Carla Dunlap-Kaan (born October 22, 1954) is a professional

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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

champion.

Early life and education

Dunlap was born in 1954, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. She started competing in sports with

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

at age 10. She later competed in

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, both speed and synchronized. Dunlap attended the

Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art (NSFIA) was a city-run vocational and art school in Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 1882 as the Evening Drawing School, its name was changed in 1909 to the Fawcett School of Industrial Arts, and changed agai ...

on a full scholarship, earning a degree in Advertising Design. She won the gold medal in synchronized swimming in the 1977 Junior National Team Championships, and a bronze medal at the inaugural National Sports Festival in 1978.

Bodybuilding career

In 1979, Dunlap decided to enter the "Best in the World" bodybuilding contest at the suggestion of Steve Wennerstrom. She had never trained for bodybuilding, but still placed fifth among 45 entrants. She started training seriously for bodybuilding the following March, and was soon competing successfully in top level amateur contests. She won the NPC Nationals in 1981, and 1982. Her most successful year of competition was 1983 when she won three pro shows, including the Ms. Olympia contest (she had lost the Ms. Olympia to

Rachel McLish Raquel Livia Elizondo McLish (born 21 June 1955) is an American female bodybuilding champion, actress, and author.

by two points in 1982). In addition to her individual accomplishments, Dunlap won the World Professional Mixed Pairs title in 1984 and 1988 with Tony Pearson. Dunlap is the only female bodybuilder to have competed in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In January 1999, Dunlap was inducted into the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 * Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek *Lee Haney *Rachel Mc ...

. In June 2009, she was inducted in to the AOBS Hall Of Fame (Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen). Away from the contest stage, Dunlap appeared in the bodybuilding documentaries ''Women Of Iron'' (1984, with fellow competitor Deborah Diana) and '' Pumping Iron II: The Women'' (1985). She was selected by

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to represent women's bodybuilding in the women's ''

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'' competition in 1984, where she finished seventh in a field of eleven competitors. Dunlap was a regular on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ''BodyShaping'' series from 1990 to 1995. She has also appeared as a color commentator on bodybuilding and fitness telecasts for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, and

Contest history

*1979 IFBB Best In The World - 5th *1980 AAU Ms. America #1 - 1st *1980 Eastern Cup - 1st *1980 Ms. Atlantic Shore - 2nd *1980 Bodybuilding Expo I - 1st *1980 NPC USA Championship - 9th *1980 NPC Nationals - 3rd *1981 World Games I - 4th (MW) *1981 NPC USA Championship - 2nd (HW) *1981 NPC Nationals - 1st (HW and overall) *1981 Pro World Championship - 4th *1981 Night of Champions - 1st *1982 Super Bowl of Bodybuilding I - 1st *1982 AFWB American Championships - 1st (HW and overall) *1982 Swedish Grand Prix - 1st *1982 NPC USA Championship - 2nd (HW) *1982 NPC Nationals - 1st (HW and overall) *1982 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd *1982 Pro World Championship - 1st *1983 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1983 IFBB Caesars World Cup (Grand Prix Las Vegas) - 1st *1984 Pro World Championship - 2nd *1984 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 4th *1985 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 4th *1986 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 9th *1987 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 12th *1988 Pro World Championship - 10th *1988 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 9th (originally 10th) *1993

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

- 13th

References

External links

Official web site
, colspan = 3 align = center , Ms. Olympia , - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:

Rachel McLish Raquel Livia Elizondo McLish (born 21 June 1955) is an American female bodybuilding champion, actress, and author.

, width = 40% align = center , First (1983) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by:

Cory Everson Corinna "Cory" Everson (née Kneuer; born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989. Education Corinna Kneuer was born in Racine, Wiscon ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlap-Kaan, Carla 1954 births Living people American professional bodybuilders African-American bodybuilders American female bodybuilders 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen