What happened to Tonya Knight? Tributes pour in as female bodybuilder dies aged 56

A well-known bodybuilder, Tonya Knight, recently passed away on February 7, aged 56. She battled cancer for a long time, eventually leading to her death.

The former co-host of the reality TV series America’s Next Great Trainer, Sharon Bruneau, paid tribute to Knight on Facebook by writing that the bodybuilding world has lost an amazing young lady. Stating that Knight was an inspiration to thousands of people, she wrote:

Another individual named Dave Liberman, who met Tonya once, also expressed his grief on Facebook by saying she was a legend in women’s bodybuilding and produced some of the best routines in the sport. He revealed that people knew her as “Gold” in the American Gladiators series during the 80s and 90s.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Tonya Knight has established herself as a popular figure in the bodybuilding world. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about her demise:

Tonya Knight won several titles throughout her successful career

Born on March 24, 1966, Tonya Knight developed an interest in volleyball during her school and college days and was also a member of her school volleyball team. She saw a magazine cover featuring Rachel McLish and was inspired to build a career in fitness.

She began undergoing training with her brother and joined a gym. She grabbed the top position when she went on stage for the first time in 1983. She shifted to Venice, Italy, and started participating in different bodybuilding shows.

She participated in several competitions throughout her career and competed with other famous bodybuilders, including Anja Schrenier and Cory Everson, who emerged as the winner of Ms. Olympia six times.

In 1991, Tonya Knight won the title of Ms. International, and although she participated in the same competition in 1992, she managed to grab the sixth position. She finished in third spot in the Jan Tana Classic in 1993.

She also won several other competitions, like the IFBB Grand Prix in Italy, but took retirement in 1993. She was featured on American Gladiators, which made her a famous TV personality. Following a knee injury, she exited the show in the third season.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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