Sha-ri Pendleton (born December 5, 1963) is an American

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

er, and

bodybuilder 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 focuse ...

of the mid-to-late 1980s. Under the stage name Blaze, she competed as a gladiator on the American TV show '' American Gladiators'' from 1989-92.

Biography

At the age of 12, Pendleton joined the West Vernon Jets track and field team in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. She initially competed in the 220 and 440 events, later adding the 200 and 400 meter events. In high school, she added hurdles, winning the city championships two years in a row. At the age of 16, she began weight lifting. After graduating high school, Pendleton enrolled in the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

on an athletic scholarship. Following her graduation from college, she returned to California, where she was coached by

Bob Kersee Bob Kersee (born in the Canal Zone, Panama) is an American track coach. He was the coach and husband of Olympic gold medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Career He is a graduate of San Pedro High School, Los Angeles Harbor College where he was a ...

and trained with the World Class Track Club of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. During this time, she began entering and competing in bodybuilding competitions, placing second at the Nebraska Championships in 1984 and fourth at the 1989 Los Angeles Championships. However, she retired from competition to focus on training and competing at the Olympic Games. Pendleton wanted to compete at the 1988 Olympics, but withdrew after suffered a pulled hamstring. For the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, she sought to make the javelin team. In 1989, Pendleton joined cast of ''American Gladiators'' in 1989 as the gladiator Blaze and competed for three years until 1992.

Contest history

*1984 Nebraska Championships 2nd *1986 The Pride of LA 1st *1988 Los Angeles Championships 4th *1988 ABBC Natural International Championships 1st (Tall), and Overall Winner *1989 Los Angeles Championships 4th *1989 NPC Los Angeles Championships 5th (HW)

Filmography

*1989-1992: '' American Gladiators'' (TV series) - Blaze *1993: '' Renegade'' (TV) - as Cannon (credited as Sha-Ri Mitchell) *1995: '' The Alien Within'' - as Fife *1999: ''Hard Time: The Premonition'' (TV) - as Vinnie *2000: ''

Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

'' - as a Female Boxer *2023: '' Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators''

References

* Dobbins, Bill. '' "Muscling-in" on the '92 Olympics ''. California: ''

Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and acq ...

'', 1990. ISSN 0744-5105. (Woodland Hills, I, Brute Enterprises, 1989.) Magazine section: Women, pages 124-127, 212, 214, and 215 cover Sha-ri Pendleton's article.

External links

*
American Gladiators Blaze Profile (GladiatorsTV.com)Muscle Memory Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendleton, Sha-Ri 1963 births Living people African-American female bodybuilders American female sprinters Icelandic female bodybuilders 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women