Finishing second at a given sporting event can elicit a wide range of emotional responses from those who find themselves coming up short in their aspirations to reach the top of the awards stand. The reality of missing out on the top spot can include a broad spectrum of feelings ranging from a joyous outpouring of happiness to deep-seated anger and frustration. And, depending on the level of importance the competition carries with it, those feelings can be profoundly mind-numbing when the expectations of the athlete are not met.
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| Denise Masino | Betty Viana-Adkins |
In women's bodybuilding a second-place finish can be notably distressing considering the tremendous pressure the judging system places on each contestant with regard to a shopping list of considerations in what goes into the making of the eventual winner of a contest - with so much of which existing at the subjective level.
Depending on the sport, our society has coined phrases to compartmentalize those who finish second. Runner-up placers have long been called ‘bridesmaids'. Anything but a winner might be referred to as an ‘also-ran'. At a racetrack the touts might call it ‘close, but no cigar'. To a disappointed athlete in the runner-up position, the experience has been likened to ‘showering with your socks on', ‘kissing through a screen door', or ‘leaving a bad taste in your mouth'. At the very least, a runner-up who is not satisfied with her placement will agree that the moment is ‘bittersweet'.
I can recall a grizzled sports writer at the 1976 Olympic Games press center who reacted to a co-worker when he enthusiastically mentioned that a particular American athlete had just won a silver medal in his event. "Who ever remembers a silver medalist," he bristled. "Hell, most people can't even remember the gold medalists a year later unless they win five of them".
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| Mary Roberts |
On the other hand, not everyone dips to a suicidal level upon the realization that they were beaten by a worthy opponent. I have witnessed over the many years of covering contests the considerable exultation and excitement in competitors who realize they have made a noble effort in finishing second and thus, had become an elite member of the elite group. Failure simply didn't fit their thought process. I wish I had a dime for every runner-up who, when asked about their placing at a national-level or pro contest, said their goal was simply to ‘make the top ten'.
Perspective, too, can give pause for thought. In my coaching days in women's track & field, I had a wide-eyed girl competing in a particularly large field of milers - 15 or 18 at least. She finished second. I wondered how she would handle it, realizing she was a highly competitive athlete for her young age. My answer came by way of a wide grin from ear to ear when she rushed up and stated matter-of-factly, "......only one girl beat me today coach". Only one indeed - to her, the glass was half full. Only one other runner had run faster than she did that day. To that 14-year-old girl the race was a motivating experience - a success.
But the aging process can and does alter those innocent thoughts from childhood, and at a bodybuilding contest that carries the prestige of the Ms. Olympia, the gloves are most decidedly off.
CHASING MS. O
The Ms. Olympia now has a history of 30 years dating back to Rachel McLish's inaugural victory in 1980. And for every one of those prestigious contests over the years there has been a runner-up who took on the role of the bridesmaid to whoever won the coveted Ms.O title in a given year.
Over those 30 years, the runner-ups include a widely varied group of outstanding bodybuilders who range from those who had won the Ms. Olympia title, to competitors who had suffered the runner-up placement on more than one occasion, to those who reached the second place spot once, never coming that close to the coveted title again.
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| Sandy Riddell | Bev Francis |
From the very beginning, the runner-up placing at the Ms. Olympia brought controversy. Although Rachel McLish made an outstanding winner for this inaugural event, there were many who saw runner-up Auby Paulick as a more impressive physique for such a lofty title. Paulick was thickly muscled with abdominals that were good even by today's standards. That combined with her flamboyant personality and feisty stage persona made her a fan favorite. But after her second place finish she drifted away from the newly developing sport, never to return to the stage.
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| Auby Paulick | Kim Chizevsky |
In 1981 Rachel McLish was the obvious early favorite, but Finland's Kike Elomaa put an end to McLish's desire to begin a string of consecutive victories. And just as quickly Rachel McLish became a Ms. O runner-up.
Coming back strong in 1982 McLish again claimed the Ms. O title, but not before a strong challenge from Carla Dunlap. Dunlap's runner-up finish to McLish led to her winning the Ms. O in 1983 with Candy Csenscits assuming the bridesmaid role. After her second-place finish to Dunlap, Csenscits often referred to herself as the vice-Ms.Olympia. Csenscits remained heavily involved in the women's movement as an administrator and judge in bodybuilding, but six years after her runner-up Ms. O finish she lost a long battle with breast cancer and passed away in 1989 at the age of 33.
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| Yolanda Hughes | Vickie Gates |
With the coming of 1984 women's bodybuilding underwent a dramatic transformation as Cory Everson began her six-year reign as Ms. Olympia. Rachel McLish was once again dropped to the runner-up placing and it would be her last contest in a pioneering bodybuilding career.
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| Ellen Van Maris | Clare Furr |
With Everson as a convincing winner in the 1984 Ms. O, for the next five years, five different challengers - all of whom were outstanding in their own right - would find themselves finishing second to Everson. In 1985 it was the ferociously competitive Mary Roberts - herself an IFBB Pro World champion. Louisiana's Clare Furr landed second in 1986.
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| Candy Csencsits | Brenda Raganot |
The impressive Dutch star Ellen Van Maris bowed to Everson in 1987, followed by the stunningly gifted German Anja Langer in 1988. For many, Langer was the strongest test for Everson as she equaled Everson on so many levels as a bodybuilder. The decade closed with the vivacious and feisty Sandy Riddell running second to Everson in her last Ms. Olympia appearance.
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| Rachel McLish | Carla Dunlap |
As the 90's began, so began another six-year reign as Ms. Olympia - this time by way of Lenda Murray. And with Murray's victories, the runner-ups included a stunning array of bodybuilders who all enjoyed huge fan followings during their careers. In 1990 and especially 1991, Bev Francis was Murray's nemesis finishing second to Murray both years. The 1991 contest was the most hotly contested with Murray edging Francis by a single point.
In 1992 Laura Creavalle made her presence felt in no uncertain terms before finishing second.
The 1993 Ms. Olympia contest saw the whirlwind arrival of Denise Rutkowski - fresh from winning the overall NPC USA and adding a victory at the Jan Tana Classic in her pro debut. Rutkowski's runner-up finish would, unfortunately, be her last visit to the Ms. Olympia stage leaving fans and followers of the sport wondering what might have been.
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| Denise Rutkowski | Laura Creavalle |
In 1994 Laura Creavalle once again came up short in what many felt was her best chance to upset Murray. Rabid fans of Creavalle's stage persona and physique called her the ‘uncrowned Ms. Olympia'.
The 1995 Ms. O would be Lenda Murray's sixth Ms. Olympia victory in a row, and in the wings was the monumental personage of Kim Chizevsky looming in the runner-up position.
A year later Chizevsky ended Murray's string at six, and began a run of four consecutive Ms. O victories of her own. In 1996 Murray got that bittersweet taste of being in the bridesmaid position as she finished second to Chizevsky in both '96 and again in '97. At that point Murray stepped away from the Ms. Olympia stage for what many thought would be the last time. Meanwhile, Kim Chizevsky was adding two more Ms. O titles in 1998 and '99 with Yolanda Hughes finishing second in '98 and Vickie Gates collecting second-place prize money in '99. Interestingly, Hughes and Gates would account for all five Ms. International titles from 1997 to 2001, and Gates is still the only competitor to win three successive Ms. Internationals titles. And speaking of threes in Gates' case, Gates would also finish second two more times in the HW class at the Ms. O in 2000 and '01 behind Valentina Chipega and Iris Kyle. Further, Iris Kyle found herself in the runner-up position while Lenda Murray made a scintillating comeback adding two more Ms. Olympia titles to set a record-breaking eight Ms. O crowns.
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| Anja Langer | Dayana Cadeau |
But in 2004 Kyle returned the favor topping Murray and thus ending Murray's remarkable career. Many fans know of Murray's eight Ms. Olympia victories, but not all realize she also finished second on three occasions. Her total of 11 Ms. Olympia contest entries - where she never finished lower than second - is a stunning statistic that will be very difficult , if not impossible, to challenge.
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| Heather Armbrust | Iris Kyle |
During the years where weight classes saw two women claim the Ms. O crown, lightweights also saw their share of runner-up placements. In 2000 it was Brenda Raganot finishing behind Andrulla Blanchette. Then in 2001 for three years Blanchette, Chipega ('02) and Dayana Cadeau ('03) all watched as Juliette Bergmann claimed three Ms. Olympia titles from their respective second-place finishes. In 2004 Denise Masino finished second to Dayana Cadeau in what would be the final weight class contested Ms. O.
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| Valentina Chipega | Andrulla Blanchette |
Returning to a single class in 2005 Iris Kyle finished second to Yaxeni Oriquen in a spirited battle for the title.
Kyle's placing in 2005 seemed to cause the fiercely competitive Californian to redouble her efforts, and in 2006 and '07 Dayana Cadeau played bridesmaid to a pair of convincing Kyle victories.
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| Lenda Murray |
Kyle continued her winning ways in 2008, but Betty Viana-Adkins, an impressive Venezuelan who had last entered the Ms. Olympia in 2005 and placed seventh, made a valiant effort to unseat Kyle, only to fall short by one place - the runner-up place.
Last year the dynamically constructed Heather Armbrust became the anointed one to assume the runner-up placing behind the locomotive-like Iris Kyle. Now in the prime of her competitive career, Kyle is a competitor who clearly seems to have a full head of steam as she has rolled up the number of her Ms. O titles to six, and is no doubt looking for more.
As one Ms. Olympia runner-up finisher flatly stated over a decade ago, "Finishing second is really the pits". And no doubt, that's a difficult point to argue. But one thing is as certain as the proverbial death and taxes, just as sure as there will be a 2010 Ms. Olympia, there will also be a runner-up.
How long will we remember her name?
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