Winners
To further appreciate the journey so far, it is important we do some reminiscing into the past winners of this event from 1980 when it first made its debut up until last year.
As we have already noted, Rachel McLish was the first person to clinch the title in 1980. The next year, the delectable Ritva Elomaa would ascend as the Ms Olympia champion. However, as though it is McLish’s birthright, she would come on to retain the title in 1982.
By 1983, the title would go to a different person, Carla Dunlap. Dunlap didn’t have the staying power to hold the title for long and as such would have it seized by Corinna Everson in 1984. For the first time a Ms Olympia winner would hold onto the title for over five years. Everson achieved this feat until 1990 when Lenda Murray came on board as the reigning champion for six years.
By 1996, Murray would be taken over by Kim Chizevsky-Nicholis who would hold onto the title until 1999. By 2000, another new champion in the person of Andrulla Blanchette would come on board. Her reign would be short-lived as Valentina Chepiga came to snatch up the title that same year. By 2001, Juliette Bergmann clinched the title and in the next year, Lenda Murray would come back into the limelight to hold the title for another two years.
By 2004, Iris Kyle ascended as the Ms. Olympia, however the next year, she would hand it over to Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia. Iris Kyle having lost the title for one year, would come back in 2006 to be crowned the Ms. Olympia and she would hit a record as the longest-reigning champion, which saw her ending her reign in 2014. The event had a six-year hiatus and eventually came back in 2020, where Andrea Shaw defeated other tough contestants to be crowned the winner. In 2021, she would go on to retain her spot as the champion, leaving us to wonder if she will be able to pull it off this year too.