Valentina Chepiga, more precisely Valentyna Chepiha ( uk, Валентина Чепіга; born April 27, 1962) is a professional female bodybuilder.

Background

Valentina graduated from the Kharkiv National University of Construction and Architecture with a degree in Gas Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning. Between 1979 and 1992 she worked first as a technician, and then was promoted to engineer.

Bodybuilding career

Amateur

Valentina began bodybuilding in 1988, and in 1992 she changed careers and became a personal trainer. Valentina won the European and World Amateur title in 1997 and won her IFBB pro card.

Professional

She then made her professional debut at the 1998

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 ...

contest, finishing in 12th place. Her greatest success as a professional has been winning the heavyweight class at the 2000

the first time that class was introduced to the Ms. Olympia. No overall winner was named for that show, so she was essentially co-Ms. Olympia with lightweight class winner

Andrulla Blanchette Andrulla Blanchette (born Androulla Veronica Blanchette; 29 July 1966) is an English professional female bodybuilder. Bodybuilding career Amateur career Blanchette decided to start lifting weights only to help her out in her judo, but realised ...

. In 2002, she took part in Ms. International, where she won the lightweight class. After a three-year break from competition, Chepiga returned to the stage at the 2007 Ms. Olympia, placing eleventh.

Legacy

Currently, she is the most successful Ukrainian bodybuilder in the world, by being the only Ukrainian to win the Ms. Olympia. From October 22, 2000 to October 26, 2001 she ranked 1st on the IFBB Women's Bodybuilding Professional Ranking List.

Contest history

*1993 European Championships - 3rd (MW) *1994 European Championships - 2nd (MW) *1994 World Amateur Championships - 7th (MW) *1995 World Amateur Championships - 7th (MW) *1997 European Championships - 1st (MW) *1997 World Amateur Championships - 1st (MW and Overall) *1998 IFBB

- 12th *1999 Jan Tana Classic - 3rd *1999 IFBB

- 12th *2000 Jan Tana Classic - 1st (MW) *2000 IFBB

- 1st (HW) *2001 IFBB

- 4th (HW) *2002 Ms. International - 1st (LW) *2002 IFBB

- 2nd (LW) *2002 GNC Show of Strength - 1st (LW) *2003 Ms. International - 5th (LW) *2004 IFBB

- 8th (LW) *2007 IFBB

- 11th

Personal life

She moved to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in 1993, and then to the United States in 1999, settling in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. Valentina now lives in Anchorage, Alaska.

References

External links

Profile at Bodybuilders.com
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Dayana Cadeau Dayana is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Dayana (pronunciation d̪ ɪ ɑ ɴ ɑ, Language Hebrew, the Judge) variant of the given name Diana * Dayana Cadeau (born 1966), Haitian-born Canadian American professi ...

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Cathy LeFrançois {{DEFAULTSORT:Chepiga, Valentina 1962 births Living people Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Sportspeople from Kharkiv Sportspeople from Kyiv Sportspeople from Seattle Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ukrainian female bodybuilders