Tag: whitney jones
Whitney Jones: Women’s Bodybuilding Is NOT A Beauty Pageant
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Whitney Jones talks about the temporary disappearance of Women’s Bodybuilding from the Olympia… and how femininity should not matter for the division.
Ever since the early days of Bev Francis in the Women’s Open Bodybuilding division, the debate about femininity in the division has raged on. Francis famously battled back and forth each year attempting to attain what the judges wanted. Did she need to lean out or get bigger? The expectations seemed to constantly change. This issue continued ultimately until the Olympia weekend decided to stop holding the Ms. Olympia competition. It returned in 2020 after a six year hiatus. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Fitness Olympia champion Whitney Jones explains how Women’s Bodybuilding should never be considered a beauty pageant.
Women’s Open Bodybuilding has a problem. Or at least, it had a problem for many decades. Perhaps even since its introduction into the sport. The problem seems two-fold, though both are related. The division can’t seem to get enough competitors (or audience) to engage. Secondly, there is a constant debate on the “femininity” of the physiques in the division.
During our conversation with Whitney Jones, we asked for her thoughts on female bodybuilding as a whole, and the six year forced hiatus that Women’s Open Bodybuilding took away from the Ms. Olympia. Whether it’s on or off the stage, it seems that physique expectations are different for women bodybuilders. There have been many pro bodybuilders who have outright stated that they are not interested in female bodybuilding at all. Why?
Whitney Jones isn’t surprised, but continues to believe that there is a bright future for the Women’s Open division and all female bodybuilding divisions. During our interview, she discusses how ever since she was young, she received comments for her muscular physique. Muscles are deemed “manly” and not something that women should push too far. While that mentality may be changing as culture becomes more “woke” – there are still many who believe that Women’s Open bodybuilding needs to maintain a femininity within the physiques presented on stage.
Whitney Jones doesn’t agree with this. In fact, she outright states that bodybuilding is not a beauty pageant – it’s a physique pageant. The female physiques on stage should be judged exactly even with the men physiques on stage. It’s not about how pretty a woman is. It’s about how perfectly sculpted a woman’s physique is.
Luckily, current Mr. Olympia owner Jake Wood seems to agree. Before owning the Mr. Olympia brand, he ensured that his Wings of Strength competitions always held Women’s Open bodybuilding – even during the six year hiatus away from Olympia weekend. Upon purchasing the Olympia brand, he immediately brought back Ms. Olympia.
Things are looking up for the division for the first time in nearly a decade. But the question remains, will the will of the people (particularly men) be more open minded about the division? Will they help bring a bigger audience and more support to a division that nearly died? That remains to be seen.
With more divisions than ever, women are able to choose which size they want. Much like Men’s Open – most people do not want to be a mass monster. So both Men’s Open and Women’s Open often contain the least number of active pro bodybuilders. For an already struggling division such as Women’s Open, this can create a harder uphill battle.
Whitney Jones isn’t worried – particularly because of the current (and two-time) Ms. Olympia champion Andrea Shaw. She is an excellent ambassador for the sport and truly showcases the excellence that can be achieved in the division. She also holds fantastic charisma. Perhaps this will inspire more to enter the division and excite audience members who have been sleeping on it the past decade.
You can watch Whitney Jones’ full comments on Women’s Open Bodybuilding and femininity in the sport in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Whitney Jones On How She Won Olympia 2021 With A Broken Leg
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Whitney Jones reveals the severity of competing in (and winning) the Fitness Olympia 2021 with a broken leg.
Whitney Jones is a 3x Fitness Olympia champion – solidifying her third win at the Olympia 2021 this past year. It was a triumphant moment after falling to third place in 2020. She proved that her reign as an Olympia champion was not over. But her victory in 2021 is even more astounding upon the reveal that she competed with a broken leg. This information was not revealed until after she had already won the show. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Whitney Jones goes into detail about her broken leg, the severity of the injury, and how she was able to still win the Fitness Olympia 2021.
As anyone who follows competitive bodybuilding knows, the Fitness division is quite different than any other bodybuilding category. This is because it includes a Fitness performance routine. This routine, unlike usual bodybuilding posing, involves gymnastic movements and feats of strength – mixed with a sort of dance energy. It’s impressive to watch on display – and requires serious commitment, planning, and practice to achieve standout success.
As any Fitness competitor or gymnast will also know, these movements can be complicated and dangerous. It opens up the door to a wider array of injuries. Unfortunately for Whitney Jones, she faced once such injury during practice just three days before the Olympia 2021. Training in a new space on her final days of prep, Jones was unfamiliar with the space of her new practice space. This caused her to second guess a movement and land on her knee incorrectly. Instantly she felt searing pain and her knew swelled up. Something was seriously wrong.
With the Olympia competition just three days away, she didn’t immediately go to a doctor. Instead she tried to downplay the injury and focus on bringing the swelling and pain down. She mostly succeeded with the swelling – but the pain was no resolving. She feared that perhaps she had torn her ACL. But she refused to lose her chance to win the Fitness Olympia so close to the show.
Yet despite whether or not she wanted to stand down to prevent further injury – she also faced another problem. The pain would make it near impossible for her to complete her Fitness routine. She needed to find a way to bring down the pain. Painkiller pills wouldn’t due. They would make her drowsy and less alert – affecting her routine.
Ultimately, she was lucky enough to know someone who could provide her some sort of injection that temporarily numbed her knee. The risk? That she goes so numb that she can’t feel her leg and it throws off her routine. But it was a risk she was willing to take. She took the stage and put forth her best effort on the routine she spent a full year preparing.
We all know the end to this story. Whitney Jones ended up winning the Fitness Olympia. She later went to the doctor and found out that she had not torn her ACL nor broke her knee – but broke her tibia towards the top right under her knee. Now many months later, she is mostly healed – she didn’t suffer any known additional damage from competing while injured. The risk was worth it.
You can watch Whitney Jones go into full detail about the injury, competing, and winning the Fitness Olympia 2021 in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!