at the 1970 Mr. Olympia

Bill Pearl

I won the title of "Mr. Olympia" six times in 1970-1975, but this does not mean that I did not meet worthy resistance. For example, in 1972, the formidable Sergio challenged me to a duel, which is still talked about. In those years, the star of Serge Nubret rose, and at the 1973 Mr. Olympia competition, he made a stunning impression with his ability to create extraordinary size and muscle relief with a rather graceful physique.

In 1973, a new "monster" appeared on the scene. Louis Ferrigno won the title of "Mr. Universe" and let everyone know that a strong opponent appeared on the horizon. Louis again became "Mr. Universe" the following year, and then entered the competition "Mr. Olympia". He admitted that he always treated me with some trepidation, but this did not stop him from doing everything possible to take away the honorary title from me.

Joe Weider presents prizes to the 1973 winners: Ken Waller (Mr. World), Louis Ferrigno (Mr. America), and me (Mr. Olympia)

Posing with Serge Nubret and Franco Colombu at the Mr. Olympia competition in 1973

"Mr. Olympia" 1974, with Louis Ferrigno and Joe Weider.

"Mr. Olympia" 1975, with Serge Nubret, Louis Ferrigno and Ben Vader.

"Mr. Olympia" 1975, with Franco Columbu.

Franco Colombo

The 1975 Mr. Olympia was arguably the pinnacle in the history of these great competitions. Ferrigno returned determined to win; Serge Nubret also returned and was in excellent shape. This is the first time six or seven former champions have competed for this title, and I am especially proud of my victory, after which I retired from competition for a long time.

The following year, a truly grand event in the history of bodybuilding took place. Титул "Мистер Олимпия" завоевал Franco Colombo — первый спортсмен небольшого роста, которому удалось добиться такого успеха. Up until then, it was usually the taller contestants who won, but since 1976, growth has ceased to play a decisive role. The main components of success were muscularity and the almost complete absence of body fat, which required an almost scientific approach to training and a strict diet. In the late 70s, Frank Zane reached the zenith of his fame, winning three consecutive Mr. Olympia titles due to his unusually aesthetic physique. Robbie Robinson also reached world class and displayed aesthetic qualities along with well-developed muscles. On the other hand, when Cal Shkalak became the champion of the Miss Universe pageant in 1976, it was achieved more through incredible development of muscle mass than through symmetrical development, like Frank Zane.

In 1980 I returned to competition and won the Mr. Olympia competition in Sydney. It was hard to believe that the rivalry could reach such proportions or that I would have to face such fierce competition with a short bodybuilder like Chris Dickerson. Everywhere I saw examples of the once unimaginable development of individual muscle groups - from the hips of Tom Platz to the latissimus dorsi of Roy Callender - mind-blowing relief, incredible density. My career has been longer than most bodybuilders (due in part to the fact that I started training at an early age), but in the 1970s, the growing popularity of bodybuilding meant that many of the stars of the 60s had to actively participate in competitions.to defend their titles against new challengers.

Frank Zane

Robbie Robinson

The 1970s also saw an increase in interest in the International Bodybuilding Association as the main bodybuilding organization. Under the leadership of its president, Ben Weider, the IFAC now has over a hundred member countries and has become the sixth largest sports federation in the world. In addition, the competition for the title of "Mr. Olympia" is now considered the highest professional championship in bodybuilding, which can be compared with the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the US Open golf championship.

"PEOPLE PUMPING IRON"

One of the biggest influences on bodybuilding in the 1970s was the book The People Pumping Iron, which was later made into a movie. Charles Gaines and George Butler chose a topic that most people knew practically nothing, and made one of the most hotly debated over the next ten years. For the first time, the general public got some idea of ​​what bodybuilding is and what bodybuilders do. Gaines and Butler were able to draw people's attention to a sport that had been in the shadows for a long time due to rumors and ignorance. The success of The People Pumping Iron not only gave my career a big boost and helped bodybuilding break into the mainstream of sports broadcasting and big-budget movies, but it also propelled bodybuilding's triumphant transition from high school and university gyms to cultural venues like the Sydney Opera House. and the Whitney Museum in New York. Photographs of bodybuilders have appeared on countless magazine covers, and a number of books have been written about bodybuilding that have gone on to become bestsellers.

BODYBUILDING IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETEES

Once upon a time during the competition for the title of "Mr. Olympia" I was opposed by no more than two or three experienced participants. В 1980 году на сцену конкурса вышли Frank Zane, Крис Дикерсон, Бойер Коу, Кен Уоллер, Майк Менцер, Роджер Уолкер, Том Платц, Самир Банут, Рой Каллендер и многие другие. Такой парад талантов был бы немыслимым в 1968 году, хотя Серджио Олива, Larry Scott, Peг Парк или Harold Poole в своей лучшей форме выглядели бы не менее впечатляюще даже в 1980 году.

Posing with Boyer Coe and Frank Zane at the 1980 Mr. Olympia

It soon became clear that the achieved scope of rivalry between the best of the best would continue into the future. In 1981 and 1982 победителями «Олимпии» были многоопытные участники Franco Colombo и Крис Дикерсон, но через несколько лет эти чемпионы перестали принимать участие в соревнованиях, и наступила эпоха, в которой главенствовало массивное телосложение. Until then, short athletes had no less chance of winning an honorary title than their tall rivals. In the early 80s, the winners were mostly bodybuilders under two hundred pounds (Scott, Zane, Columbo, Dickerson) rather than those over two hundred pounds (Oliva, Samir Banut and myself).

Franco Colombo — "Мистер Олимпия" 1981 г.

Chris Dickerson - Mr. Olympia 1982

Then came Lee Haney, whose massive and aesthetically proportioned physique allowed him to win the title of "Mr. Olympia" eight times, surpassing my record of seven wins. After him came Dorian Yates, who repeatedly won at the Olympia, literally overwhelming his rivals with an Herculean physique and 265 pounds of strong, lumpy muscles. Any bodybuilding fan capable of traveling in a time machine from the mid-60s to the mid-90s and looking at modern-day Mr. Olympia holders would have thought that aliens had landed on Earth - the competitors were so huge.

Next to Dorian Yates, you could see Nasser El Sonbaty, Paul Dilett, Jean-Pierre Fuchs and Kevin Levrone. They were all so massive that only flawless muscular development allowed smaller bodybuilders like Shawn Ray (Arnold Classic champion) and Lee Priest to defend their rights on stage. The iconic figure of the early 90s was the amazing Flex Wheeler, who weighed about the same weight as I did when I won my last competition.

Obviously, this trend could not continue indefinitely. 270 pounds is perhaps not yet the limit for Mr. Olympia, the physique of the participants reached the point where the need to maintain symmetry and muscle relief no longer allowed for a significant increase in size. A 320-pound bodybuilder simply cannot have the same aesthetic qualities as a 220-pound athlete. Moreover, in the 1990s, even the audience began to show growing dissatisfaction with the opinion of the judges, who favored massiveness over traditional ideals of symmetry and beauty. But bodybuilding develops in cycles, like many other sports, so the pendulum, which has swung in one direction, will inevitably return to the center, and then rush to the other extreme.

Competitors in the 90s became massive.

They still retain the symmetry, proportion and definition of the musculature, as seen in this picture from the Mr. Olympia competition.

EXPLOSION OF INTEREST IN BODYBUILDING

В 1980-е годы произошел взрывной рост бодибилдинга — не только как соревновательного вида спорта, но в контексте его влияния на нашу культуру и общество generally. At the start of the decade, the International Bodybuilding Federation was already booming. organization with more than 100 member countries. By 1990, the IFAC included 160 countries, and, according to its president, Ben Weider, it became the fourth largest sports federation in the world.

The Soviet Union joined the IFAC in the mid-1980s, and after the collapse of the country, the various states that previously made it up also applied for membership in the IFAC, which helped to expand the ranks of the organization. In 1990, China joined the IFB, where competitions also began to take place, not only for men, but also for women involved in bodybuilding.

The culmination of success came on the day when bodybuilding received official recognition from the International Olympic Committee in 1997: it became a full member of the community of all amateur sports.

The influence of bodybuilding on modern culture is becoming apparent as we see more and more muscular bodies on the pages of print, in television advertisements. One bank proclaimed its strength as a financial institution by including a muscular arm flexed to display a bicep in its advertising brochure. The ordering service encouraged viewers to use its services on a promotional show featuring my bodybuilder doppelgänger Roland Kickinger. Bodybuilding, without a doubt, has changed the face of the heroes of the silver screen. As audiences became accustomed to the physique featured in films like Conan, Rambo, or Street Fighter with Jean-Claude Van Damme, young film and TV actors quickly learned that they would have to get into proper physical