Baptists From The United States

"There is no doubt that, on a purely technical basis, Iris Kyle is the best female bodybuilder in the sport today. Her physique is virtually flawless, no body parts missing, especially impressive in the area of hamstrings and calves and with only rare exceptions in great shape contest after contest. I remember seeing Iris win the Orange Country Championships years ago and she was a skinny kid compared to the hard and sculpted female bodybuilders we see on stage these days. The fact that Iris has not been able to beat Lenda Murray at the Ms. Olympia is not because her physique is in any way lacking. It has to do with uninspired presentation, a free posing routine composed mostly of compulsory poses the judges have already seen, nothing in the routine that comes across as stylish or dramatic, a tendency to pose to members of the audience off to the side of the stage instead of to the judges (who are scoring the contest at the time) and a consistent lack of publicity that comes in large part of avoiding photo sessions or setting up conditions that make having photos taken impossible. It's a shame you can be that good at bodybuilding and that poor at developing a career. Fortunately, although the IFBB have had a history of overlooking Iris, she is now getting the recognition she has earned and there was no doubt who should win the heavyweight class at the Ms. International. Since Lenda was not in Columbus, Iris' sleek, sculpted and physique was clearly deserving of victory."

"Third may have been the most surprising, based on historical data, but Vickie Gates deservedly finished in that position, with Iris Kyle coming in just off her usually spot on diet."

"Furthermore, for the first time Iris Kyle was actually a little off. Not a lot, but she was clearly not as crisp as in the past."

"But Iris Kyle, last year’s heavyweight winner had improved over the past year. Comparing body parts, it was obvious that her legs were fuller than Lenda’s – especially the back of the leg. From certain angles Lenda’s legs seemed thin – and her cavles almost non-existent – while Iris had full glutes and hamstrings as good as anyone in the contest and excellent calves."

"Vicky Gates beat Iris Kyle in the heavweight class, although many felt strongly that Iris was not given her due. However, since Iris had been totally ignored at the Ms. Olympia a few months earlier, never even compared with the top three when she might have been in contention to win the class, it was at least apparent that the judges were paying her some attention."

"In the heavyweight class Iris Kyle earned top honors beating out Vickie Gates. The victory was more than deserved though, as Kyle has been looking impressive in many of her recent shows and probably should have won the Arnold title over Gates as well. The only injustice was how the judges awarded the overall and Ms. Olympia title to Bergmann, while it seemed to many that Kyle was clearly the superior bodybuilder."

"A lot of bodybuilding fans were expecting this to be Iris Kyle's year. After being ignored and overlook for several years - in part due to the infamous "guidelines" she had won the heavyweight Ms. Olympia last fall in Las Vegas and in the opinion of many (but, of course, not the the opinion of all) should have taken the overall. In addition, nobody could remember Iris coming into a contest in the past few years in anything but her best shape. So it seemed unlikely she would "beat herself" in the contest. Many were expecting yet another showdown between Iris and Vicky Gates. Certainly, if Vicky could bring up her legs a bit more and achieve the kind of hardness and definition Iris has become famous for, it might be quite a battle."

"In short, although Lenda was still the incredible Lenda Murray we have all admired in the past, in comparison to Iris it was kind of a toss-up."

"It is a truism in sports that, all things being equal, the bigger competitor tends to beat the smaller one. Looking at the size difference between Juliette Bergmann and Iris Kyle on stage during the posedown for the overall, it seemed this might well be the case. Juliette looked suprisingly competitive against her larger opponent, but Iris was much more muscular and, as mentioned above, had a waist nearly as small as her Dutch challenger."

"Anyway, this back-and-forth seesawing between Iris and Vickie continued through the contest until, when the final scores were announced, it turned out they had tied - with Iris winning by virtue of the IFBB tie-breaking rule (she had more first place votes). Actually, this was a near thing. Vickie Gates at her absolute best is indeed a worthy opponent for Iris Kyle. But Vickie wasn't at her absolute best and hasn't been for a couple of years. So what we nearly had is one more instance (last year's Ms. Olympia, the 2001 Ms. International) where Iris Kyle received unfair treatment from the judges."

"This is not to say that it is clear and definitive that Iris Kyle deserved the overall or that Juliette only won because her colleagues were the ones doing the judging."

"And Iris Kyle was as magnificent as we have come to expect - hard, cut, symmetrical, with a waist nearly as small as that of Juliette Bergmann."

"There was also the fact that, despite having totally ignored Iris Kyle last year, after her superb showing at the Ms. International the judges might be more inclined to place her as she truly deserved."

"How the judges treat the round system was also apparent in the difference in the scores received by Iris Kyle round by round. None of the judges gave her first place in round one but 9 out of 10 had her first in the second round."

"Taking the overall and the Ms. Olympia title seemed to be the proof that something wasn't quite right, as Iris Kyle, winner of the heavyweight class, seemed to be the favorite of everyone else but the judges, and was visibly upset when the title was announced."

"It looked closer to me than that. Iris actually got some 3rd place votes which I found shocking. Iris should have been no worse than a close second on anyone’s scoresheet."

"At this point, on a purely physical basis, it would be hard for anyone to beat Iris."

"In fact, I don't think I've talked to anyone who saw the show who didn't think Iris should have defeated Vickie, rather than the other way around."

"Iris Kyle and Oriquen also were standouts in the round, along with the ever-popular Lesa Lewis."

"On stage next to Iris, the excellence of Vickie's upper body - especially her arms - was obvious. But she had no legs compared to Iris, and the difference was sufficient that it seems obvious the judges were simply wrong - and perhaps motivated by political considerations."

"As a result of this contest, Iris Kyle says she is quitting. If she follows through on this, than the "guidelines" will have driven two excellent bodybuilders out of the sport - Kim and Iris - along with forcing women to compete looking small and in a kind of contest that is about big, hard and defined."

"Now, it is not certain that Iris should have beaten Valentina for the title. But it is clear that they were the two best competitors on the stage, and the outcome of the class should have been determined by a series of careful comparisonsof these two outstanding bodybuilders. The fact that it didn't - that Iris was overlooked and ignored - just shows this was not a real bodybuilding contest, that the "guidelines" are inappropriate and detrimental to the development of female bodybuilding, and that using these rules they might as well have put a sign on Iris that said, "Don't vote for her, she's too big and hard.""

"Iris Kyle Iris Kyle had impressive quad development."

"Iris Kyle looked fantastic, and seemed like a likely challenger to Gates' title. However, it seems like the boxing mantra held true as Kyle seemed to be the better of the two, but as they say in boxing, if you can't knock out the champ, then the champ will always take a close fight... Is that fair? It wouldn't seem so, especially since the overall winner also gets an additional $10,000 in prize money, which many would say that Kyle might have deserved."

"Best Quads: Iris Kyle"

"Iris Kyle really looked great, and got called out early and often. She definitely seemed to have the edge over Vickie Gates and recent pro Denise Hoshor."

"Finally Iris Kyle wrapped up the posing round with a performance that was very animated and showed off her muscle groups well. She definitely looked quite impressive."

"But it is also true that Iris Kyle looked fantastic by traditional and accepted - meaning REAL - bodybuilding standards and would have won the contest if it had been using actual bodybuilding rules."

"Using strict bodybuilding rules rather than the new IFBB guidelines, many thought Iris was the class of the show - but she was subsequently disqualified for failing the diuretic test."

"Amy Pazzo was probably the hardest, and Iris Kyle looked awesome."

"The real controversy - and perhaps the greatest injustice in the contest - involved Iris Kyle. Iris was big, hard and cut. She looked as if she would have given Chizevsky at her best a good run for the title. How did she look next to Valentina? As far as I can recall, we never saw her compared to Valenina. Only 7 women in the class, but no comparisons between Chepiga and Kyle? This was OBVIOUSLY the infamous "guidelines" at work. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Iris Kyle - can this amazing bodybuilder ever get a break? Iris Kyle may be the best pure bodybuilder, but she can not seem to take 1st at a major show. Hopefully her luck witll turn around, as she is the most deserving non-champion competing of late."

"Iris Kyle again proved to be one of the best competitors in the field, but took second, although many would agree that she deserved to win the title."

"Vickie Gates looked tremendous, and others in fine shape were Iris Kyle, Tazzie Colomb, and Laura Creavalle."

"Iris Kyle clearly and decisively beat Dayana Cadeau in the overall. The primary reason was body size - good big athlete beating a good smaller one and all that. Dayana weighed 123 lbs while Iris weighed in at 156 lbs. Seen on stage by herself or in photos, Dayana seems huge. Next to Iris she looked diminutive. The comparison between the two physiques also demonstrated the degree to which Dayana was some 5 pounds under her ideal contest weight (5 lbs being a lot when yo are dealing with such a relatively small body)."

"But in a highly competitive heavyweight class, there was so much depth that it was hard for them to stand out, especially with the incredible Iris Kyle taking the Arnold stage."

"And there is one more very important point to consider with regard to Iris Kyle's future. Her age is just 30. As Lenda Murray (an 8-time Ms. Olympia winner) leaves the sport this year - she is 42. Should Kyle decide to compete for another dozen years, the mind boggles at what she may accomplish."

"Perennial national level amateurs Iris Kyle and Heather Foster were the other two who seemed to be the top four of the heavyweight class."

"Boybuilding is a gift, it is an honor, and it is a privilege, although I'm hanging up my belt, I still want to be an ambassador for the sport and health and fitness."

"When the short posedown was finished, the judges announced the overall winner and next pro was Iris Kyle to the surprise of many, myself included."

"The icing on the cake is where I had to take second fiddle to Yaxeni Oriquen Garcia 2005 Ms Olympia that was a big stab in the back at the time we were instructed to reduce 20% in the muscularity round.. I normally compete at 160-162 that year being the embassador of the sport I must lead by example, which I did. I competed at 155lbs still same conditioning, shape etc.... Lord behold second fiddle to Yaxeni.. It looked as if Yaxeni had did the opposite of what the current ruling stated and she was being rewarded.. Come on we have two different body types! I have a small tapered waist line, fine detail flowing through out my body, nice harmony and she's displaying nothing but BIG. When someone refers to Yaxeni body they say she's a big girl.. She has great confidence about herself on stage, which is an EXCELLENT tool and having that can always gain you a few points, but to flat out win is RIDICULOUS and not possible... Anyhow, Yaxeni was more surprised then I when hearing her name announced victoriously. And believe it or not annoucing the winner that year was Lenda Murray, so she was probably soaking up every second of me losing as a mild way of payback. I was always told when going after the champ you have to completely knock the champ "OUT". Anything close should not cause you a win."

"No one can describe the disappointment, I had after losing to Lenda Murray in 2003 Ms Olympia when I clearly know and others knew I beat her by a land slide... Ok Lenda has great delts maybe the best in the business... A wonderful shape to her physique nice round bellies to her muscles "BUT" let the story be told she didn't have all the HARMONY the lines not to mention the definition I display that year.."

"I voted for you for governor."

"Iris Kyle, who turned pro at the 1998 NPC USAs made her debut at the show, although she didn't seem to hit her diet right on."

"God is my mentor. He has given me all that I have … the passion, perseverance and patience to endure the challenges set before me. I know as long as I keep the faith, He will look out for my best interests."

"It seemed like the announcer was taking forever. Then I heard Lenda’s name called out for second place and I felt my heart racing a hundred miles an hour. I knew I’d won. I had beaten a legend. It was such an unbelievable high."

"Anything can happen. I've been the underdog throughout my whole career, even in the amateurs. I still go in with my eyes open and know that any given day I can be the winner or a loser. I don't take the Olympia for granted. I'm very levelheaded and know that I'm not unbeatable, but there aren't many people who are close to my kind of physique."

"I remember the first time I saw a photograph of Lenda Murray in a magazine. I was in complete awe, I cut out that picture and placed it on my refrigerator and, from that point on, my goal was to develop a physique like hers."

"It's bullshit, what the hell do they want me to do? The sport is going down. It's not even worth competing, because you do all the work for a year and you don't get what you deserve."

"I sincerely believe that I was the rightful 2001 Overall Ms. Olympia. I’m not saying Juliette didn’t display a nice overall package; I’m just saying I believe my physique was better."