Muscular Woman - Anja Schreiner, former professional female bodybuilder from Germany

Anja Schreiner is a former professional female bodybuilder from Germany. She began lifting weights to combat scoliosis in her adolescence. She won the Ms. International title in 1992.

Jana Linke-Sippl, FBB female bodybuilder from Austria and a session mixed wrestler

Jana Linke-Sippl (born March 16, 1968) is a FBB female bodybuilder from Austria and a session mixed wrestler. Originally from Germany, Jana currently lives in the US and Graz. She has been interviewed and has frequently appeared on European TV Channels such as RTL.

Jana was born in Neustadt an der Orla, a little town in Thuringia, East Germany. She gained her interest in bodybuilding after she moved to West Germany. After just 16 months of training, Jana took part in the 1991 IFFB competition. Jana had a breast surgery in December 2008.

Anja Langer, former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s, born in Stuttgart in Southern Germany

Anja Langer (born June 3, 1965) is a former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s. Her career peaked in 1988 when she placed second at the 1988 Ms. Olympia.

Anja was born in 1965 in Stuttgart in Southern Germany, where she grew up in the nearby town of Böblingen. Langer grew up in a house near a forest and at a young age she did a lot of outdoor activities. Because of this she developed a passion for nature and the outdoors. As an active child, her first passion was gymnastics. She competed at the age of eight in several gymnastic competitions and was successful. She also took part in horseback-riding competitions since her family own two horses and became part of a horseback-riding club. During this time Anja became more involved with different types of sports that captured her curiosity. She tried diving at the age of fourteen and jazz dance soon after. It was during this time, at the age of fifteen that she was introduced to bodybuilding by her first boyfriend, who she is good friends with to this day.

She began weight training in 1980, at a local gym near her home in Germany. At the time she was the only girl weight training at the gym. This did not bother her since all the men at the gym were impressed by how strong she was. Little by little she increased her training, she put more attention to her diet and decided to compete in her first bodybuilding competition. In 1981 she competed in the Baden-Württemberg Championships and placed second to last. Langer was not discouraged and decided to train harder and competed again in the same contest and placed second. At this time bodybuilding was still a hobby for her and her parents, who disagreed with her bodybuilding, wanted it to remain that way. Because of this Anja had to keep her competition preparations a secret. It was later that her parents accepted her passion for bodybuilding and respected their daughter's career of interest.

In school she studied graphic art, while still competing regularly. When she completed school, Langer decided to make her hobby her profession during this time. She placed fourth at the German Championships, second Amateur World Championship in Madrid, Spain. In 1986 she won the Junior World Championships, European Amateur Championships, German Championships, and placed in the top five at her first Ms. Olympia. After turning pro, Langer decided that her main goal as professional was to win the Ms. Olympia title, but 1987 was a difficult year for Anja. Her father died in that year and because of this she was unable to fully focus on her bodybuilding preparations. Despite this she was able to get second at World Pro Championships, and second at the Olympia. After placing second at the Olympia, Langer decided to put her competitive career on hold. She decided to take a whole year off and compete again at the 1990 Ms. Olympia in hopes of winning that show.

Top Strong Woman - Christa Bauch (professional female bodybuilder from Germany)

Christa Bauch (born on December 19, 1947) is a professional female bodybuilder from Germany.

Born in Bad Schandau, East Germany, Bauch enjoyed music, riding and sprinting at school, before training as a masseuse and swimming pool medic. At 27 she left East Germany to settle in the West; this was done legally, as she married a West German citizen and waited the required five years for an exit permit. Her oldest son, Daniel, was five years old, and she was pregnant with her second child, Patricia. Shortly after she relocated to West Germany, her husband, employed by the German engineering company AEG, was transferred to Baghdad. Further spells followed in Guatemala and Algeria, before Bauch returned to Germany on her own with the children, to ensure they got a proper education. Her third child, Rene, was born a few years later.

Looking for a challenge, Bauch took up rifle shooting for several years before taking up bodybuilding. Bauch won several local and regional shows before her first big competitive year in 1987. After only two years training she took second places in the NABBA German, European and World championships (in the last of these losing out to American Connie McCloskey). In 1988 she switched to the WABBA organization, taking the overall European title as well as the couples title. The following year she move to the IFBB. After a disappointing second place in the German Nationals, Bauch won the World Games heavyweight title in Karlsruhe (only 20 miles from her home), beating out a strong field including countrywoman Jutta Tippelt and American Kim King. With the World Games victory she earned her pro card.

Bauch's first pro show was the 1990 Ms. International, at age 43. After turning in an impressive fourth place finish, she was disqualified as a result of a positive drug test (WPW, 1993; ). More problems followed as Bauch had to have an operation later that year to remove a vein in her leg. A few months later she bounced back with a fourth place finish in the Italian Grand Prix in Rimini, missing a Ms. Olympia qualification by one slot.

Bauch's highest placing as a professional was second at the 1994 Canada Cup. She retired from competition after the 1995 Jan Tana Classic. Although she no longer competes, she continues to train. At a height of 5'3", Bauch's normal contest weight ranged from 132 to 145 pounds.