Gold's Classic 1981
Gold's Classic 1981 was held in Venice Beach, CA, USA. The Men's Open Bodybuilding - Heavyweight title went to Rufus Howard.
- Year
- 1981
- Location
- Venice Beach, CA, USA
- Federation
- NPC
- Divisions
- 5
- Competitors
- 18
Results by Division
Gold's Classic 1981 Results
Gold's Classic 1981 was held in Venice Beach, CA, USA. The Men's Open Bodybuilding - Heavyweight title went to Rufus Howard.
Defending Short champion Andreas Cahling, who won in 1976, did not return.
About this show
Full placings from the Gold's Classic 1981 in Venice Beach, CA, USA, where 5 divisions were judged across Men's Open Bodybuilding - Heavyweight, Men's Open Bodybuilding - Lightheavyweight, Men's Open Bodybuilding - Lightweight, Men's Open Bodybuilding - Middleweight and Women's Bodybuilding. 18 athletes competed.
Top 3 Men's Open Bodybuilding - Heavyweight
Men's Open Bodybuilding - Heavyweight
| Place | Athlete | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rufus Howard | United States |
| 2nd | Marlon Darton | United States |
| 3rd | Lance Dreher | United States |
Official scores are unavailable.
Men's Open Bodybuilding - Lightheavyweight
| Place | Athlete | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Billy Arlen | United States |
| 2nd | Richard Stephenson | United States |
| 3rd | Rick Basacker | United States |
| 4th | Mike Sable | United States |
| 5th | Chico Crichlow | United States |
Official scores are unavailable.
Men's Open Bodybuilding - Lightweight
| Place | Athlete | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joe Distinti | United States |
| 2nd | Dean Tornabene | United States |
Official scores are unavailable.
Men's Open Bodybuilding - Middleweight
| Place | Athlete | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | James Youngblood First recorded win | United States |
| 2nd | Bill Register | United States |
| 3rd | Don Knipp | United States |
| 4th | Pat Weir | United States |
| 5th | Harry Grant | United States |
Official scores are unavailable.
Women's Bodybuilding
| Place | Athlete | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kay Baxter First recorded win | United States |
| 2nd | Cathy Basacker | United States |
| 3rd | Kelii | United States |
Official scores are unavailable.
Complete Results updated March 12, 2026 Source: MuscleMemory
This edition in context
- Competitors
- 18
- Divisions
- 5
- Size rank
- 5 of 9
Past winners of this event
| Year | Winner | Division |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Kimberly Rogers | HeavyWeight |
| 1993 | Leo Ingram | HeavyWeight |
| 1981 | Kay Baxter | Open |
The placings as recorded, and nothing past them
This page lists the divisions and finishing order held for this contest, with the source named on it wherever one was recorded. It reports what was published. It does not re-judge the show, and it does not reconcile disagreements between sources.
- Score and bodyweight columns appear only for divisions where those figures exist in the data. A division without them was recorded as placings only, not as a show that gave no scores.
- Where the record has two athletes sharing a place, both are listed. A tie is never broken to produce a single winner.
- Venue, federation and competitor count show only when the source supplied them. A field left out means nothing was sourced for it, never a zero.
- A date shows only where the source recorded the day of the show. Most historical listings give a year or a month and nothing finer, so those editions are dated by year alone rather than by a day we would have had to invent.
- A contest with no results has either not taken place yet or has no placements published. Check the status line above the results to tell which.