Born: August 22,
1974
Birthplace: Benton
Harbor, Michigan
Family: Second
youngest of six (four brothers and one sister).
Early Sports
Experiences: Ran Cross Country for cardiovascular fitness.
Played Basketball (point
guard), and Softball (shortstop). Earned High School All-American honors in
basketball and received multiple offers to different colleges for her
athletic abilities.
Attended Alcorn State in
Lorman, Mississippi, on an athletic scholarship to play basketball. While
there she majored in business administration.
FAVORITE FOOD: Thai
food and steamed rice.
FAVORITE CHEAT TREAT:
Swiss Chocolate, Brownies, and Yogurt.
FAVORITE ACTOR: Cuba
Gooding
FAVORITE ACTRESS:
Angela Bassett
FAVORITE MOVIE: How
Stella Got Her Groove
FAVORITE TELEVISION
SHOW: Law & Order, Lifetime
PERFECT VACATION:
Staying at a private resort, free of all the big city lights, smog, etc.
Sipping wine, relaxing all day and getting deep massages everyday.
LONG TERM GOAL:
Opening a private physical wellness facility, working with women who have
severe weight problems and low self-esteem related to their physical
condition.
HOBBIES: Shopping,
rollerblading, biking, long walks, running on the beach (a major contributor
to those fabulous calves), and traveling.
The common thread running
through all of this spectacular woman’s athletic endeavors was her serious
attention and love of strength training as a part of her overall
conditioning regimen. It was this involvement in the weight room that gave
her the base of who has now become one of the world’s best-developed women
and finest bodybuilders.
KEEPING AN EYE ON IRIS
With any discussion of Iris
Kyle, it is always best to begin at the beginning. But for Iris Kyle, the
beginning may just be her most recent accomplishment. Put simply, Iris Kyle
may only just be getting started when it comes to what is already a very
impressive bodybuilding career. She is, for lack of a better term, “on a
roll”. And that roll may be one that her contemporaries in the pro women’s
division may be hard-pressed to stop.
Long recognized by the
sport’s cognoscenti and closest followers as an “uncrowned champion at the
pro level”, Iris Kyle has been seen as a dramatically underrated competitor
at many of her competitions. But the bridesmaid role may have been put to
rest forever this past March when Iris won the heavyweight and overall Ms.
International crowns in convincing fashion. For her strongest fan
following, “it was about time”. For those who have watched pro women’s
events over the past several years, it was simply a matter of Iris finally
getting her just due.
Amazingly, the Ms.
International overall victory was the first for Iris at the pro level. And
even though this grizzled veteran had also won the heavyweight class of the
Ms. Olympia in 2001, Iris was still lacking the recognition that comes with
the contest resume she was quietly, yet steadily putting together.
For example, most fans
of the sport may not realize that Iris Kyle has been on the contest trail
since 1994 when she won her first amateur contest – the Long Beach Muscle
Classic – in southern California. That was a decade ago – 10 years! So when
the aspect of “dues paying” is brought up, this longtime Huntington Beach
resident has done more than her fair share.
During the
above-mentioned decade, Iris has been faithfully advised and coached by IFBB
pro competitor Patrick Lynn. Together they have paved her way through the
amateur and pro ranks in very successful fashion.
Kyle’s amateur efforts
culminated with a heavyweight and overall victory at the 1998 NPC USA
Championships in Las Vegas, a victory that earned her a pro card and the
chance to flex against the best.
After a rocky pro debut
that saw Iris place an unheralded 15th at the 1999 Ms.
International, she rebounded strongly with a runner-up placing at the IFBB
Pro Worlds in Detroit – an event that qualified her to compete in the Ms.
Olympia for the first time. Since then Iris Kyle has put “the petal to the
metal” (in this case iron), and worked diligently to reach the top of the
sport.
After a close look at
Iris’ contest history listed here, a lesser competitor may have experienced
a weakened resolve with the number of contest placements that brought her so
close to the top spot. Not Iris Kyle. A strong, determined competitor. Her
best days may be ahead.
And there is one more
very important point to consider with regard to Iris Kyle’s future. Her age
is just 30. As Lenda Murray (an 8-time Ms. Olympia winner) leaves the sport
this year - she is 42. Should Kyle decide to compete for another dozen
years, the mind boggles at what she may accomplish.
