Bev Francis vs Ellen Van Maris
Bev Francis 
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Bev Francis vs Ellen Van Maris head-to-head record and every decided contest between them on record.
- Meetings
- 4
- Bev Francis
- 2 ahead
- Ellen Van Maris
- 2 ahead
- Span
- 1986–1989
- At the Olympia
- Bev Francis 2–2 Ellen Van Maris in 4
In 4 meetings, including 4 at the Ms. Olympia, Bev Francis and Ellen Van Maris (2) are dead even, finishing ahead 2 times apiece.
Every contest Bev Francis and Ellen Van Maris both entered
| Year | Contest | Division | Bev Francis | Ellen Van Maris | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Ms. Olympia | Women's Bodybuilding | #3 | #5 | Bev Francis |
| 1988 | Ms. Olympia | Women's Bodybuilding | #3 | #5 | Bev Francis |
| 1987 | Ms. Olympia | Women's Bodybuilding | #3 | #2 | Ellen Van Maris |
| 1986 | Ms. Olympia | Women's Bodybuilding | #10 | #3 | Ellen Van Maris |
How this is counted: a meeting is one contest where both athletes were judged in the same division. Standing on the same stage in different divisions is not a meeting, because the two were never scored against each other. Bev Francis and Ellen Van Maris meet that test 4 times. For scale, this database holds 11 recorded results for Bev Francis and 13 for Ellen Van Maris across their full careers. Counted from the contest record as of September 21, 2026.
Bev Francis and Ellen Van Maris at their peak
Peak window = the athlete's Olympia-title years where available, otherwise their best-placement years. Derived from recorded contest results. It is a span of years, not a rating.
Bev Francis reached her competitive peak from 1986 to 1988, her strongest placement years on record (14% win rate across 7 contests in the window).
Ellen Van Maris (2) reached her competitive peak from 1982 to 1984, her strongest placement years on record (38% win rate across 8 contests in the window).
Score these two prime windows against each other on Prime vs Prime, where Olympia dominance is weighted for the size of the field each athlete beat.
Bev Francis, beyond the scoreline
The part of this matchup a results table cannot hold, written by hand rather than derived from the record.
Six Olympia appearances between 1986 and 1991, with third in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and second in 1990 and 1991. She won the World Pro Championships in 1987.
Her physique was more muscular than the judging of the time was willing to reward, and the argument about whether it should have been is one of the defining disputes in the division's history. She finished second twice and never won it.
Bev Francis profile Ellen Van Maris profile Compare other athletes
Attribute Tug-of-War
Each bar splits a metric by each athlete's share of their combined total. A centered bar means they are level.
Not enough data to compare
Career attributes could not be calculated for one or both athletes.
Career Overlap Timeline
Each bar runs from an athlete's first recorded contest to their last, so the stretch where the two bars cross is the period both were competing. The marks on the bars are the years they met in the same division, one mark per year however many times they met in it. Careers that never cross can still be read against each other on career totals; they just cannot produce a head-to-head record.
Career timeline unavailable
We do not have enough dated contest results to draw a timeline.
Career Stats Comparison
These are career-long figures, drawn from the results we hold for each athlete rather than only the contests the two shared, which is why a pair who never met still has something to compare. Where the two differ, the row marks the stronger figure: the higher number, except on Career Start and Best Placement, where the lower one is better and takes the mark. A row the two are level on marks neither.
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This page counts finishing positions
Every figure here comes from where each athlete placed in the contest record. Judging sheets and point spreads are not in the database, so a comparison tells you who finished higher on the night. It does not tell you by how much, or how close the call was.
- A head-to-head result needs both athletes at the same contest in the same division. Two athletes on the same stage in different divisions were never judged against each other, so that show is not counted as a meeting.
- Only contests both athletes actually entered can be settled here. Careers that never overlapped produce a side-by-side record and no head-to-head, because there is nothing to count.
- Career totals cover the results we hold. A missing regional or amateur show lowers a total; it never invents one.
- A shared placement is left as a tie. It is reported separately rather than split between the two athletes.