Mayla Ash
MayLa Ash was a hyperactive child who did all kinds of sports from gymnastics to volleyball. Her greatest love was track and field, in which she started competing in the fourth grade. MayLa became an elite competitive power sprinter winning local and regional competitions. In 1984 she won the bronze medal in the 400 meters at the Junior Olympics. She continued her successful track career through high school and into college. Ultimately her performance against the best runners in the nation, along with her longstanding collegiate track records, resulted in MayLa getting inducted into the Western Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame.
A torn ACL and a damaged meniscus forced MayLa to retire from competitive running, she but soon discovered a new passion. After attending the 2012 Dallas Europa, she became fascinated with the world of bodybuilding. She entered her first figure competition in November 2012, turned pro in Figure in July 2013 and moved up to Women’s Physique in June 2017. As a women’s physique competitor, she won three pro shows and placed 11th at the Olympia in 2019.
2020 was a turning point for MayLa. At the beginning of the year she was still planning to compete in women’s physique and hoping to qualify for the Olympia again. But she gradually realized she was outgrowing the division. “I had to hold back in my training so I didn’t add any more mass – but that made getting conditioned difficult”, she says. After the Olympia, she had decided to train a little heavier during the development season and then attempt to burn off some muscle going into competition season. “I didn’t realize how much mass I had put on,” she says. “I still saw myself as a physique competitor and didn’t think I was that big.” After placing tenth at the Optimum Classic, she realized it was time to move up to women’s bodybuilding.
MayLa made her debut as a female bodybuilder at the New York Pro – and won the show. That experience made her realize she belonged in women’s bodybuilding. She added some more size in the next 10 weeks and placed fourth at the Ms. Olympia – an incredible achievement for a competitor who had only decided to compete in women’s bodybuilding a few months earlier. She is now “beyond excited” to realize her potential as a female bodybuilder. At 5-foot-6, she weighed around 150 pounds at the Olympia. She is now adding more size, especially in her legs and back, while making sure she maintains her 24-inch waist.
Competition History
Women’s Bodybuilding
· 2021 Olympia Women’s Bodybuilding – 11th Place
· 2021 Rising Phoenix Women’s Bodybuilding – 11th Place
· 2021 Romania Muscle Fest Pro Women’s Bodybuilding – 3rd Place
· 2021 Toronto Pro Supershow Women’s Bodybuilding – 1st Place
· 2020 Olympia Women’s Bodybuilding – 4th Place
· 2020 New York Pro Women’s Bodybuilding – 1st Place
Women’s Physique
· 2020 Optimum Classic Women’s Physique – 10th Place
· 2019 Olympia Women’s Physique – 11th Place
· 2019 Chicago Women’s Physique – 3rd Place
· 2019 San Jose Pro Women’s Physique – 1st Place
· 2019 Arnold Classic Women’s Physique – 12th Place
· 2018 Olympia Women’s Physique – 14th Place
· 2018 Omaha Pro Women’s Physique – 1st Place
· 2018 Optimum Classic Women’s Physique – 10th Place
· 2017 Olympia Women’s Physique – 16th Place
· 2017 Mile High Pro Women’s Physique – 1st Place
· 2017 Toronto Pro Women’s Physique – 5th Place
Figure
· 2016 Toronto Pro Figure – 7th Place
· 2016 Optimum Classic Figure – 5th Place
· 2016 Phil Heath Classic Figure – 10th Place
· 2014 Dallas Europa Figure – 4th Place
· 2014 Pittsburgh Pro Figure – 11th Place
· 2014 Emerald Cup Figure – 12th Place
· 2013 Houston Pro Figure – 13th Place
· 2013 Dallas Europa Figure – 16th Place