Roger Lockridge is a writer for Barbend.com . The website reports on weightlifting, CrossFit, Powerlifting, bodybuilding, and various strength sports. The Ms. Olympia has its champions. Fans debate which is the best. The sport is subjective, but there are ways of measuring accomplishments. The top Ms. Olympia champions are Iris Kyle, Lenda Murray, and Andrea Shaw. Lockridge does not add Iris Kyle to the list of the best women’s bodybuilders. The only time she is mentioned was as an opponent to Lenda Murray. Comparisons between two athletes is common. Saying one is the best based on opinion is not fact. This shows some bias. Some seem to have a grudge against Iris Kyle. Others ignore her accomplishments. A more objective assessment needs to be presented. Iris Kyle should be called the greatest women’s bodybuilding athlete. This does not mean Andrea Shaw and Lenda Murray are not great. Using certain criteria, a fan can see who is the best.
The number of Ms. Olympia wins counts. Iris Kyle won 10 Ms. Olympia contests. Lenda won 8 and Andrea Shaw has won 4. Andrea’s career is still competing, but has stated she wants to win 11 Ms, Olympia contests. Iris Kyle won multiple Ms. International contests and Lenda Murray never competed in them. Andrea Shaw competes in the Rising Phoenix World Championships. Andrea lost to Angela Yeo in 2024. Andrea may have to fight harder to retain the Ms. Olympia crown.
Battle of The Ms. Olympia Champions
Iris Kyle won 7 Ms. International contests. Combined with the Ms. Olympia she won 17 professional contests. Iris Kyle in terms of contests won beats both Lenda and Andrea. Andrea Shaw has 9 professional contest wins beating Lenda. If other professional contests are excluded from their competition record, the results are the same. The Olympia is the most prestigious contest. Iris would be the best based on the total Ms. Olympia wins.
The Ms. Olympia champions are known for their strength. Weightlifting statistics are are good measure of physical capability. Roger Lockridge discusses Lenda and Andrea’s training regimens, but does not mention their best lifts. Lenda Murray could bench press 185 lbs and squat 315 lbs. Andrea Shaw can bench press 250 lbs. Iris Kyle could bench press 375 lbs. The exact number for squats from Iris and Andrea are unknown. Using bench press only, one can see who is the strongest. Iris comes on top. Andrea is stronger than Lenda. Lenda might be the weakest of the group, but examine the numbers. Adding both the bench press and squat totals Lenda body could lift a total of 500 lbs. That is the equivalent weight of a miniature grand piano. Rodger Lockridge noted that Lenda Murray trained with less volume. The conjecture is that if it was more Lenda’s strength would have been greater. Andrea Shaw did the opposite with higher volume. Iris would still be stronger than the both of them. Lenda, Andrea, and Iris have differing body measurements. Comparing contest weight Andrea Shaw is the biggest at a mighty 180 lbs. Iris Kyle competed at 170 lbs. Lenda Murray’s contest weight was 153 lbs. Andrea has 18 in biceps and 27 inches thighs. Iris Kyle had 17 inches biceps and 29 inches thighs. Andrea has the bigger biceps and Iris has the bigger thighs. Lenda has the smallest measurements with 16 inches biceps. Lenda’s chest was 39 in compared to Iris’ 36 inches.
Knowing these measurements we can make guesses about how each would match in physical contest. The weightlifting statistics could also provide possible outcomes. Andrea could probably beat both Lenda and Iris at tug of war. Andrea has 27 lbs more on Lenda and 10 lbs on Iris. Andrea would probably struggle to beat Iris considering her bench press is higher. Tug of war requires both the lower body and upper body. Lenda could not beat either Iris or Andrea in tug of war. When it comes to arm wrestling Iris might be able to beat Lenda and Andrea. Seeing as it is reliant on the upper body, her high bench press would favor that. Lenda would either have to manipulate skill to win arm wrestling against Iris Kyle or Andrea Shaw. All three of them are not experienced arm wrestlers, but it comes down to brute strength. Wrestling Andrea would win based on weight alone. Neither of these athletes have a wrestling background. So it would come down to size and strength.
Simulating a possible Ms. Olympia contest outcome can be done. It was close to happening for Iris Kyle and Andrea Shaw. Iris was going to compete in the 2020 Ms. Olympia, but got ill. If not for that there would have been a Andrea Shaw and Iris Kyle match up. The aspect about Andrea Shaw is that she combines both physiques of Lenda and Iris. When it comes to symmetry and definition all of them meet that criteria. Iris had better conditioning and definition in 2004. This is what resulted in her beating Lenda Murray. Now imagine if Andrea were on stage in 2002 to 2004.
Andrea is a fusion of two athletes. Her physique added to what Lenda Murray and Iris Kyle developed. This image is mostly credited to Bev Francis. Although she did not win Ms. Olympia her physique became the standard. Andrea Shaw could beat Iris and Lenda. Iris would likely get second place with Lenda at third. Being a judge would be difficult in this case. All three are just to good, but a tie is not allowed. Rodger Lockridge believes it would not be possible to judge. Andrea has an edge in terms of size. However, she also has the combination of conditioning, symmetry, and definition. Neither body part overpowers another. The physiques were different in the 1980s and 1990s. Around the 2000s there was another change. Lenda and Iris perfected the modern women’s open class bodybuilding physique. Making a selection of athletes should be easier. If all three Ms .Olympia champions were on stage, Andrea would be triumphant. The reason is due to Andrea Shaw adding two versions of physique that Iris Kyle and Lenda Murray developed.
Competitive longevity is important. To reach a record an athlete has to compete a number of years. Iris Kyle competed from 1994 to 2014. Lenda competed from 1985 to 2004. Iris record is 20 compared to Lenda’s 19 years. Andrea Shaw has competed 8 years and took a six year hiatus in 2008 and returned to competition in 2016. Iris beats both Lenda and Andrea in terms of competitive longevity. Maybe if Lenda did not lose to Iris in 2004, she probably would have continued to compete for a few more years. Lenda’s winning streak was broken by Kim Chizevsky . Iris Kyle had this happen in 2005 with Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia. The question is could this happen to Andrea ? Angela Yeo could be a serious threat. The 2024 Olympia will certainly be exciting. Andrea still has potential to break records. Iris Kyle and Lenda Murray are the best bodybuilders to grace the Ms .Olympia stage. Andrea Shaw is continuing that tradition in the 2020s.