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The scary thing is Andrea took an EIGHT year break from bodybuilding and only started winning Olympias when she was around 36 and older.
She is undeniably the GOAT. She is further ahead of her peers than Arnold, Ronnie or anyone else ever were
She is undeniably the GOAT. She is further ahead of her peers than Arnold, Ronnie or anyone else ever were
I lay out the details here, but it seems like she still has a very long way to go before she catches up to Iris Kyle or Lenda Murray. I'll be the first to say that I do prefer her physique over the other two (in their own prime) but my personal opinion of how she looks aesthetically isn't really enough to qualify her as the GOAT of female bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding is kind of a subjective sport, I mean more than Football, Tennis, Boxing etc etc where there are more measurable feats (goals etc)
But to me if I had to "objectively" name a GOAT it would be Iris Kyle, since she has the most wins
And also her physique in her prime still measures up to the ones current Ms Olympia contenders in terms of size and leanness as opposed to Lenda Murray or Cory Everson (no disrepect intended)
Andrea Shaw will overtake her though, maybe not in terms of the numbers of Olympia titles, since she needs 5 more which is a lot, but given how much she just keeps improving year after year, she may become the GOAT
But we also need to compare their respective competition (the other contestants) to establish that
With that being said, my personal GOAT, totally subjective, is Cornelia Brandt, not the most lean, not the best conditioning or legs, but her upper body (size, insertions, overall shape) is unmatched IMO
It’s all subjective but I think for me. Christine Envall or Kim Chizevsky-Nichols are good contenders. Both excellent bodybuilders, one a repeat Ms Olympia who was just breath taking in her last contest as a wbb (1999 MsO), the other had a long career and won accolades such as Australias most muscular woman who was unbeatable for size and shape but under appreciated by the judges. In terms of career length you have women like Michelle Ivers-Brent who is simply an amazing woman who is still competing and looks phenomenal for her age.
More than GOAT perhaps a hall of fame is more appropriate for bodybuilders, men and women? Given that as you point out there are arguably many things about fbbs that qualify them as greatest.
The GOAT of any field usually pushes boundaries and changes the landscape. Ironic because in women's bodybuilding, that isn't always encouraged.
Regardless, I think you could say Andrea is doing so, forcing her competition to get bigger and better because of what she brings to the table.
Easy, but would it be accurate? I'm asking what makes a champion "great"? Iris might be the greatest. That's very possible.
Surely what makes a person 'great' is winning? Or possibly overwhelming public opinion. Greatness has to be measured somehow so it can be compared. Or else you're in danger of multiple opinions with no clear answer. The question is what outcome you are looking for? Something measurable or something messy and muddy? 🤔
There cannot be a goat in bodybuilding. The sport is subjective, but what is worse is that women that won the most like Lenda Murray or Iris Kyle or Andrea Shaw are also responsible for the demise of the popularity of the sport. Normal people are discussed by their look.
Imagine if Michael Jordan won a couple of titles but 90% of viewers changed channel when they saw him play. The federation would have found a way to kick him out immediately. Just like the IFBB tried to do with FBB numerous times.
In that sense Arnold will always be the only GOAT because he made BB mainstream and brought money and viewers. Second best pales in comparison to Arnold.
By the same criteria Rachel McLish, maybe Cory Everson, some of the original fitness and then bikini competitors, like Monica Brant might have a claim in fame. The physiques of all these names are a joke by modern standards.
In recent times the original Ms Physique Dana Linn Bailey did pretty good for a very muscular woman for the mainstream viewer.
Lenda Murray and Shanique Grant, some of the greatest genes to ever step onstage made no contributions to bringing mass appeal to FBB.
There cannot be a goat in bodybuilding. The sport is subjective, but what is worse is that women that won the most like Lenda Murray or Iris Kyle or Andrea Shaw are also responsible for the demise of the popularity of the sport. Normal people are discussed by their look.
Imagine if Michael Jordan won a couple of titles but 90% of viewers changed channel when they saw him play. The federation would have found a way to kick him out immediately. Just like the IFBB tried to do with FBB numerous times.
In that sense Arnold will always be the only GOAT because he made BB mainstream and brought money and viewers. Second best pales in comparison to Arnold.
By the same criteria Rachel McLish, maybe Cory Everson, some of the original fitness and then bikini competitors, like Monica Brant might have a claim in fame. The physiques of all these names are a joke by modern standards.
In recent times the original Ms Physique Dana Linn Bailey did pretty good for a very muscular woman for the mainstream viewer.
Lenda Murray and Shanique Grant, some of the greatest genes to ever step onstage made no contributions to bringing mass appeal to FBB.
I don’t think it’s fair to put the blame on these women for how the sport isn’t popular. Just like Jordan, they’re doing it for the “love of them game”. Whether it was Shaw, Murray, everson, etc is female bodybuilding a sport the masses truly respected? Sure we FBB fans appreciate their beauty and hard work, but the sport isn’t accepted by the majority. You say they didn’t make any contributions to the sport? What would you have wanted to see? From 2014- 2019 Ms Olympia stopped; how’s Iris Kyle to blame for that? Thx to social media, we see more women into working out and building muscle. “Strong is the new sexy” has been a statement I’ve seen from the pros to the muscle girl next door. The average woman may not be able to look like your favorite IFBB pro but they have been inspired. Bodybuilding has saved some women’s lives. It’s early and my thoughts might be all over the place but to say these women are responsible for the demise of the sport unfair. I think even if we saw different winners throughout the years, FBBing would still be in the same position it is
"Greatest Of All Time"
Is it really possible to narrow it down? I'm keeping this in the off-topic section for now, but for site relevance I've been seeing a lot of evidence that users believe that Andrea Shaw is the GOAT of female bodybuilding.
Outside of that, many seem to believe that the Beatles are the GOAT band of rock and roll... Michael Jackson is the GOAT of pop music... Michael Jordan is the GOAT of the NBA.
Clearly their talent is undeniable. But, is it not also important to have been born in the right place and at the right time? Do you agree with these GOAT (yeah, I don't care for that word, either) choices? Who are some other GOATs that you'd like to recognize here (authors, directors, singers, athletes, actors, scientists, philosophers, etc)?