Lesa Lewis (born March 9, 1967) is an American professional

female bodybuilder Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

, nicknamed "Amazon".

Early life

Lesa Lewis was born in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

She grew up in a family with three brothers and three sisters. She ran track, played basketball, danced, and swam in high school. She attended

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

for a year, running the sprints- , meters, and the relays. She left college to be a freelance modeling designer of clothing, hats, and shoes. After a few years, she went into construction at .Women's Physique World November / December 1996 issue
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Bodybuilding career

Amateur

In 1992, Lesa began weight training. That year, she was training to get fit and toned at a

Bally Total Fitness Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation was an American fitness club chain. At its 2007 peak, prior to the filing of the first of two Chapter 11 bankruptcies, Bally operated nearly 440 facilities located in 29 U.S. states, Mexico, Canada, South K ...

when a bodybuilder commented she had muscular legs and told her she should try bodybuilding. After that, she went into bodybuilding. In 1994, her coach became Tim Lutz. At the 1997 USA Championship, Lewis placed first in the heavyweight category and overall and won her IFBB pro card.

Professional

At the 1998 Ms. International, Lewis placed second at the competition. However, a week after the contest, when the results of the mandatory

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

tests were declared, she, along with

Gayle Moher Gayle Moher (born April 7, 1957) is a British-American professional bodybuilder. Biography As a teenager, she competed in several beauty pageants. She took up bodybuilding in 1990 after visiting the United States of America. Moher earned her pro ...

and

Denise Masino Denise Masino is an American professional female bodybuilder and model. Early life and bodybuilding Born in Brooklyn, New York of Puerto Rican descent, the 5'2" Masino won her pro card by winning the lightweight class at the 1995 NPC Nationals ...

, were found to have tested positive and were disqualified from the contest.

Contest history

* 1992 Missouri State Championships - 2nd * 1993 Missouri State Championships - 1st * 1994 Heart of America - 1st * 1995 Red River Classic - 1st * 1996 Lone Star Classic - 1st * 1996 NPC Junior Nationals - 1st (HW) * 1996 NPC Nationals - 4th (HW) * 1997 NPC USA Championship - 1st (HW and overall) * 1997 IFBB Jan Tana Classic - 5th * 1998 IFBB

Ms. International The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders (second only to the Ms. Olympia competition), from its inception in 1986 through 2013. It was first held in 1 ...

- 2nd (disqualified) * 1998 IFBB Jan Tana Classic - 1st * 1998 IFBB

Ms. Olympia The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...

- 4th * 1999 IFBB Ms. International - 2nd * 1999 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 5th * 2000 IFBB Ms. International - 5th (HW) * 2000 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (HW) * 2001 IFBB Ms. International - 3rd (HW) * 2001 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 5th (HW) * 2002 IFBB GNC Show of Strength - 5th (HW)

Personal life

Television appearance

Lewis appeared in the 2000 documentary film ''

Bodybuilders Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

''. (4 of 7)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Lesa 1967 births African-American female bodybuilders Living people Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women