# Rising Phoenix World Championships

The IFBB Pro League Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix Women's Bodybuilding World Championships is a professional female bodybuilding competition, promoted by Wings of Strength and founded by Jake and Kristal Wood., and sanctioned by the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB). It is considered to be the most prestigious IFBB Professional League all women's bodybuilding event in the world. The show's inception came as a result of the elimination of the Ms. Olympia, being the pinnacle of women's bodybuilding from 2015 to 2019, while the Ms. Olympia contest was on hiatus. The first championship show took place in conjunction with the IFBB Texas Pro, the NPC Tim Gardner Texas Extravaganza, and the NPC National on August 22, 2015, at the Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, Texas.

## History
### 2015 – 2019

On March 8, 2015, Wings of Strength announced the creation of the Rising Phoenix World Championships. Regarded as the successor to the Ms. Olympia, Rising Phoenix World Championships adopted the point qualification system that the Ms. Olympia had.
At the 2015 Rising Phoenix World Championships, with Iris Kyle retired and Alina Popa not attending, Margie Martin, a dark horse contestant, managed to beat much more seasoned professional bodybuilders such as Helle Trevino, Debi Laszewski and Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia in order to win the Ms. Rising Phoenix title. At the 2016 Rising Phoenix World Championships, Margie would repeat her success and retain her title. At the 2017 Rising Phoenix World Championships, with Margie not defending her title, Helle would win the title. At the 2018 Rising Phoenix World Championships, Alina dethroned Helle and beat Margie to win the title. At the 2019 Rising Phoenix World Championships, with Alina retired, Helle would go on the beat Margie and again win the title.

### 2020 – present

In 2020, several changes were made to the Rising Phoenix World Championships. The 2020 Olympia Qualification System changed the qualification from the Olympia Qualification System to an application invitational contest and it became a Tier 1 Contest on the 2020 Olympia Qualification System. This changed the Rising Phoenix World Championships from being the equivalent of the Ms. Olympia to the equivalent of the Ms. International. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Rising Phoenix World Championships was moved from September 5, 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona to December 5, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the 2020 Rising Phoenix World Championships, Andrea Shaw dethroned Helle Trevino. Andrea would go on to consecutively win the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Rising Phoenix World Championships. Starting during the 2023 Olympia Qualification System period, the tier point system was removed, with only Ms. Rising Phoenix qualifying for the 2023 Ms. Olympia.

## Champions
### Chronologically

| Year | Ms. Rising Phoenix champions | Best Posing Routine champions | Most Muscular champions | Best Intro Video champions | Posedown music | Prize purse | Venue |
| 2015 | Margaret Martin | Margaret Martin | | | Macarena by Los del Río | $99,500 & $65,000 Jeep Wrangler + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America (USA) |
| 2016 | Margaret Martin | Sheila Bleck | | | Tootsie Roll by Old School Players | $150,000 & $65,000 Jeep + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona (AZ), USA |
| 2017 | Helle Trevino | Sheila Bleck | Aleesha Young | Silvia Matta | | $128,000 & $65,000 Jeep Wrangler + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona (AZ), USA |
| 2018 | Alina Popa | Nicole Chartrand | Helle Trevino | LaDawn McDay | | $123,000 & $100,000 Chevrolet Corvette + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ, USA |
| 2019 | Helle Trevino | Mona Poursaleh | Aleesha Young | Silvia Matta | Berzerk by Eminem | $115,900 & $100,000 Dodge Challenger Hellcat + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ, USA |
| 2020 | Andrea Shaw | Andrea Shaw | Most muscular award absent | Best intro award absent | | $115,900 & Chevrolet Camaro + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, AZ, USA |
| 2021 | Andrea Shaw | Mona Poursaleh | Irene Andersen | LaDawn McDay | Bring Me to Life by Evanescence | $120,000 & American prize vehicle + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, AZ, USA |
| 2022 | Andrea Shaw | Mona Poursaleh | Irene Andersen | Janeen Lankowski | Moonlight Sonata (Epic Trailer Version) by Hidden Citizens Diplomatico (Remix) by Jabato Get It On The Floor (feat. Swizz Beatz) by DMX Lacrimosa by Apashe | $120,500 & Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Gila River Resorts & Casinos – Wild Horse Pass, Chandler, Arizona, USA |
| 2023 | Andrea Shaw | Rene Marven | Andrea Shaw | Best intro award removed | Bulls On Parade by Rage Against the Machine | $125,000 + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Arizona Grand Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
| 2024 | Angela Yeo | Angela Yeo | Andrea Shaw | Best intro award removed | Pump It Up by Joe Budden | $116,000 + Trophies (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) + Custom championship ring | Gila River Resorts & Casinos – Wild Horse Pass, Chandler, AZ, USA |

### Number of wins

| Rank | Champions | Years | Ms. Rising Phoenix champions wins | Best Posing Routine champions wins | Most Muscular champions wins | Best Intro Video champions wins |
| Rank | Champions | Years | 1st | Andrea Shaw | 2020 – 2024 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2nd | Margaret Martin | 2015 – 2016 | 2 | 0 | | | 1 | | 0 |
| 2nd | Helle Trevino | 2017 & 2019 | 2 | 0 | 1 | | | | 0 |
| 3rd | Alina Popa | 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| 3rd | Angela Yeo | 2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| 4th | Sheila Bleck | 2016 – 2017 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| 4th | Mona Poursaleh | 2021 – 2022 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| 4th | Aleesha Young | 2017 & 2019 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | | 0 |
| 4th | Irene Andersen | 2021 – 2022 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | | 0 |
| 4th | Silvia Matta | 2017 & 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4th | LaDawn McDay | 2018 & 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5th | Nicole Chartrand | 2018 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5th | Janeen Lankowski | 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5th | Rene Marven | 2023 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

### Number of consecutive wins

| Ranking | Champions | Years | Number of consecutive wins | Number of consecutive wins | Number of consecutive wins | Number of consecutive wins |
| Ranking | Champions | Years | Overall | Best poser award | Most muscular award | Best intro video award |
| 1st | Andrea Shaw | 2020 – 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2nd | Margaret Martin | 2015 – 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd | Sheila Bleck | 2016 – 2017 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd | Mona Poursaleh | 2021 – 2022 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd | Irene Andersen | 2021 – 2022 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Top three (Ms. Rising Phoenix)

| Year | Ms. Rising Phoenix champions | Runner−up | 3rd place |
| 2015 | Margaret Martin | Helle Trevino | Debi Laszewski |
| 2016 | Margaret Martin | Sheila Bleck | Alina Popa |
| 2017 | Helle Trevino | Sheila Bleck | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia |
| 2018 | Alina Popa | Margaret Martin | Sheila Bleck |
| 2019 | Helle Trevino | Margaret Martin | Irene Andersen |
| 2020 | Andrea Shaw | Helle Trevino | Monique Jones |
| 2021 | Andrea Shaw | Helle Trevino | Mona Poursaleh |
| 2022 | Andrea Shaw | MayLa Ash | Michaela Aycock |
| 2023 | Andrea Shaw | Angela Yeo | Michaela Aycock |
| 2024 | Angela Yeo | Andrea Shaw | Ashley Jones |

#### Medals by nation (Ms. Rising Phoenix)

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 9 | 10 | 7 | 26 |
| 2 | Romania (ROU) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (4 entries) | Totals (4 entries) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |

### Top three (Best Posing Routine)

| Year | Best Posing Routine champions | Runner−up | 3rd place |
| 2017 | Sheila Bleck | Virginia Sanchez | Pauline Nelson |
| 2018 | Nicole Chartrand | Sheila Bleck | Pauline Nelson |
| 2019 | Mona Poursaleh | Janeen Lankowski | Nicole Chartrand |
| 2021 | Mona Poursaleh | Janeen Lankowski | MayLa Ash |
| 2022 | Mona Poursaleh | MayLa Ash | Janeen Lankowski |
| 2023 | Rene Marven | Nicole Chartrand | Kristina Mendoza |
| 2024 | Angela Yeo | Selyka Givan | Ashley Jones |

#### Medals by nation (Best Posing Routine)

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 4 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | Canada (CAN) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (3 entries) | Totals (3 entries) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |

### Medals by nation (Most Muscular)

| Rank | Nation | Most muscular award |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 4 |
| 2 | Sweden (SWE) | 2 |

### Top three (Best Intro Video)

| Year | Best Intro Video champions | Runner−up | 3rd place |
| 2017 | Silvia Matta | Nicole Chartrand | Teresa Ivancik |
| 2018 | LaDawn McDay | Virginia Sanchez | Alina Popa |
| 2019 | Silvia Matta | Aleesha Young | Nicole Chartrand |
| 2021 | LaDawn McDay | Janeen Lankowski | Nicole Chartrand |
| 2022 | Janeen Lankowski | Sheena Ohlig | MayLa Ash |

#### Medals by nation (Best Intro Video)

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Italy (ITA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | Totals (5 entries) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |

### Other records

* Closest Ms. Rising Phoenix scores - 2017 Rising Phoenix World Championships with a margin of 0
* Heaviest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Andrea Shaw (175 lb (79 kg))
* Lightest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Helle Trevino (157 lb (71 kg))
* Ms. Rising Phoenix with highest number of perfect win scores - Andrea Shaw with four
* Ms. Rising Phoenix with largest biceps - Andrea Shaw (18 in (46 cm))
* Oldest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Helle Trevino (44 years old; 2019 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Oldest Ms. Rising Phoenix best poser award - Sheila Bleck (42 years old; 2017 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Oldest Ms. Rising Phoenix most muscular award - Irene Andersen (56 years old; 2022 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Oldest Ms. Rising Phoenix best video intro award - Janeen Lankowski (48 years, 3 months and 29 days old; 2022 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
* Smallest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Angela Yeo (5 ft 2 in (1.57 m))
* Tallest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Alina Popa (5 ft 6 in (1.68 m))
* Youngest Ms. Rising Phoenix - Margaret Martin (36 years old; 2015 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Youngest Ms. Rising Phoenix best poser award - Nicole Chartrand (33 years old; 2018 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Youngest Ms. Rising Phoenix most muscular award - Aleesha Young (32 years old; 2017 Rising Phoenix World Championships)
** Youngest Ms. Rising Phoenix best poser award - Silvia Matta (43 years old; 2017 Rising Phoenix World Championships)

## Qualification

From 2015 to 2019, the Rising Phoenix World Championships was the de facto equivalent of the Ms. Olympia. The qualification system was identical to the Olympia Qualification System, with the same ranking and points system, along with the top five Ms. Olympia contestants automatically qualifying for the 2015 Rising Phoenix World Championships. The top five Rising Phoenix World Championships automatically qualify for the 2016 to 2019 Rising Phoenix World Championships. From 2015 to 2019, the winner of the Ms. Rising Phoenix title would receive lifetime qualification for the Ms. Olympia, which is identical to winning the Ms. Olympia. After the 2019 announcement of the return of the Ms. Olympia, from 2020 to the present, the Rising Phoenix World Championships became the de facto equivalent of the Ms. International. The qualification system adopted is identical to the Ms. International, which is an application invitational system.