Body Building – 1987 – US Womens Championships – Featuring Mary Roberts – With Bruce Jenner

The 1980’s is when female bodybuilding first took off due to a transition from the fashionably thin “twiggy” body to one carrying slightly more muscle mass. The National Physique Committee (NPC) held the first women’s Nationals in 1980. Since its inception, this has been the top amateur level competition for women in the US.  As the sport grew, the competitors’ level of training gradually increased as did the use of anabolic steroids….while most of the competitors in the earliest shows had very little weight training experience or steroid usage and the sport slowly evolved towards more muscular physiques. This trend started to emerge in 1983.  

Mary Roberts was one of the top professional female bodybuilders of the 1980’s….as she possessed a classic short (5-3), thick physique featuring an overwhelming upper body….even as a lightweight. Roberts big arms, deltoids and chest with her mature looks and flashing, almost challenging dark eyes projected a very powerful, confident aura onstage.