Who is Andrea Shaw? Everything we know about the 2022 Ms Olympia title winner

At the 2022 Mr Olympia, which is being held from December 16–18 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Andrea Shaw was crowned Ms Olympia. To claim the top three positions on the podium, she was able to overtake Angela Yeo, who came in second place ahead of Helle Trevino.

Shaw, the reigning two-time Ms Olympia champion, entered the event hoping to increase her lead over the competition and win a third title. She has consistently maintained her position at the top of the crowd category since the division returned to the Olympia weekend in 2020. Shaw was certain she could make history because she had just won decisively at the 2022 Rising Phoenix-Arizona Pro.

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Andrea Shaw's early life

Andrea Shaw, an American professional bodybuilding champion, was born on December 18, 1983. Detroit, Michigan, is where she was raised.

When she was young, Shaw loved gymnastics and competitive cheering. Because there were not many organized sports centres or appropriate equipment, her eighth-grade aerobics teacher at Benjamin Nolan Middle School taught her how to create her own structures within the middle school.

After middle school, she became interested in studies because she was exhausted from cheerleading and gymnastics. Her mother, a nurse and former personal trainer, encouraged her to start working out at the Powerhouse Gym in Centerline, Michigan, where she gained a little weight to support her athletic dreams.

She started going to the gym by herself when she was 15. Shaw began receiving exercise advice from the female bodybuilder who trained with her mother when she was 17 years old. The champion bodybuilder said that she had not planned to become a bodybuilder at the time, but a fashion model instead, but she was not tall enough.

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Career

When Andrea Shaw was 18 years old, her training adviser told her mother that she did not think she had the guts to go on with training. This motivated her to concentrate on getting in top shape.

In the 2008 Karen Zaremba Classic, she competed and finished third. Later that year, she competed in the Michigan Natural Championships and finished fourth.

Shaw stopped competing for the next eight years and concentrated on learning and researching exercises, finding a new trainer, and reading publications like Oxygen Mag, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Shape, and Muscular Development.

She switched her degree and discovered a course that focused on experience and sports science. She made the decision to resume competing in 2016 and changed to physique.

The 2022 Ms Olympia champion participated in six events before placing second in the 2018 Nationals and earning an IFBB pro card. She then competed in the 2019 Toronto Pro, finishing in 11th place.

At the 2019 Toronto Pro, female bodybuilders Irene Andersen, Margaret Marvelous, Lenda Murray, and Alina Popa all advised Andrea Shaw to think about switching classes. This was because she seemed more like a bodybuilder than a physique competitor. Shortly after, she competed as a bodybuilder in the 2019 Chicago Pro, losing to Aleesha Young by one point.

The 38-year-old worked out with former IFBB Pro John Simmons at Powerhouse Gym in Highland Park, Michigan. She increased her exercise routine from three days a week to every day.

Andrea Shaw has modeled for women's apparel lines, made cameo appearances at bodybuilding contests, and traveled to Germany to host training sessions alongside Mamdouh Elssbiay, the 2020 Mr Olympia champion. She won Ms Olympia for a second time later in 2021.

She just reclaimed her title as Ms. Olympia in 2022 for the third time in a row. This has ensured her place at the top of the bodybuilding world.