Female Bodybuilding

Now seems a particularly appropriate time to honor African-American female athletes, not only for their obvious accomplishments on the courts and fields of athletic competition, but also for their poise and fortitude. Thus the title of today's post comes from Jackie Joyner-Kersee, an African-American woman who grew up in poverty and went on to become the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

To do this tribute properly would require not a single post and a single day but an entire website and a lifetime. Because of this, I can provide here only an excerpt from the roster of African-American women who have contributed—and continue to contribute—so much to the world of sports:

The Dolly Vardens - professional baseball's first black women’s team (1867).

Ora Washington - known as the "Queen of Tennis," she is a tennis and basketball legend.

Alice Coachman - the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Toni Stone - the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues.

Althea Gibson - winner of 11 Grand Slam titles and the first black player to win at Wimbledon, also the first African American to earn her LPGA player's card.

Wilma Rudolph - the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympics.

Wendy Hilliard - the first African American to compete on a U.S. National Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, she is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Carla Dunlap - an important early pioneer of women's bodybuilding and a member of the IFBB Hall of Fame.

Georgeann Wells - the first woman to dunk in a collegiate basketball game.

Evelyn Ashford - the first woman to run the 100 meters in under 11 seconds at the Olympics.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee - the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

Florence Griffith-Joyner - the fastest woman ever.

Debi Thomas - the first black figure skater to win a World Championships singles title.

Gail Devers - track and field star and three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Cherie Greer - holder of several NCAA and international lacrosse titles.

Lenda Murray - an eight-time Ms. Olympia, she has won that title more times than any other woman.

Sheryl Swoopes - the first player signed by the WNBA and a three-time MVP.

Lisa Leslie - a three-time WNBA MVP and holder of four Olympic gold medals.

Dominique Dawes - the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics.

Venus and Serena Williams - what can you say that hasn't already been said?

Laila Ali - undefeated boxing champion.

Natasha Watley - the first African American to play Olympic softball for the USA.

If I've missed someone I shouldn't have, omitted an important fact, or garbled something, and surely I've done at least one of each, please right things with your welcome comments.

Where I live we occasionally get winter thunderstorms, soft falling snow with thunder and lightning as a backdrop. I imagine first seeing Tina Lockwood produces feelings similar to those felt during a winter thunderstorm, for both experiences are at once beautiful and awe-inspiring.

A teenaged Tina Lockwood stunned the bodybuilding world of the early 1990s with her massive frame and tremendous power. But after a few years, tired I guess of all the attention (or perhaps the nature of it), she retired from the sport and, as far as one can tell, vanished altogether. Still, during her short career Tina disabused all who saw her of the notion that women are forever the "weaker" sex.



Photo courtesy of Women's Physique World.