{{Short description|American bodybuilder (1935–2020)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} '''Edith Wilma Jean Conner'''<ref>{{cite news |title=77-year-old body-builder sets world record |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93891807/okmulgee-daily-times/ |access-date=31 January 2022 |publisher=Okmulgee Daily Times |date=11 November 2012}}</ref> (September 5, 1935 – November 28, 2020), known as '''Edith Connor''', was an American bodybuilder who was declared the oldest competitive female bodybuilder by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' in 2012, when she was 77,<ref name="ibtimes1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/oldest-female-bodybuilder-77-year-old-edith-connor-breaks-guinness-world-record-700529 |title=Oldest Female Bodybuilder, 77-Year-Old Edith Connor, Breaks Guinness World Record |publisher=Ibtimes.com |date= 29 May 2012|accessdate=2014-02-08}}</ref> breaking the record of Ernestine Shepherd.<ref>https🖉{{Cite web|url=http://www.today.com/news/nyads-not-alone-7-senior-citizens-superhuman-strength-8c110677168C11067716|title=Nyad's not alone: 7 senior citizens with superhuman strength|website=TODAY.com}}</ref>
== Biography == Conner was born in Denver, Colorado on September 5, 1935. She began bodybuilding because she felt she was too sedentary in her job doing data entry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/badass-seniors-impressing-the-sports-world/|title=Sporty seniors|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> She entered her first bodybuilding competition (the Grand Masters in Las Vegas) on her 65th birthday, winning first place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/28/oldest-female-bodybuilder-loves-pumping-iron |title=Oldest female bodybuilder loves pumping iron | World | News |publisher=Toronto Sun |date=2012-05-28 |accessdate=2014-02-08}}</ref><ref name="people1">{{cite web|last=Dyball |first=Rennie |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20595904,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518144744/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20595904,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 18, 2012 |title=Guinness World Records's Oldest Female Bodybuilder and Yoga Teacher |publisher=People |date=2012-05-16 |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref> She was also a personal trainer.<ref name="ibtimes1" /> She exercised at least three times a week and did not diet.<ref name="people1" />
She notably competed in the 2011 NPC Armbrust Pro Gym Warrior Classic Championships in Loveland, Colorado, at the age of 75 years and 349 days.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness World Records 2014|last=Glenday|first=Craig | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=The Jim Pattison Group|year=2013|isbn=978-1-908843-15-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/60 60]|url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/60}}</ref>
Her husband of 57 years, Reuben, died in 2011. She had three sons, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitness-bodybuilder-idUSBRE84R07R20120528|title=Oldest female bodybuilder loves pumping iron|date=2012-05-28|work=Reuters|access-date=2020-01-04|language=en}}</ref> Conner died on November 28, 2020, at the age of 85.<ref>{{cite web |title=Edith Wilma Jean Conner |url=https://www.forevermissed.com/edith-wilmajean-connor/about |website=Forever Missed |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Edith}} Category:1935 births Category:2020 deaths Category:20th-century African-American sportswomen Category:20th-century American sportswomen Category:21st-century African-American people Category:21st-century African-American women Category:African-American bodybuilders Category:American female bodybuilders Category:Sportspeople from Denver
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