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| Hot Bikini Shows NOW Converted in Professional Woman Bodybuilding |
Physique contests for women date back to at least the 60s with contests like the Miss Physique and Miss Americana. However, these early ''bodybuilding'' contests were really not much more than hot 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 not a bikini hot show - that is, the first contest where the entrants were judged solely on muscularity {Todd, 1999}.
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| U.S. Women's National Physique Championship |
More contests started to appear in the year 1979. Some of these were as following:
- The second U.S. Women's National Physique Championship, won by Kay Baxter, with Marilyn Schriner second and Cammie Lusko third. All were US Nationals.
- The first IFBB Womens' World Body Building Championship, held on 16th June 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 of this contest, followed by April Nicotra, Bentley, Brown, and Carla Dunlap. [Levin, 1980].
- The Robby Robinson Classic held at the Embassy Auditorium in Los Angeles on 25th August. Bentley finished first, also winning best legs and best poser, followed by Brown, Lusko, and Georgia Miller. (Roark, 2005)
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| A lady is Excercising in a Club |
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, crabs, and lat spread. The contests were generally held by promoters acting independently, the sport still lacked a governing body. That would change in 1980.
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