Claudia Wilbourn
Born circa 1951
Claudia Wilbourn was a women’s bodybuilding pioneer – indeed, she was one of the athletes who served to define the term “female bodybuilder” in a time where such a thing wasn’t readily accepted in the inner circles of bodybuilding, much less by the public at large. As a leader of the modern renaissance of female bodybuilding in the late ‘70’s, she had begun heavy training in 1971, several years before the revival began. She knows the sting of being excluded from gyms so as to not “disturb” men – and during early competitions, judges told her some of her lower-than-deserved placings were because she was not “pretty enough”.
It was an uphill battle for Wilbourn, but, according to IFBB historian, Steve Wennerstrom, she “brought the terms ‘abs’ and ‘pecs’ into the female physique vocabulary.” The 5’4” 120-pound Wilbourn told Women and Strength Periodical magazine in 1979, “I never imagined that playing around with weights would ever lead to anything more than good muscle tone. No woman called herself a lady bodybuilder 10 years ago, and certainly no acned, bespectacled teenager.”
At the inaugural Women’s World Bodybuilding Championships in June 1979, Wilbourn finished second to Lisa Lyon. Two months later, at the Robby Robinson Classic, she placed sixth. In spring 1980, she earned third place at the United States Championships in Atlantic City, and four days later, Wilbourn topped the field to become Ms. California. In autumn of that year, she lost by a point to Laura Combes at the American Women’s Championships. Her first and only foray into the Ms. Olympia resulted in 17th place in a field of 26. It would prove to be her final competition, capping a short but groundbreaking two-and-a-half-year career.
Outside of the bodybuilding, Wilbourn pursued higher education, attending college for seven years, and was a talented sculptor.
Hall of Fame Inductees for 2006 |
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