Andrea Shaw

[genin723]

Congratulations to Andrea Shaw for winning the Women's Bodybuilding title at the 2025 Rising Phoenix. Natalia Kovaleva (2nd) and Amanda Santos (3rd) rounded out the top three. Next stop, the Olympia.

It was great to seen Andrea do the Rising weeks before the Olympia. Even though it's no longer the Women's Bodybuilding Championship

[PatchAu7]

I find that Andrea's level (mass-definition) is stagnating (even regressing) like the average level of the competition. The number of competitors: the same. I'm fed up with the federation's directives. Remember Andrea's level in 2020, those pecs! Outrageous! We could have thought that it was the beginning of a new era and that she would continue to gain lean mass, that her arms nearing 48 cm would gradually reach 50 cm, that she would make her natural pecs even bigger and more ripped... and what can be said about the competition from Margie and Helle until 2021... Sad and very disappointed with this year 2025. What do you think?

[Timmon]

Andrea has been at the top of the women's sport for many years now and she is still the most marketable FBB competing today. I think it is fair to assume that she has peaked, and until someone else comes along who can beat her level of symmetry and balance, she will remain there. As we know, winning at FBB is not all about just size, it is balance, and the way the physique is presented on stage. Whether she wins the Ms O again all depends on who turns up in what sort of condition on the day, and whether she still manages to arrive on stage in top shape.

Having said that, I would not be surprised if she decided to retire soon, mainly to ensure she has a life ahead of her without too much joint pain and all the other health issues that come with competing for such at this level.

FBB is a sport that is incredibly destructive to health, so even if it is genetically possible for her to improve even more, I doubt she will take that path as it would probably mean a concoction of PEDS that would harm her more and totally destroy her femininity.

It is quite possible that Andrea cannot build any more size as she is already maxing out the training she can tollerate due to the time she has been doing this. Whatever, she is one of the greatest FBB's we have ever seen on stage and we are lucky to have been here to see her success.

Regarding successors, there have been lots of publicity about trainers feeding all sorts of PEDS to their clients that are a big no no for women. Too many deaths as a result. This learning by crisis may be reducing the number of athletes willing to risk the wrong PEDS just to get results. The increase in muscularity in Bikini, Wellness, Figure and Physique is still remarkable, so much so that due to division slip, now we see Fit Model, which has replaced Bikini as the starting point for women wishing to compete on stage. Remember when Figure was the starting level?  Figure are often as big as Physique now.

So I think there is more female muscle now than we have ever seen before, certainly since it all began at the end of the 70's. But whether we see more size without safer PEDS for women, and training that does not destroy the joints, I doubt it.  Except where women are either prepared to take the risk, or just don't know what they are getting into ( which still applies in an alarming number of cases, often due to social media " influencers" ).

[Old Surehand]

2025 IFBB Rising Phoenix Pro, Women's Bodybuilding 1st

 

[h666666]

She looks pretty incredible, her best-ever Rising Phoenix shape, and close to her overall-best-ever showing at the 2021 Ms.O. She usually gets way bigger and better for the O (no idea how, must be some special supplements, if you catch my drift): each year, she seems to have added size between the Phoenix and the Olympia, although this year there will only be one month between the two. Angela Yeo may be a bit of a threat if she comes in super ripped and big enough (and if Andrea comes in soft); some see Alcione as a genuine threat but I don't: she has some impressive angles and insane conditioning, but she's really just half Andrea's size in most poses. Anastasia Korableva could be interesting: her sheer size is something not even Andrea can match, and combined with her lack of weak points and pleasant structure, she may be a threat, although I don't think she will be one this year just yet, I think she's still figuring out how to dial it in for a contest. Last year she finally came in sharp enough to win a show (thus qualifying for this year's O), but she lost some size in the process. I can't wait to see. As for Ashley: if she obtains some pecs and comes in as sharp as at last year's NY Pro, she may get second or even first eventually, but based on her look at the Olympia Battle last Sunday, I don't think she's there either, and she may not even be in the top three. My prediction is: (1) Andrea, (2–3) Angela and Alcione, (4) Ashley, (5–6) Leyvina and Anastasia.

Andrea has now some of the best legs in the sport, nearly up there with Ashley. She added size and new definition/separation to her quads, as well as her hams. She brought her lats up somewhat, and I'm really glad to see that she's back doing most musculars: I have a theory that someone might have told her to de-emphasize her pecs (as they were really growing out of control), but since then the field has leveled up, so she's back flaunting them, and I couldn't be happier. Her biceps and triceps will always be unbeatable, and her delts are up there too. She's on the record saying repeatedly that she's going for 11 MsO wins… so be it! I'd hate to see her lose, but she did really need the defeat last year at the Phoenix, and I'm glad she has some serious competition. Lenda got complecent and eventually lost; Kim and Iris were both mostly unchallenged and just quit after a while, showing no improvements in their last few wins… Until last year, I was fearing the same for Andrea: she didn't improve much (if at all) in 2022 or 2023, but that came to an abrupt end in 2024, the year that showed what an incredible champion she is. I hope she keeps improving: imagine that she's still not at her full potential just yet! That's an insane thought, in the best possible way.

[ngorongoro]

[fitgirlfanguy]

However Ms. Shaw shows up at Rising Phoenix the past couple of years, it's like playing possum because she seems to show up at Ms. O that much better.  As phenomenal as Angela Yeo has looked, if Andrea shows up looking like she did at Ms. O 2024, she will be very tough to beat.  Hard to beat how complete of a package she presents: beautifully aesthetic muscle shape with great size and conditioning, very pleasing presentation and incredible stage presence, and overall personality.  Looking back at Ms. O 2024, you wonder how she could possibly improve upon that, but Andrea never ceases to amaze me.  Looking forward to see what Ms. O 2025 will bring for both ladies!

[Old Surehand]

2025 IFBB Mr Olympia, Women's Bodybuilding 1st

 

[ngorongoro]

[h666666]

Is it me, or was Andrea better at the Rising Phoenix this year? Her lats were kinda gone for the MsO…

[SCJames]

 

[Chainer★]

Andrea Shaw has become the dominant force in today’s Ms. Olympia.

She combines size, shape, and presentation in a way that stands out in the current lineup.

How does Andrea compare to past champions like Iris, Lenda, or Yaxeni?

Is she building a legacy that can rival theirs?

[Zenzen]

Andrea Shaw has become the dominant force in today’s Ms. Olympia.

She combines size, shape, and presentation in a way that stands out in the current lineup.

How does Andrea compare to past champions like Iris, Lenda, or Yaxeni?

Is she building a legacy that can rival theirs?

Andrea’s one of the few modern champions where you can actually have a serious cross-era comparison.

What she does really well:

• Balance of size and shape—she’s big, but not at the expense of structure
• Round muscle bellies and strong overall flow
• A polished look that fits today’s judging without going to extremes

Compared to past champions:

• Vs. Iris Kyle → Iris still has the edge in density, conditioning, and sheer dominance over time. Andrea is more streamlined and arguably more aesthetic, but Iris at her peak was just overwhelming.
• Vs. Lenda Murray → This is closer stylistically. Lenda still wins on structure and iconic flow, but Andrea is more muscular. It’s almost a modernized version of that balance Lenda brought.
• Vs. Yaxeni → Yaxeni’s lower body (especially glutes/hamstrings) is still hard to match at her best. Andrea is more consistent and complete overall, while Yaxeni had that standout wow factor.

As for legacy:

Andrea is definitely building one, but she’s not there yet in the all-time sense. To really rival names like Iris or Lenda, she’d need:

• More years of dominance
• Continued wins against evolving competition
• A clear association with defining an era

Right now, she’s the standard-bearer of the current era, but that era is still being written.

If she strings together a few more Olympia wins and continues refining, she could absolutely enter that top-tier conversation.

Curious—do people see her closer to Lenda’s style or as something more unique to this era?