Iris Kyle

"The heavyweight class was all about Yaxeni Enrique vs. Iris Kyle. Yaxeni is bigger but Iris has almost no faults – and her glutes/hamstrings/calves are probably the best in the sport. These two were obviously the ones competing for the class title."

"Yaxeni Oriquen beat Iris Kyle for the heavyweight title. Certainly, she looked like a champion in the finals. But Yaxeni had not looked as good in prejudging. Her color was off, for one thing. Iris, on the other hand, was just about perfect. The question is not whether Yaxeni should have won. Rather, it is how can Iris look so good at the Ms. Olympia and the Show of Strength events and (apparently) not get a single first place vote in any round? How is it all the judges in both shows feel she shouldn’t win even a round, much less the contest?"

"As with the Olympia, even if you think Iris should have placed second the contest should have been closer. It is apparent she is the victim of political judging – at least to some degree. It is true she asks for it in many ways – in the sense of avoiding publicity and being so withdrawn at contests that the judges (not necessarily the other bodybuilders) feel they are being disrespected. But it is clear that, no matter how good Lenda Murray or Yaxeni Oriquen are (and they are very good indeed), the IFBB judges simply don’t WANT Iris to win anything if they can avoid it."

"The heavyweight class was impressive, and when the lineup emerged on stage, it was evident that it would be a shootout between Murray and Iris Kyle."

"Oriquen improved on her Olympia shape, but Kyle was also razor sharp, as she was in Vegas, but the results for her were the same. While Oriquen is a worthy champion, Kyle seems to continually get ripped off by the judges. She has probably not received three titles by no fault of her own, and it has to be frustrating. Many purists would agree that Kyle is one of the best bodybuilder's bodybuilder."

"Interestingly, a fan asked bodybuilder Iris Kyle to comment on how women should go about getting sponsorship in bodybuilding. But she was asking the totally wrong competitor, since one major key to promoting careers and getting sponsors interested is good publicity and exposure in the magazine – and as will be made clearer in the report below Iris is among the worst when it comes to promotion and publicity of all the top female bodybuilders."

"Watching Iris Kyle posing beside her, it was evident that Iris has no significant physique weaknesses, and her legs – particularly the calves – were much better than were Lenda’s. Of course, what Iris doesn’t have is Lenda’s overall appeal and charisma, and since she all but refuses to do photos for magazine publicity (asking some photographers, but not getting, for as much as $1500 for a basic editorial shoot). Iris has a reputation for keeping much to herself and has certainly not become a favorite of the judges, the media or the audience. Of course, what is not her fault is that Iris suffered somewhat from the continued lack of understanding on the part of the judges as to what round one is supposed to be about. She got no first place votes in the first round and several judges placed her 3rd. She did get better scores in round two – compulsory poses – with some first place votes and only one 3rd (no doubt scored by a judge in need of Lasik surgery)."

"Given Iris’ overall lack of popularity and poor promotion, she probably could have done nothing to beat an in-shape if somewhat too lean Lenda at the 2003 Ms. Olympia."

"Iris, on the other hand, used her time on stage to do mostly variations of the compulsory poses, which everyone had already seen. After a short while posing center stage, she walked all the way over to stage left and began posing for the audience on that side of the theater. Then she walked all the way back across the stage to pose for the audience stage right. Unfortunately, there are no judges at the sides of theater and the judges are scoring the contest. Ignoring the judges this way, her performance seemed calculated to demonstrate a lack of respect for them, a deliberate snub - and that is certainly no way to try to earn higher scores in a bodybuilding contest. Iris could have been scored worse in round three, but ended up with seconds and a third. This suggests to me that the judges were more forbearing than they might have been and didn’t take the implications of Iris’ performance personally. Maybe they just don’t expect that much of her so are hard to disappoint."

"Oriquen was sharp, but with athletes like Lenda Murray and Iris Kyle in very sharp condition, Oriquen would have to be pleased with her third place finish."

"Murray had fielded a question during the press conference about how she felt about winning last year, although Iris Kyle may have had better body parts on an individual basis, and her response focused on the total package, which IFBB Chairman Wayne Demillia seconded. That must have been the case again this year, as Kyle pushed Murray in each individual bodypart, but on the whole, Murray's package was once again crowned the best in women's bodybuilding, and that made it eight for her."

"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."

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

"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."

"Over the past few years the heavyweight division has been a battle between Lenda Murray, super-symmetrical, a great poser and 8-time Ms. Olympia winner and Iris Kyle, lacking in such extreme aesthetics and presentation skills, but possessing a complete physique – and especially outstanding legs and calves. Iris has been grossly overlooked in the past. One year she wasn't even compared with the top three in her class. But in 2003 she looked like she had the edge in the physique department. Unfortunately for Iris, although Lenda was somewhat lacking in leg development, her conditioning was superb and her posing routine was one of the best EVER in women's bodybuilding. Iris made her own chances worse by a posing routine that consisted mainly of a few compulsory poses and was directed too often to audience members at the side of the theater rather than the judges. But 2004 was to be Iris' year. She was in her usual excellent shape (she's only missed once in her pro career as far as I recall) and while her posing routine was not particularly dynamic it at least looked as if she were trying."

"The scores later revealed that Iris had won three out of the four rounds, and only been behind by a single point in the round in which Lenda came out on top. Iris Kyle has been a superior bodybuilder for a long time and was bound to win this title eventually, as long as the judging was accurate and honest. The question remains as to what she is going to do now. Iris has avoided publicity in the past, demanding photographers pay her for editorial shoots where nobody else (including Lenda) was getting a fee for doing pictures and not been very outgoing to other competitors, bodybuilding officials or the press. Let's hope this victory convinces Iris to come out of her shell to some degree and to work at promoting herself and women's bodybuilding."

"As usual, the heavyweight beat the lightweight for the overall title. As soon as Iris and Dayana hit the stage the judges began marking and turning in their scoresheets. It wasn't just size: standing next to Iris you could see some of Dayana's proportional problems as well – not major enough to cause her to lose her class but small things made more obvious when standing next to the complete and bigger physique of Iris Kyle - particularly the difference in legs."

"There is also the fact that many in the IFBB and at AMI/Weider , which promotes the Olympia weekend, are unhappy with Iris Kyle having won the Ms. Olympia title in 2004. Iris Kyle and Lenda Murray during prejudging of the 2004 Ms. Olympia. Many feel that Iris' victory helped trigger the "demotion" of IFBB pro female bodybuilding. Even though there has been no real attempt to market any female bodybuilders to the general public (or even to feature them in Muscle & Fitness or Flex Magazines) the feeling seems to be that Iris is not somebody who can be used to promote the sport to a mass audience."

"In the beginning, the focus of the competition was on Iris Kyle for obvious reasons. Iris won the Ms. Olympia title the past two years and was the reigning champions. But the fact is you keep hearing from the IFBB and AMI/Weider alike that they don’t believe she is not the kind of champion that promotes the growth and popularity of female bodybuilding. Never mind that the Weider magazines themselves seem to be doing nothing to promote that growth themselves. But it is certainly a fact that Iris, like 4-time Ms. Olympia Kim Chizevsky, does not have the kind of “cover model” looks that made somebody like Cory Everson so popular with the magazines and the industry."

"My first impression was that all of the Ms. Olympia competitors were in excellent shape, that Iris might have been slightly off from last year, that Yaxeni looked the best I’d ever seen her, and that Dayana Cadeau had the most sensuous and sensual lines in female bodybuilding but perhaps could have come in just a pound or two lighter. Iris was hard and definined, in really excellent shape(I’ve only seen her miss it once over the years) but I thought she looked a little too ripped but depleted or dehydrated compared to how she looked in recent Ms. Olympias. Unfortunately, when competition is close this kind of "drained" look can work against you. This is just a thought, but sometimes bodybuilders continue to diet too long and try to lose too much water before a show and this might have been Iris’ situation."

"Iris Kyle has always been known as a less than adequate poser. In this year’s contest she was not particularly good but at least adequate. She still hit mostly compulsory poses, her routine lacked creativity and it was too short, but she did stay in front of the judges most of the time instead of disappearing off to the sides of the stage. Iris needs to work on developing a more interesting and creative routine, something that focuses on the aesthetic quality of her physique."

"Prior to the contest there had been a lot of speculation about how the judging would be conducted, centering on the idea that the IFBB would rather Iris Kyle not win another Ms. Olympia title."

"Iris Kyle didn’t win this one and it isn’t because she doesn’t have an outstanding physique. Iris needs to learn something from the career of Kim Chizevsky."

"Still, what Iris needs to start working harder on what they call “overall appearance.”"

"The battle had to be between Iris Kyle and someone else for sure."

"Tonia Williams, aka Ms. Elegance doing her first Olympia might have been overlooked by the judges who were paying attention to the bigger females such as Iris and Yaxeni."

"Iris was smaller and hard but not as dense and she looked different from Yaxeni so it is complicated to tell the message the judges were after."

"Over the past year, Iris Kyle has been quite vocal when she was dissed last year taking 2nd place and would absolutely, positively, wrestle the title from Lenda Murray this year."

"Let me first give props to Iris Kyle in her upset of 8 time Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray. It's not easy beating a legend, but you did it. Looks like Iris might just start her own streak of Ms. O titles."

"Also in the mix was Dayana Cadeau, diminutive compared to Yaxeni and Iris (although her physique is so full and shapely that physique magazines frequently reject her photos because she looks "too big)."

"Iris Kyle, on the other hand, was better than Las Vegas and not only physically hard, defined and chiseled but obviously making an effort to improve her overall appearance as well. Iris has always presented herself looking more plain and severe than necessary and this has given her problems with the judges and made her less popular with the fans. But the fact that she is close friends with Dayana Cadeau has taught her a few things about hair, make-up and general appearance. In fact, quite a few people mentioned during the weekend that if you caught a quick glimpse of Iris out of the corner of your eye you might think you were looking at Dayana."

"Iris has learned to look more attractive and glamorous."

"She's never placed out of the top 5 in any of her pro shows and I don't look for her to here. She always shows up in shape and will give Yaxeni a run for her money again. If Yaxeni is off, Iris will prevail."

"With Yaxeni Oriquen the reigning Ms. Olympia competing at the Ms. International and with a previous Ms. Olympia, Iris Kyle both competing, you knew it was going to be a shootout and this time around, the often overlooked Iris Kyle was crowned the 2006 Ms. International in Columbus, OH."

"Iris Kyle's muscles easily won her the title. When I got all of the news, I went for my pillow."

"For Female Bodybuilding Iris Kyle did bring a smaller frame but still well conditioned body."

"As the reigning champion, the Venezuelan will be hoping to defend her title this year against some very strong competition, including Iris, who will be wanting some redemption."

"She is likely to win this year, but will be pursued closely by the second best female bodybuilder in the world: Iris Kyle. A competitive bodybuilder for over 12 years, Iris Kyle has the experience necessary to take out a title as prestigious as the Olympia, if she can put it all together. Indeed, her record as an Olympia competitor is an impressive one: a heavyweight class win in 2001, second to Lenda Murray in 2002 and 2003, and winner in 2004. Smaller in size compared to Yaxeni, Iris will be relying on her great aesthetics and ripped conditioning if she hopes to win."

"I believe Iris Kyle will be very prepared. She is very competitive and would like to capture a 2nd Olympia crown for herself."

"As expected, top three favourites Iris Kyle and Dayana Cadeau dominated the field to land first and second respectively. Both Iris and Dayana appeared to be at their career bests, with amazing amounts of definition and round, full muscle to be seen everywhere."

"2004 overall Ms. Olympia Iris Kyle is now truly back in the winner's circle after her great showing on the weekend. Bringing to the stage her best package ever, Iris presented the perfect combination of mass, cuts and shape to secure yet another win to position herself as the best women's bodybuilder in the world. Not an inch on her body was underdeveloped, and her legs (especially the hamstring/glute tie ins) were truly spectacular. Her magnificently peaked biceps would also have to be the best in the business. In the end, her physique was clearly ahead of the competition and she deserved her win."

"However, history will show that eventual winner, Iris Kyle, is now the new benchmark to which all professional-female-bodybuilders can aspire."

"Perhaps an argument could be made for the third count, but the judges were awarding on physical development and gave Iris the nod."

"Iris beat me only by two points so it could be either way."

"The girls seemed cheerful and joked a lot, for example about each other’s hairstyles… the female bodybuilders took part in the conversations as well and the audience got a little piece of what they would see on the stage when Iris Kyle dropped her pants to show off the most amazing glutes in the women’s bodybuilding – ever? Wow!"

"After all the competitors were on stage and had done their mandatories one thing was clear: Iris Kyle would win no matter what. Iris Kyle came back better than last year, better conditioned and with a yet smaller waist. Her conditioning was so sharp it made others like Yaxeni Oriquen look smooth and even some of the men on stage that night would look watery compared to her."

"Iris Kyle is the obvious one to watch and one to beat in this year's showcase. She managed to walk away with both titles last year of Ms. International and Ms. Olympia so she is definitely queen of the throne. She is a veteran competitor making her defeat, very difficult."

"Bodybuilding took the stage with the obvious one to beat being Iris Kyle. I swear, I think every other competitor on stage wished they were blessed with her genetically gifted X frame."