Update on Larry Scott and the Legends’ Reunion of 2000.
As a result of the incredible amount of interest and feedback I have received since releasing the “LARRY SCOTT - A life in Bodybuilding” DVD last week, I felt it was appropriate to update my Legends’ Reunion report where I had my first in-depth chat with Larry, back in 2000. At this event we took several great photos of him as well as many photos other famous people. To see our photos of Larry and a selection of some of the best of the other Reunion photos, recently all re-scanned at a high resolution, please click here.
Later this year our Legends’ Reunion video and the photos will be released on DVD. In the DVD photo gallery it will be the complete archive of photos taken that day by Clive Jaques, Jerry Fredrick and myself. To see more details on the Legends’ Reunion video, please click here for GMV-444. (The fact that the code number does not have ...DVD on the end of it means that this item is still only available on VHS. This applies to all similar items on our site.)
Larry Scott is one of the all time Legends of the sport and our DVD tribute to the first ever Mr Olympia winner is long overdue. Larry is still active appearing at Expos and running his own fitness business in Utah. For more information on our new Larry Scott release, please click here for full details on GMV-657DVD. In my updated version of the original Legends’ Reunion report, I would like to pay tribute to those very dear friends who attended and are no longer with us today. This list includes Mickey Hargitay, Joe Gold, Gordon Mitchell, Joe Valdez, Gordon Wong, Harold Zinkin and Dr John Gourgott. If I have omitted anyone from this list, please let me know.
My updated report as at January 2007 is as follows.
The Legends' Reunion at World Gym in October 2000 In October 2000 Bill Comstock in conjunction with Joe Gold, World Gym and IRONMAN Magazine held a reunion of bodybuilding greats to honour my 35 years in bodybuilding film making and photography.
It all began back in 1965 when I took my first bodybuilding photos to submit with my articles to "IRONMAN" and English "Health & Strength" magazines. 1968 saw my first videos shot here on bodybuilders from my home stat of South Australia and then in 1970 I shot my first major bodybuilding movie. That was with the current Mr. Australia Frank Colombera.
In 1983 I commenced shooting on video, covering major contests and other events around the world, such as the FIBO Expo in Germany, to the Olympia and Arnold Expos, and the very popular 'behind the scenes and pump room" videos. It is impossible to say how may bodybuilders have passed through the lenses of my cameras in the period from 1968 to date!
This reunion was a rare opportunity to gather with my friends and associates, some of whom I had not seen for almost 30 years. However, I was really disappointed that my old partner Harold Mason of Film Associates was not able to attend. He helped me produce many of the films from 1970 to 1982. We all owe him a big thank you for fostering my film making in this early period which led to my current productions on video over the last 25 years.
This special event was held at the new World Gym Corporate headquarters in Marina del Rey. It was a wonderful time for reminiscences, short speeches and photo taking. I doubt we will see the like of it again with these former champions all in one place at one time. We were lucky that day with a magnificent southern Californian day of blue skies and sunshine. In fact I would rate the occasion as probably the best day of my life (apart from my wedding day of course!!). My good friend Clive Jaques recorded the day for me in photos while James Cook shot it for me on video. I also must thanks Jerry Fredrick who made all of his photos from this wonderful event available to me. As mentioned, all photos will be in the photo gallery of the DVD release. A few of the low res photos we first posted back in early 2001 are in our Male Gallery, please click here. However the newly rescanned photos mentioned above including Larry Scott can be viewed here.
The furthest travelled for the event were ERNIE SANTIAGO from Hawaii, photographer CLIVE JAQUES from England, and LIZZY TAYLOR from Germany. I truly appreciated the attendance of everyone at this very happy and historic event – the only disappointment being that none of my family could be there to share the fun and camaraderie with me.
I was able to chat on video to some of the stars, such as DAVE DRAPER, TOM PLATZ, ERNIE SANTIAGO, CLINT BEYERLE, EDDIE GIULIANI, GORDON MITCHELL, ROBBY ROBINSON - just to name a few. Larry Scott also spoke which you will see in the Scott DVD. Earlier in the day I had been a guest in the home of MICKEY & ELLEN HARGITAY, and I was delighted that they were also present. Over 2 separate sessions Mickey told m on video his life story in bodybuilding with Gordon Mitchell present and helping at the second taping.
The MC for the function was famous bodybuilding photographer and writer GENE MOZÉE. As usual Gene did a great job with introductions of famous faces and keeping things moving with brief comments on many of the special guests. There was not one person present who was unknown to Gene who has an amazing memory and knowledge on all things bodybuilding.
There were a number of personal highlights for me which included my first ever meeting with the 1st Mr. Olympia (1965) LARRY SCOTT, and his friend DON HOWORTH. Larry still has an 18" arm which he flexed for us. Also chatting with the famous TV and movie pinup girl GLORIA PALL - a super personality who was full of wonderful stories. I had nice tributes about my film work from TOM PLATZ and LOU FERRIGNO. I also thanked my sponsor of GMV at that time, TOM LINCIR of the IVANKO BARBELL COMPANY of San Pedro. My friendship with Tom goes back to 1969.
The gathering included a number of former Hercules actors - GORDON MITCHELL, MICKEY HARGITAY, BRAD HARRIS, ED FURY, LOU FERRIGNO and PETER LUPUS. This was certainly a first to see them all together and between them they have made hundreds of movies (not all Hercules of course). Two of the local Los Angeles TV stations sent cameramen to grab highlights of the reunion. They were aware that it was also the first reunion of bodybuilder/actors in the Italian sword and sandal type of movies, and the first reunion of some of the musclemen in Mae West's legendary nightclub act.
ROBBY ROBINSON presented me with a wooden statue he had specially carved for the occasion and DAVE DRAPER presented me with a copy of his new book "BROTHER IRON SISTER STEEL".
Apologies were received from John Balik, Mike Mentzer, Bill Grant and Don Peters. Mike & Don were both in poor health, with Mike passing away on June 10th this year, and Don Peters on March 16th, 2001. Don was 64 years old and died from cancer. Don Peters was a former Mr. America and I shot photos (on the Venice Beach) and a movie of him in July 1978. He was a real fun loving character and loved to tell stories about the other famous bodybuilders. I wish I had written these stories down. You can see Don’s photos in the Men's Gallery. Please click here.
Finally the group photos were taken and it was impossible to fit everyone in the frame at one time! My thanks to both Clive and Jerry Fredrick for the photos used in our Reunion Gallery.
A list of the attendees follows (in no particular order). Once a again my sincere thanks to all those who attended and made this such a memorable day for me, and my appreciation to event coordinator Bill Comstock for the huge amount of time and effort he put in to tracking down and inviting many of the guys I had filmed and photographed in USA over the last 30 years. The gathering ended with some wonderful food, and those who could stay lingered on chatting until late into the evening.A list of the attendees follows (in no particular order). Once a again my sincere thanks to all those who attended and made this such a memorable day for me, and my appreciation to event coordinator Bill Comstock for the huge amount of time and effort he put in to tracking down and inviting many of the guys I had filmed and photographed in USA over the last 30 years.
Paula Boelsems
Glenn Sundby
Rory Leidelmeier
Joe Valdez
Gordon Wong
Don Howorth
Bill Cunningham
Don & Mrs. Arnold
Ed & Sheri Fury
Pat O'Brien
Steve Downs
Bob Paris
Charlie Fautz
Harold & Mrs. Zinkin
Bob Delmonteque
Dave and Laree Draper
Larry & Mrs. Scott
Mike Glass
Chuck Mahoney
Armand Tanny
Mandy Tanny
Zabo Koszewski
Ed Giuliani
Peter Lupus
Lou Ferrigno
Tom and Cha Platz
Victor Konovalov
Bill Smith
Gloria Pall
Mickey & Ellen Hargitay
Roy Goldman
Bill Pettis
Robby Robinson
Mo El Moussawi
Mike Uretz
John Isaacs
Jon Jon Park
Leroy Colbert
Joe Gold
Gordon Mitchell
Bill Comstock
Kip Behar
Bill Howard
Lynn Conkwright
Vince Taylor
Brad Harris
Lizzy Taylor & Peter Hellmann
Gene Mozée
George Helmer
Tom Lincir
Jerry Fredrick
Kevin Thomas
Ernie & Mrs. Santiago
Jerome Fergusson
Martina Sharp
Dr. John Gourgott
Albert & Mrs. Beckles
Bill Dobbins
Steve Marjanian
Clint & Cathy Beyerle
Seymour Koenig
Markus Reinhardt
Clive Jaques
James Cook
Nercy Navab
Nima Kiani
Heather Tristany
Daniel L. Nelson
Eddie Espinoza
Negrita Jayde
Steve Cepello (Steve Strong)
Kevin Thomas
To see the video of this event, please click here.
14 Feb 2007
Wayne’s Hard News - 2006 NABBA Universe Report
2006 NABBA Universe Report
On October 8th the NABBA Universe was back again in its recent home at the Floral Hall in Southport, England. Commencing in 1948 with John Grimek winning the first Universe and with no event in 1949, this was the 57th staging of the Universe competition.
My comments on the Men’s classes are first, followed by my comments on the Women.
MASTERS OVER 40
This was not as big as last year’s class but the quality was phenomenal and one of the toughest classes of the whole Universe. Each year this class is unbelievable and many of the guys would have placed high in the open classes, if they had not entered the Masters.
This year it was Dutch power. For such a small country they certainly turn out many world class physiques. It was a most clear cut victory for JAN De WEERD - an outstanding champion. He was tall, had size, shape and superb condition and excellent posing.
Second was the evergreen star in UK bodybuilding DAYO AUDI. In almost any other year, this Masters title would have gone to Audi, such was the standard. Audi looked huge and fantastic but did not quite have the hard edge that his Dutch rival showed on the day.
In third place was the fine and much improved physique of New Yorker HUGH ROSS. When Hugh last competed several years ago, he was disappointed with his placing and spoke of retirement. At that time I encouraged him to stay with it as I felt he had a special quality to bring to the stage. This time the judges rewarded that very special quality and we all enjoyed his most impressive posing routine. Hugh was born in Guyana, South America where he is a local hero.
In fourth place was Australia’s GRANT KING. I believe this was Grant’s highest placing at an International NABBA event and augers well for the future. Grant showed a good degree of hard muscle and very nice overall symmetry. 5th was the Latvian AIVARS VISOCKIS who displayed wonderful condition and is always in top shape. England’s DAVID STEELE took a well deserved 6th place and is also a man to watch in future events.
MASTERS OVER 50
This was an emotional double 2006 victory for England’s BERNIE COOPER. Bernie won this class at the Worlds in Dublin earlier this year and this time received straight firsts from every judge. A totally deserved and very clear-cut victory. Over the years I have watched Bernie many times in the Masters class and always he has been the bridesmaid. It was obvious to me from the very first set of comparisons that this was Bernie’s year. His back is outstanding and his overall size and condition truly remarkable for a man of his age. Bernie was ripped! He is an absolute credit to himself and the sport for his never say die attitude. He has no obviously weak body part and has a great total package. Watch for the emotion on Bernie’s face when second place is called out and he knows he is finally the winner!
In second place was the Polish marvel ANDRZEJ BRZEZINSKI. He displayed great maturity of muscle but could not match the muscularity of Bernie Cooper. Andrzej lifted Bernie off his feet when his victory was announced!
In 3rd place was the tight and very symmetrical physique of Australia’s TONY RIZZO. This was Tony’s best ever placing at the Universe and matched his recent 3rd placing in this class at the World’s in Dublin in June. Tony presently is resident in Singapore and I feel that with a little more hardness, he can take this title in the future.
In 4th place was the very neat physique of England’s GRAHAM PARK. Former champion EARL MADURO had to settle for 5th place this time.
JUNIORS UNDER 21
With again 14 competitors in this class it was the best batch of Juniors I can remember in a Junior Universe division. The very narrow winner was the handsome smiling “Golden Russian” VITALY GERASIMOV. He had a physique literally from the Steve Reeves Golden Days of bodybuilding displaying a tiny waist, symmetrical, good condition and looks that did not hurt his chances. He will be a young man to watch in the future as he matures into the open class. This was a second Junior Universe victory to Russia in the last 4 years, and although very close with second, it was thoroughly deserved.
In second place by one point was DAMIAN CLOETE of South Africa. He was the recent winner of this class in Dublin several months ago. With huge arms and not lacking in size, he did not display the same degree of separation and definition and it cost him the double. Two fine young athletes with nothing much between them. Last year he took 4th place in this class. These young men are the future of bodybuilding and we need to do all that we can to encourage more young men into the sport.
3rd place went to the brilliant young Mexican, GIOVANNI AZPEITIA. Some of you will know him from his appearances in Musclemania in USA. This was his first time competing in UK and he showed great potential and excellent condition.
4th place went to England’s NATHAN de ASHA. He is a young man with great potential. 5th went to another South African in GRAISON HOM with Australia’s LUCKY HATZIPANTELIS doing very nicely to round out the top 6. He probably took the award for darkest tan in the whole competition!
MR CLASS 4
It was finally a Universe victory for long time English top competitor, PAUL SUTTON. He has a wonderful overall physique coupled with a very pleasing posing style. Small in stature he is big in every other way from his superb symmetry to his shredded condition. He has fought hard and long for this title.
MARILANDIO PONCHET of Brazil made it two years in a row in second position with a clear cut win over 3rd placegetter LEONARDO FLORES of Mexico. I felt that Marilandio showed nice improvement this year but not enough to topple Paul. His time will come and his condition and size should win through in the very near future.
In 4th place was a real cool dude by the name of JERRY KOOLHOVEN. Not surprisingly from Holland with a name such as that, he showed great potential and I was impressed by his condition and energetic posing style.
MR CLASS 3
What a tough, close class this was with only a few points separating 1st from 3rd place. This seems to happen each year in this class.
In 1st place was a Dutch bodybuilder once again in NESSET ICLY replacing last year’s Dutch champion KHALID ALMOHSINAWI. Nesset was huge, extremely muscular and in great shape such that he edged out ALEXADRE NATAF of France. Nataf had a more esthetic physique but was out-muscled by the sheer size and density of Icly’s physique. If there had been an award for most muscular man, I feel sure it would have gone to Icly.
In his usual ripped, outstanding condition was England’s own PHIL CARLON. He was only a few points behind the 2nd place guy but again had to settle for a 3rd place finish. Phil has been coming up every year in both size and condition and always presents a totally professional physique on the day. In particular he has great calves – an area often lacking with many of his rivals. However it was again not to be “his day”. I still feel that he can take this class.
FERNANDO ALMEIDA of Brazil was only a few points behind Carlon proving again what a tight class this was. Australia’s ever popular CHARLES DUCA (formerly of Malta) was 5th with a very neat and hard physique with outstanding arm development. He has several World titles under his belt and is a true competitor. FABIO DOS SANTOS of Brazil rounded out 6th place with a most pleasing physique.
MR CLASS 2
This was another outstanding class with a brand new star emerging in the shape of Czech Republic’s TOMAS BURES. It was not just size. This guy had class stamped all over him and there were no weaknesses in his physique. He was totally impressive from every angle and in every aspect of physique display. From his outstanding calves and overall leg development to his small waist to his superb upper body. Great rounded delts, wonderful arms, superb abs and most impressive of all – shredded condition. When he posed side chest, all the striations were visible in his delts through his paper thin skin. Not surprisingly he got straight firsts from almost every judge. I felt at the time of the prejudging of his class that I was probably looking at the overall winner of the 2006 Amateur Mr. Universe, he was that impressive.
In second place was ALISTAIR SMYTH from Northern Ireland. Alistair showed great potential and presented a very symmetrical package which in any other year may have very well taken this class. This class 2 was certainly a class of new faces with many of the guys being quite unknown to me. 3rd place went to BABAK MOAERI of Dubai, UAE. He is another outstanding Arab physique in a similar mould to Sami Al-Haddad but with not quite Sami’s degree of density of muscle.
4th place was garnered by BRUNO MATIAS of France. He was another strong member of Olivier Ripert’s French team. These French bodybuilders seem to be on the upswing again and are a team to be watched. 5th place went to SAMUEL VIEIRA of Brazil. He had great muscularity but was not able to place any higher this time in such a strong class. Darren Smith of UK rounded out the top 6.
MR CLASS 1
These were the tall guys, the biggest physiques in the amateur competition and the last class to be judged. Their presence is always keenly anticipated and not simply because they signal ”food time” at the end of prejudging! The big, humorous Russian ALEXEY NETESANOV finally proved he had what is takes to be number one after near misses in the past. Last year he placed 3rd. He came in leaner and tighter this year and it was what the judges wanted to see from him. He is a very funny guy, wiggling his head from side to side like a “bobble doll” when he hits his most muscular poses and pulling some great faces as he wrings every ounce of muscle tension and emotion out of himself. He was a popular winner with the audience too.
In second place was JULIO CESAR DE FREITAS of Brazil. Julio was also very big and impressive but not showing the degree of separation that enabled Alexey to take the title away from his grasp. In 3rd it was the Dutchman GINO BARIOS. I felt Gino had slipped back a little in size this time from the last time he competed in the Universe 2 year’s ago. He has superb shape and when he gets it all together he can take this class easily. NEVEN CORAK of Croatia dropped to 4th this time and still posses a most pleasing physique. I would like him to come in with his tan a little darker as he looked rather pale under the excellent lighting.
RADEK LONC from the Czech Republic took out 5th place from the “Golden Greek” ELIAS TRIANTAFILOU.
THE OVERALL AMATEUR UNIVERSE
The Overall Amateur Mr Universe judging took place at the evening show. In my opinion it was primarily a battle between the Hercules NESSET ICLI and the super refined quality of TOMAS BURES. No disrespect to the other 2 class winners. They were all outstanding. However the judges preferred the total package of shape, size, density and muscularity of THOMAS BURES – 2006 Amateur Mr. Universe. He was a worthy champion and could hold his own in any lineup in any Federation, amateur or professional.
PRO-AM EVENT
As the Overall Amateur Mr. Universe, BURES now joined the other 6 competitors in this class. The final result with victory to STEPH SINTON produced a Universe double for the Scottish star. Steph has won the Overall Amateur Mr. Universe in 2004 and has also won the Overall NABBA Worlds that same year. Steph has the complete package and there is not a lot more I need say about his outstanding physique. His posing, his superb condition and his abs are all worthy of special mention.
Runner up was Overall Amateur Mr. Universe TOMAS BURES, with PETER ELVIS BROWN taking 3rd. Brown had the most massive and dense physique in the whole event. All he needs now is more refining and tightness to give this title a real shake.
As usual the judging throughout the whole Universe was excellent and accurate and I had no disappointments with any of the decisions. The others in the Pro-Am class were CHARLES MARIO and JOAO BISPO DE ANDRADE both of Brazil, GOFF HARGREAVES from UK and BILLY BOURNE from the Republic of Ireland. Placing were only announced down to 3rd place at the event.
A very large and appreciative crowd was in attendance this year with a number of sponsor’s stands in the Floral Hall. Be sure you put next year’s event on your calendar for Southport! When we have the exact date confirmed we will publicise it. Special thanks go to all of the hard working officials too numerous to mention. A special mention to NABBA Chairman Brian Robinson who attended under the most stressful of situations and also a special mention for Val Charles. As secretary she takes much of the strain for the smooth running of the event and looking after all the various pressures that come her way.
THE WOMEN
FIGURE CLASS 2
ANDREA CARVALHO of Brazil missed out on making it a sensational Universe double by one point as she narrowly lost to her great rival from Brazil, SILVIA FINOCCHI. This was a somewhat costly defeat as Sylvia subsequently went on to win the overall Figure Miss Universe title. Back in June this year, Sylvia won the overall figure title at the Worlds. She now has the Figure Class double for 2006.
Silvia had the complete package. She displayed excellent symmetry, beautiful shape, and a considerable degree of hardness with no real weaknesses. Runner up Andrea was possibly a touch down on the fine condition she displayed last year. When it comes down to one point between two outstanding competitors, a fair degree of luck, and a judge’s personal preference for body type is all that separated these 2 champions.
In 3rd place and proving quite a surprise package was CHRISTINE HAJJAR from Australia. Last year in her 1st Universe, Christine placed 6th and then promptly retired. Talked back into competing she came back with a vengeance placing not far behind the 2 champions from Brazil. This was am amazing effort for a relative newcomer. Christine presented what many felt was the best and most enjoyable posing routine of any woman in the whole show. Her physique was hard, well balanced and beautifully symmetrical and showed great potential for higher placings in the future. I hope she will be back next year.
In 4th place it was the slender and gorgeous SVITLANA OLIYNYK from the Ukraine. In 5th place it was the seductive and experienced FLAVIA CRISSOS from Brazil. Last year she took 3rd place but this year she could not reproduce the same condition. Flavia still has had one of the best posing routines going around. Rounding out the top 6 was FEDERICA ORTU from Italy. She was a pocket sized bundle of dynamite.
FIGURE CLASS 1
The winner of this class came as no surprise to me. A beautifully shaped and perfectly conditioned MALIKA ZITOUNI of Northern Ireland took this class in great style while celebrating her greatest victory to date. Her total presentation was outstanding in every way and she was a clear winner over second placed YANA VLADIMIROVA of RUSSIA. Malika’s posing routine was perfectly constructed to displayed her lean physique to perfection. YANA had to settle for 2nd for the second year in a row.
3rd place in this very tough class went to the very popular and incredibly built KAREN BRICKLEBANK of England. Her abs were quite outstanding and she presented a very strong package that I felt might have gained her second place. The difference was only a couple of points between 2nd and 3rd. Karen had the best physique in the whole figure section.
IRA MAYAN of Israel, now living in USA, was a real surprise package in 4th place, only one point behind Karen. She showed amazing condition, with wonderful abs and back. Needing just a little more size in the arms and legs for perfect symmetry and more stage experience, she could take this class in the future, based on the potential shown this year. Her coach and mentor is the famous gym owner Bob Bonham of Strong & Shapely Gym in New Jersey.
5th place went to Sonia Chiarabini of Italy. She is a seasoned competitor with a symmetrical figure physique. 6th place went to Reyna Chavez of Mexico. It is pleasing to see the number of Mexican competitors in the Universe increasing each year.
THE OVERALL FIGURE UNIVERSE
The battle was between MALIKA ZITOUNI and SILVIA FINOCCHI with the current World Champion Silvia from Brazil having a little too much experience, size and thickness for Malika on this occasion. Malika looked absolutely beautiful and I feel sure she will go on to take this overall title in the very near future. She represents the ideal look for figure class in my opinion.
MISS PHYSIQUE
Once again it was a most convincing victory for OLGA TIKHONOVA of Russia. It was her 3rd Universe title to go with her 2 World titles. She was a class above the other competitors, not that this is in any way putting down the outstanding young runner-up SASKIA SALEMINK of Holland. Last year Olga had to settle for 2nd place in what was a surprise decision to me. This time she scored firsts from every judge. Her physique is near faultless and she carries herself with grace, style and dignity. The mark of a true champion. Olga told me she has been competing for 12 years and will now retire. I mentioned that with her 3 Universe titles and 2 World titles she should continue on for one more Worlds so that she could make it 3 plus 3 double by winning the Worlds in Malta, June 2007! We will see what happens.
In 3rd position was SIMONE SOUZA of Brazil with 4th place going to RIANA BEECH of South Africa. In 5th place it was IEVA GASUNE of Latvia rounding out the class. The top 2 in this class were definitely in a class of their own. The rest were somewhat behind them.
MISS FITNESS
It was a first victory in this class for South African PHILIPPA LAMONT WILKIE. She took the class with style! Philippa performed an awesome routine and with her very lean and lithe body she won the Swimwear and Aerobic rounds. In 2nd place was the powerful and very impressive HELEN HEANEN representing UK. Helen performed an incredible strength routine featuring hand balancing. I liked her strong physique but suspect the judges may have judged her down a little in this area. Although she produced an amazing fitness routine, quite lean athletic physiques seem to be the norm for this class. 3rd place went to ELENA NOSOVA of Russia. This class had 5 top competitors and is getting bigger and better each year.
NB. Many of the names are quite complex and I may have some spelling errors above. Let me know at wayne@gmv.com.au if you spot any errors.
Our 2 men’s DVDs from this event are now available, please click here.For a complete set of UNIVERSE RESULTS, please click here.To see our video on the complete history of the NABBA Universe, please click here.For the Women’s Universe DVD GMV-652DVD please click here.
On October 8th the NABBA Universe was back again in its recent home at the Floral Hall in Southport, England. Commencing in 1948 with John Grimek winning the first Universe and with no event in 1949, this was the 57th staging of the Universe competition.
My comments on the Men’s classes are first, followed by my comments on the Women.
MASTERS OVER 40
This was not as big as last year’s class but the quality was phenomenal and one of the toughest classes of the whole Universe. Each year this class is unbelievable and many of the guys would have placed high in the open classes, if they had not entered the Masters.
This year it was Dutch power. For such a small country they certainly turn out many world class physiques. It was a most clear cut victory for JAN De WEERD - an outstanding champion. He was tall, had size, shape and superb condition and excellent posing.
Second was the evergreen star in UK bodybuilding DAYO AUDI. In almost any other year, this Masters title would have gone to Audi, such was the standard. Audi looked huge and fantastic but did not quite have the hard edge that his Dutch rival showed on the day.
In third place was the fine and much improved physique of New Yorker HUGH ROSS. When Hugh last competed several years ago, he was disappointed with his placing and spoke of retirement. At that time I encouraged him to stay with it as I felt he had a special quality to bring to the stage. This time the judges rewarded that very special quality and we all enjoyed his most impressive posing routine. Hugh was born in Guyana, South America where he is a local hero.
In fourth place was Australia’s GRANT KING. I believe this was Grant’s highest placing at an International NABBA event and augers well for the future. Grant showed a good degree of hard muscle and very nice overall symmetry. 5th was the Latvian AIVARS VISOCKIS who displayed wonderful condition and is always in top shape. England’s DAVID STEELE took a well deserved 6th place and is also a man to watch in future events.
MASTERS OVER 50
This was an emotional double 2006 victory for England’s BERNIE COOPER. Bernie won this class at the Worlds in Dublin earlier this year and this time received straight firsts from every judge. A totally deserved and very clear-cut victory. Over the years I have watched Bernie many times in the Masters class and always he has been the bridesmaid. It was obvious to me from the very first set of comparisons that this was Bernie’s year. His back is outstanding and his overall size and condition truly remarkable for a man of his age. Bernie was ripped! He is an absolute credit to himself and the sport for his never say die attitude. He has no obviously weak body part and has a great total package. Watch for the emotion on Bernie’s face when second place is called out and he knows he is finally the winner!
In second place was the Polish marvel ANDRZEJ BRZEZINSKI. He displayed great maturity of muscle but could not match the muscularity of Bernie Cooper. Andrzej lifted Bernie off his feet when his victory was announced!
In 3rd place was the tight and very symmetrical physique of Australia’s TONY RIZZO. This was Tony’s best ever placing at the Universe and matched his recent 3rd placing in this class at the World’s in Dublin in June. Tony presently is resident in Singapore and I feel that with a little more hardness, he can take this title in the future.
In 4th place was the very neat physique of England’s GRAHAM PARK. Former champion EARL MADURO had to settle for 5th place this time.
JUNIORS UNDER 21
With again 14 competitors in this class it was the best batch of Juniors I can remember in a Junior Universe division. The very narrow winner was the handsome smiling “Golden Russian” VITALY GERASIMOV. He had a physique literally from the Steve Reeves Golden Days of bodybuilding displaying a tiny waist, symmetrical, good condition and looks that did not hurt his chances. He will be a young man to watch in the future as he matures into the open class. This was a second Junior Universe victory to Russia in the last 4 years, and although very close with second, it was thoroughly deserved.
In second place by one point was DAMIAN CLOETE of South Africa. He was the recent winner of this class in Dublin several months ago. With huge arms and not lacking in size, he did not display the same degree of separation and definition and it cost him the double. Two fine young athletes with nothing much between them. Last year he took 4th place in this class. These young men are the future of bodybuilding and we need to do all that we can to encourage more young men into the sport.
3rd place went to the brilliant young Mexican, GIOVANNI AZPEITIA. Some of you will know him from his appearances in Musclemania in USA. This was his first time competing in UK and he showed great potential and excellent condition.
4th place went to England’s NATHAN de ASHA. He is a young man with great potential. 5th went to another South African in GRAISON HOM with Australia’s LUCKY HATZIPANTELIS doing very nicely to round out the top 6. He probably took the award for darkest tan in the whole competition!
MR CLASS 4
It was finally a Universe victory for long time English top competitor, PAUL SUTTON. He has a wonderful overall physique coupled with a very pleasing posing style. Small in stature he is big in every other way from his superb symmetry to his shredded condition. He has fought hard and long for this title.
MARILANDIO PONCHET of Brazil made it two years in a row in second position with a clear cut win over 3rd placegetter LEONARDO FLORES of Mexico. I felt that Marilandio showed nice improvement this year but not enough to topple Paul. His time will come and his condition and size should win through in the very near future.
In 4th place was a real cool dude by the name of JERRY KOOLHOVEN. Not surprisingly from Holland with a name such as that, he showed great potential and I was impressed by his condition and energetic posing style.
MR CLASS 3
What a tough, close class this was with only a few points separating 1st from 3rd place. This seems to happen each year in this class.
In 1st place was a Dutch bodybuilder once again in NESSET ICLY replacing last year’s Dutch champion KHALID ALMOHSINAWI. Nesset was huge, extremely muscular and in great shape such that he edged out ALEXADRE NATAF of France. Nataf had a more esthetic physique but was out-muscled by the sheer size and density of Icly’s physique. If there had been an award for most muscular man, I feel sure it would have gone to Icly.
In his usual ripped, outstanding condition was England’s own PHIL CARLON. He was only a few points behind the 2nd place guy but again had to settle for a 3rd place finish. Phil has been coming up every year in both size and condition and always presents a totally professional physique on the day. In particular he has great calves – an area often lacking with many of his rivals. However it was again not to be “his day”. I still feel that he can take this class.
FERNANDO ALMEIDA of Brazil was only a few points behind Carlon proving again what a tight class this was. Australia’s ever popular CHARLES DUCA (formerly of Malta) was 5th with a very neat and hard physique with outstanding arm development. He has several World titles under his belt and is a true competitor. FABIO DOS SANTOS of Brazil rounded out 6th place with a most pleasing physique.
MR CLASS 2
This was another outstanding class with a brand new star emerging in the shape of Czech Republic’s TOMAS BURES. It was not just size. This guy had class stamped all over him and there were no weaknesses in his physique. He was totally impressive from every angle and in every aspect of physique display. From his outstanding calves and overall leg development to his small waist to his superb upper body. Great rounded delts, wonderful arms, superb abs and most impressive of all – shredded condition. When he posed side chest, all the striations were visible in his delts through his paper thin skin. Not surprisingly he got straight firsts from almost every judge. I felt at the time of the prejudging of his class that I was probably looking at the overall winner of the 2006 Amateur Mr. Universe, he was that impressive.
In second place was ALISTAIR SMYTH from Northern Ireland. Alistair showed great potential and presented a very symmetrical package which in any other year may have very well taken this class. This class 2 was certainly a class of new faces with many of the guys being quite unknown to me. 3rd place went to BABAK MOAERI of Dubai, UAE. He is another outstanding Arab physique in a similar mould to Sami Al-Haddad but with not quite Sami’s degree of density of muscle.
4th place was garnered by BRUNO MATIAS of France. He was another strong member of Olivier Ripert’s French team. These French bodybuilders seem to be on the upswing again and are a team to be watched. 5th place went to SAMUEL VIEIRA of Brazil. He had great muscularity but was not able to place any higher this time in such a strong class. Darren Smith of UK rounded out the top 6.
MR CLASS 1
These were the tall guys, the biggest physiques in the amateur competition and the last class to be judged. Their presence is always keenly anticipated and not simply because they signal ”food time” at the end of prejudging! The big, humorous Russian ALEXEY NETESANOV finally proved he had what is takes to be number one after near misses in the past. Last year he placed 3rd. He came in leaner and tighter this year and it was what the judges wanted to see from him. He is a very funny guy, wiggling his head from side to side like a “bobble doll” when he hits his most muscular poses and pulling some great faces as he wrings every ounce of muscle tension and emotion out of himself. He was a popular winner with the audience too.
In second place was JULIO CESAR DE FREITAS of Brazil. Julio was also very big and impressive but not showing the degree of separation that enabled Alexey to take the title away from his grasp. In 3rd it was the Dutchman GINO BARIOS. I felt Gino had slipped back a little in size this time from the last time he competed in the Universe 2 year’s ago. He has superb shape and when he gets it all together he can take this class easily. NEVEN CORAK of Croatia dropped to 4th this time and still posses a most pleasing physique. I would like him to come in with his tan a little darker as he looked rather pale under the excellent lighting.
RADEK LONC from the Czech Republic took out 5th place from the “Golden Greek” ELIAS TRIANTAFILOU.
THE OVERALL AMATEUR UNIVERSE
The Overall Amateur Mr Universe judging took place at the evening show. In my opinion it was primarily a battle between the Hercules NESSET ICLI and the super refined quality of TOMAS BURES. No disrespect to the other 2 class winners. They were all outstanding. However the judges preferred the total package of shape, size, density and muscularity of THOMAS BURES – 2006 Amateur Mr. Universe. He was a worthy champion and could hold his own in any lineup in any Federation, amateur or professional.
PRO-AM EVENT
As the Overall Amateur Mr. Universe, BURES now joined the other 6 competitors in this class. The final result with victory to STEPH SINTON produced a Universe double for the Scottish star. Steph has won the Overall Amateur Mr. Universe in 2004 and has also won the Overall NABBA Worlds that same year. Steph has the complete package and there is not a lot more I need say about his outstanding physique. His posing, his superb condition and his abs are all worthy of special mention.
Runner up was Overall Amateur Mr. Universe TOMAS BURES, with PETER ELVIS BROWN taking 3rd. Brown had the most massive and dense physique in the whole event. All he needs now is more refining and tightness to give this title a real shake.
As usual the judging throughout the whole Universe was excellent and accurate and I had no disappointments with any of the decisions. The others in the Pro-Am class were CHARLES MARIO and JOAO BISPO DE ANDRADE both of Brazil, GOFF HARGREAVES from UK and BILLY BOURNE from the Republic of Ireland. Placing were only announced down to 3rd place at the event.
A very large and appreciative crowd was in attendance this year with a number of sponsor’s stands in the Floral Hall. Be sure you put next year’s event on your calendar for Southport! When we have the exact date confirmed we will publicise it. Special thanks go to all of the hard working officials too numerous to mention. A special mention to NABBA Chairman Brian Robinson who attended under the most stressful of situations and also a special mention for Val Charles. As secretary she takes much of the strain for the smooth running of the event and looking after all the various pressures that come her way.
THE WOMEN
FIGURE CLASS 2
ANDREA CARVALHO of Brazil missed out on making it a sensational Universe double by one point as she narrowly lost to her great rival from Brazil, SILVIA FINOCCHI. This was a somewhat costly defeat as Sylvia subsequently went on to win the overall Figure Miss Universe title. Back in June this year, Sylvia won the overall figure title at the Worlds. She now has the Figure Class double for 2006.
Silvia had the complete package. She displayed excellent symmetry, beautiful shape, and a considerable degree of hardness with no real weaknesses. Runner up Andrea was possibly a touch down on the fine condition she displayed last year. When it comes down to one point between two outstanding competitors, a fair degree of luck, and a judge’s personal preference for body type is all that separated these 2 champions.
In 3rd place and proving quite a surprise package was CHRISTINE HAJJAR from Australia. Last year in her 1st Universe, Christine placed 6th and then promptly retired. Talked back into competing she came back with a vengeance placing not far behind the 2 champions from Brazil. This was am amazing effort for a relative newcomer. Christine presented what many felt was the best and most enjoyable posing routine of any woman in the whole show. Her physique was hard, well balanced and beautifully symmetrical and showed great potential for higher placings in the future. I hope she will be back next year.
In 4th place it was the slender and gorgeous SVITLANA OLIYNYK from the Ukraine. In 5th place it was the seductive and experienced FLAVIA CRISSOS from Brazil. Last year she took 3rd place but this year she could not reproduce the same condition. Flavia still has had one of the best posing routines going around. Rounding out the top 6 was FEDERICA ORTU from Italy. She was a pocket sized bundle of dynamite.
FIGURE CLASS 1
The winner of this class came as no surprise to me. A beautifully shaped and perfectly conditioned MALIKA ZITOUNI of Northern Ireland took this class in great style while celebrating her greatest victory to date. Her total presentation was outstanding in every way and she was a clear winner over second placed YANA VLADIMIROVA of RUSSIA. Malika’s posing routine was perfectly constructed to displayed her lean physique to perfection. YANA had to settle for 2nd for the second year in a row.
3rd place in this very tough class went to the very popular and incredibly built KAREN BRICKLEBANK of England. Her abs were quite outstanding and she presented a very strong package that I felt might have gained her second place. The difference was only a couple of points between 2nd and 3rd. Karen had the best physique in the whole figure section.
IRA MAYAN of Israel, now living in USA, was a real surprise package in 4th place, only one point behind Karen. She showed amazing condition, with wonderful abs and back. Needing just a little more size in the arms and legs for perfect symmetry and more stage experience, she could take this class in the future, based on the potential shown this year. Her coach and mentor is the famous gym owner Bob Bonham of Strong & Shapely Gym in New Jersey.
5th place went to Sonia Chiarabini of Italy. She is a seasoned competitor with a symmetrical figure physique. 6th place went to Reyna Chavez of Mexico. It is pleasing to see the number of Mexican competitors in the Universe increasing each year.
THE OVERALL FIGURE UNIVERSE
The battle was between MALIKA ZITOUNI and SILVIA FINOCCHI with the current World Champion Silvia from Brazil having a little too much experience, size and thickness for Malika on this occasion. Malika looked absolutely beautiful and I feel sure she will go on to take this overall title in the very near future. She represents the ideal look for figure class in my opinion.
MISS PHYSIQUE
Once again it was a most convincing victory for OLGA TIKHONOVA of Russia. It was her 3rd Universe title to go with her 2 World titles. She was a class above the other competitors, not that this is in any way putting down the outstanding young runner-up SASKIA SALEMINK of Holland. Last year Olga had to settle for 2nd place in what was a surprise decision to me. This time she scored firsts from every judge. Her physique is near faultless and she carries herself with grace, style and dignity. The mark of a true champion. Olga told me she has been competing for 12 years and will now retire. I mentioned that with her 3 Universe titles and 2 World titles she should continue on for one more Worlds so that she could make it 3 plus 3 double by winning the Worlds in Malta, June 2007! We will see what happens.
In 3rd position was SIMONE SOUZA of Brazil with 4th place going to RIANA BEECH of South Africa. In 5th place it was IEVA GASUNE of Latvia rounding out the class. The top 2 in this class were definitely in a class of their own. The rest were somewhat behind them.
MISS FITNESS
It was a first victory in this class for South African PHILIPPA LAMONT WILKIE. She took the class with style! Philippa performed an awesome routine and with her very lean and lithe body she won the Swimwear and Aerobic rounds. In 2nd place was the powerful and very impressive HELEN HEANEN representing UK. Helen performed an incredible strength routine featuring hand balancing. I liked her strong physique but suspect the judges may have judged her down a little in this area. Although she produced an amazing fitness routine, quite lean athletic physiques seem to be the norm for this class. 3rd place went to ELENA NOSOVA of Russia. This class had 5 top competitors and is getting bigger and better each year.
NB. Many of the names are quite complex and I may have some spelling errors above. Let me know at wayne@gmv.com.au if you spot any errors.
Our 2 men’s DVDs from this event are now available, please click here.For a complete set of UNIVERSE RESULTS, please click here.To see our video on the complete history of the NABBA Universe, please click here.For the Women’s Universe DVD GMV-652DVD please click here.
Wayne's Hard News - 2006 PDI Night of Champions Men's Bodybuilding Report
Wayne's Hard News - 2006 PDI Night of Champions Men's Bodybuilding ReportSeptember 15-16, 2006 in New York.
After a one year break the Night of Champions returned to New York with a bang - this time under the new PDI banner. Conceived and promoted by Wayne DeMilia with partners Charlie and Gavin Blake, this was the 27th staging of this famous event.
It was held in the Town Hall Theatre on 43rd Street where Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first ever Mr Olympia title in 1970. Many more NOCs were held in this wonderfully intimate theatre in the 80s. The stage was spectacular with a large Night of Champions stage dressing designed and built by Charlie Blake of Olympia stage fame. Charlie is the greatest stage innovator and designer in the field of bodybuilding shows. The audience was pleasing to the promoters and the staging and lighting were excellent.
This year the event kicked off with an amateur contest on the Friday night as a pro qualifier to the NOC next day. The qualifier had real quality rather than quantity with 14 top guys battling for their pro cards. The top2 in each class received their PDI pro cards and thus were qualified for the next day's pro show. The 4 sets of class winners were all in excellent shape.For a full list of pro qualifier competitors and results, please click here.
NOC prejudging commenced at 2PM Saturday with every guy getting a very good shake from the judges, both with individual poses and endless comparisons so that no one was overlooked or felt they had not been compared sufficiently.I estimate prejudging took approximately 2 hours to judge all 23 competitors.
The evening finals commenced with the free posing round and many innovative and entertaining routines were presented, some with amazing props. The use of props was optional and added to the entertainment value which is an important focus of the PDI. What specially pleased me was that all 23 athletes got to present their complete posing routines for the appreciative audience.
The PDI's stated aim is to put far greater emphasis on entertainment value in their events. This was carried out to perfection. As the event flyer said "See the hottest, sexiest best-built men in the world" - "The ultimate in Professional Bodybuilding Entertainment". Those words pretty well summed up the tone and the mood of the contest.Now for a few random comments on some of the competitors who impressed me, in no particular order.
Tom Jiminez, a local area gym owner from New Jersey posed superbly and presented a very tight and symmetrical physique. Tom placed 10th.
Geoff Hargreaves from UK was making his pro debut and posed with great maturity, confidence and style and presented a well balanced and very hard physique. It was obvious to me that he has guest posed at many events in UK.He placed a well deserved 8th.
Georgie Maiorano was one of the class winners from the qualifier and although he is short, he has great thickness in his physique from years of heavy training. He is especially huge in the arms and shoulders.
Billy Bourne from Ireland and current World Champion gave a determined posing display without quite achieving the degree of muscularity and separation he displayed several months previous when winning the Worlds. It is hard to peak twice in 3 months! Most find it near impossible to achieve.
While the judges' scores were computed, 74 year old guru Sri Chinmoy lifted Bill Pearl plus various other people in different lifts. It was an amazing display of strength. This was quite a highlight and provided good entertainment. 75 year old Bill received a lifetime achievement award as did the guru.
My thoughts on the top 7 physiques start with Sean Allan who placed a creditable 7th in a tough field. Probably the biggest man in the contest at about 6'5" and sporting huge 25" arms, this was the best I have ever seen Sean look. He certainly posed the longest of anyone, but it never became boring as he moved from side to side hitting arm poses for the cheering crowd. Sean was big and hard and can certainly break into the top 5 next time with a little refining and tightening of his physique.
In 6th place was Valentin Jabes of France, now living in USA. He is symmetrical and has good lines and excellent stage presence. A real showman.
5th place went to Steph Sinton from UK. Steph is an overall NABBA Amateur Mr Universe and Mr World winner and presented a most polished, symmetrical and tight physique. Coming on in a kilt and with Scottish sword as Brave Heart, he gave a spectacular presentation. I felt he may have taken 4th place but it was not to be. I understand that the judges felt that Steph probably needed a little more size to place higher. He was hard as a rock and in superb condition with excellent abs. His uncle is former Mr Universe winner Ian Lawrence of Scotland. (Steph won the 2006 NABBA Universe Pro-Am in UK one month later.)
In 4th place it was the huge and good looking Hungarian star, Zoltan Voros.I had not seen Zoltan before and his physique was very impressive in every way. With his size and symmetry, he could quite easily win this event in the future with slightly harder condition and better separation. His posing was entertaining without being memorable. This is an area in which I feel he can really shine in the future. He had great appeal to the ladies in the audience, one of whom called out that she would like to see him after the show!
3rd place went to the classy and best conditioned man in the contest, Sami Al-Haddad from Bahrain. This man is a real pro with his superb condition, attention to detail, near perfect symmetry and the air of a champion when ever he is on stage. His posing was also top class as he moved from pose to pose and worked all parts of the stage. I felt that he would probably take 2nd place, but it was not to be as the judges preferred the massive size of the German Andreas Frey. (Sami did take 2nd place to Lee Priest last weekend at the UK NOC event.)
2nd place went to the tall and massive German star Andreas Frey. I first saw Andreas guest posing at FIBO in Germany about 5 years ago. At that time when we shot a pumping and posing segment with him, I predicted he would later become a pro bodybuilder. I recall at that time that Andreas laughed saying he would never be good enough for that! Seems I was correct after all as he nearly stole the whole contest in this his pro debut. He is a former Mr Universe winner in Europe and a greatly experienced guest poser.
At a height of about 6'4" with very broad shoulders he truly is a huge man.He was probably the youngest man in the event and has years of improvement ahead of him. His overall package was very good and the only place where Lee Priest was clearly ahead of him was in the legs department.
Lee Priest stormed to victory or should I say flew to victory after his Superman act in the posing round. Marcellus DeMilia came on stage as Clark Kent, went into the phone booth, lights went out and out stepped Lee Priest in his Superman costume. It was all carried out perfectly to the great appreciation of the crowd.
I saw Lee win the IronMan Pro earlier this year and he was in similar brilliant condition. He thoroughly deserved the NOC title and this was certainly not given to him on past reputation. Lee's leg development made him stand out from the rest of the competitors, not to mention his amazing arms and "myth" pose. His overall package, size and condition made him a most worthy winner of this the first PDI NOC title.Lee has now won 5 pro shows, 2002 San Francisco GP, 2005 Australian GP, 2006 Iron Man Pro and now the NY and UK NOC shows. I have been lucky to have been present at all of Lee's pro victories except the latest one in London. Thus ended a great night of pro bodybuilding entertainment in the "Big Apple".
Special thanks to my pump room cameraman Wolfi and photos by Ray Cassar, both of Muscletime.com; and my NY helper David Mills (The pump room DVD will be released in November.)
For a complete set of NOC results, please click here.For full details on the 2 disc DVD set, please click here.
After a one year break the Night of Champions returned to New York with a bang - this time under the new PDI banner. Conceived and promoted by Wayne DeMilia with partners Charlie and Gavin Blake, this was the 27th staging of this famous event.
It was held in the Town Hall Theatre on 43rd Street where Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first ever Mr Olympia title in 1970. Many more NOCs were held in this wonderfully intimate theatre in the 80s. The stage was spectacular with a large Night of Champions stage dressing designed and built by Charlie Blake of Olympia stage fame. Charlie is the greatest stage innovator and designer in the field of bodybuilding shows. The audience was pleasing to the promoters and the staging and lighting were excellent.
This year the event kicked off with an amateur contest on the Friday night as a pro qualifier to the NOC next day. The qualifier had real quality rather than quantity with 14 top guys battling for their pro cards. The top2 in each class received their PDI pro cards and thus were qualified for the next day's pro show. The 4 sets of class winners were all in excellent shape.For a full list of pro qualifier competitors and results, please click here.
NOC prejudging commenced at 2PM Saturday with every guy getting a very good shake from the judges, both with individual poses and endless comparisons so that no one was overlooked or felt they had not been compared sufficiently.I estimate prejudging took approximately 2 hours to judge all 23 competitors.
The evening finals commenced with the free posing round and many innovative and entertaining routines were presented, some with amazing props. The use of props was optional and added to the entertainment value which is an important focus of the PDI. What specially pleased me was that all 23 athletes got to present their complete posing routines for the appreciative audience.
The PDI's stated aim is to put far greater emphasis on entertainment value in their events. This was carried out to perfection. As the event flyer said "See the hottest, sexiest best-built men in the world" - "The ultimate in Professional Bodybuilding Entertainment". Those words pretty well summed up the tone and the mood of the contest.Now for a few random comments on some of the competitors who impressed me, in no particular order.
Tom Jiminez, a local area gym owner from New Jersey posed superbly and presented a very tight and symmetrical physique. Tom placed 10th.
Geoff Hargreaves from UK was making his pro debut and posed with great maturity, confidence and style and presented a well balanced and very hard physique. It was obvious to me that he has guest posed at many events in UK.He placed a well deserved 8th.
Georgie Maiorano was one of the class winners from the qualifier and although he is short, he has great thickness in his physique from years of heavy training. He is especially huge in the arms and shoulders.
Billy Bourne from Ireland and current World Champion gave a determined posing display without quite achieving the degree of muscularity and separation he displayed several months previous when winning the Worlds. It is hard to peak twice in 3 months! Most find it near impossible to achieve.
While the judges' scores were computed, 74 year old guru Sri Chinmoy lifted Bill Pearl plus various other people in different lifts. It was an amazing display of strength. This was quite a highlight and provided good entertainment. 75 year old Bill received a lifetime achievement award as did the guru.
My thoughts on the top 7 physiques start with Sean Allan who placed a creditable 7th in a tough field. Probably the biggest man in the contest at about 6'5" and sporting huge 25" arms, this was the best I have ever seen Sean look. He certainly posed the longest of anyone, but it never became boring as he moved from side to side hitting arm poses for the cheering crowd. Sean was big and hard and can certainly break into the top 5 next time with a little refining and tightening of his physique.
In 6th place was Valentin Jabes of France, now living in USA. He is symmetrical and has good lines and excellent stage presence. A real showman.
5th place went to Steph Sinton from UK. Steph is an overall NABBA Amateur Mr Universe and Mr World winner and presented a most polished, symmetrical and tight physique. Coming on in a kilt and with Scottish sword as Brave Heart, he gave a spectacular presentation. I felt he may have taken 4th place but it was not to be. I understand that the judges felt that Steph probably needed a little more size to place higher. He was hard as a rock and in superb condition with excellent abs. His uncle is former Mr Universe winner Ian Lawrence of Scotland. (Steph won the 2006 NABBA Universe Pro-Am in UK one month later.)
In 4th place it was the huge and good looking Hungarian star, Zoltan Voros.I had not seen Zoltan before and his physique was very impressive in every way. With his size and symmetry, he could quite easily win this event in the future with slightly harder condition and better separation. His posing was entertaining without being memorable. This is an area in which I feel he can really shine in the future. He had great appeal to the ladies in the audience, one of whom called out that she would like to see him after the show!
3rd place went to the classy and best conditioned man in the contest, Sami Al-Haddad from Bahrain. This man is a real pro with his superb condition, attention to detail, near perfect symmetry and the air of a champion when ever he is on stage. His posing was also top class as he moved from pose to pose and worked all parts of the stage. I felt that he would probably take 2nd place, but it was not to be as the judges preferred the massive size of the German Andreas Frey. (Sami did take 2nd place to Lee Priest last weekend at the UK NOC event.)
2nd place went to the tall and massive German star Andreas Frey. I first saw Andreas guest posing at FIBO in Germany about 5 years ago. At that time when we shot a pumping and posing segment with him, I predicted he would later become a pro bodybuilder. I recall at that time that Andreas laughed saying he would never be good enough for that! Seems I was correct after all as he nearly stole the whole contest in this his pro debut. He is a former Mr Universe winner in Europe and a greatly experienced guest poser.
At a height of about 6'4" with very broad shoulders he truly is a huge man.He was probably the youngest man in the event and has years of improvement ahead of him. His overall package was very good and the only place where Lee Priest was clearly ahead of him was in the legs department.
Lee Priest stormed to victory or should I say flew to victory after his Superman act in the posing round. Marcellus DeMilia came on stage as Clark Kent, went into the phone booth, lights went out and out stepped Lee Priest in his Superman costume. It was all carried out perfectly to the great appreciation of the crowd.
I saw Lee win the IronMan Pro earlier this year and he was in similar brilliant condition. He thoroughly deserved the NOC title and this was certainly not given to him on past reputation. Lee's leg development made him stand out from the rest of the competitors, not to mention his amazing arms and "myth" pose. His overall package, size and condition made him a most worthy winner of this the first PDI NOC title.Lee has now won 5 pro shows, 2002 San Francisco GP, 2005 Australian GP, 2006 Iron Man Pro and now the NY and UK NOC shows. I have been lucky to have been present at all of Lee's pro victories except the latest one in London. Thus ended a great night of pro bodybuilding entertainment in the "Big Apple".
Special thanks to my pump room cameraman Wolfi and photos by Ray Cassar, both of Muscletime.com; and my NY helper David Mills (The pump room DVD will be released in November.)
For a complete set of NOC results, please click here.For full details on the 2 disc DVD set, please click here.
2006 MR. OLYMPIA REPORT BY WAYNE GALLASCH
2006 MR. OLYMPIA REPORT BY WAYNE GALLASCH
The words on everyone’s lips this year were - could Jay finally pull it off after 4 times in second place – or would Victor Martinez cause the biggest upset of all time, or would Ronnie break Lee Haney’s record. The bodybuilding world was seething with rumors that this might be the year for change. Whatever happened, history would be made – either Ronnie would make it a record 9 wins, eclipsing Lee Haney, or he would be dethroned.
One of the biggest surprises was Branch Warren’s low placing of 12th after such an outstanding debut at the Arnold. Maybe he was a little burnt out by too many competitions in too short a time, as he did not display the muscularity he showed a year ago. After the Arnold he made the long journey to Australia for their Grand Prix.
Vince Taylor made the top 15 after 5 years out of the sport. His posing was elegant and graceful before he went into a reprise of his famous ‘Terminator” routine. I would have liked to have seen a new routine in place of The Terminator performance. At 50 years of age he was by far the oldest man in the contest and Vince is starting to lose muscle thickness in the legs which is understandable at his age. He still looked fantastic.
Gunter Schlierkamp slipped this year to 10th place and seemed to be lacking a little in abs and overall hardness. Dennis James, at 9th, would seem to be on the Olympia slide caused partly by carrying too much mass on his frame. This completely destroys the midsection and overall symmetry. I feel that Dennis could return to the top 6 again if he came in lighter and tighter.
In 8th place Markus Ruhl of Germany was in the most amazing shape of his life and galvanized the crowd into action, as they chanted RUUUUUL every time his name was mentioned by the head judge. His vascularity was awesome with skin so thin that it was almost transparent. He deserved a higher placing than 8th, and I sensed at the prejudging he was being overlooked. I felt he should have placed above Melvin Anthony who was 5th. Ruhl's quads could have been a little larger and his lats a little lower. However he made the rest of the field look like midgets (most of them anyway) and his condition was superb. I did note that as soon as Ronnie Coleman stood next to him he stepped back a little and his eyes look down. With more confidence this will not happen although standing next to Ronnie puts fear into most competitors.
In 7th place it was Toney Freeman, in what was a superb Olympia debut, and showed great showmanship, symmetry and condition to be a top 3 contender next year. His famous X-pose brought the house down, and he is one of the taller men who actually had a good mid-section. Definitely a man to watch in the future.
In 6th place Gustavo Badell looked pretty much the same as last year and lacked the crisp muscularity and mid-section to place any higher this time. He finished 20 points behind Melvin and I though this placing could have gone either way.
5th place went to the world’s greatest poser, Melvin Anthony. In my opinion he looked better last year weighing around 9 pounds less and was fortunate that the judges seemed to like his heavier look and awarded him his highest ever Olympia placing. As usual his routine was outstanding. Melvin is always a class act and was the funniest man at the Press Conference with his dry comments.
4th place went to a rather tired Dexter Jackson, which proves once again that it is very hard to successfully complete the double of winning the Arnold Classic and placing very high in the Olympia 7 months later. Dexter always displays great symmetry but his razor sharp definition was not quite there this year. His back poses always bring the house down.
3rd place went to the very impressive Victor Martinez of the Dominican Republic. He displayed the most amazing leg development and separation which sent the audience into a frenzy. His upper body is equally outstanding and in my opinion he is a future Mr. Olympia. He posed magnificently and displayed a well controlled mid-section. Could have been a touch sharper and is still improving each year.
When it came to announcing first and second the joint MC’s Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo said they would go straight from third place to announcing the winner, leaving Ronnie and Jay in a state of great stress and nervousness. The tension was palpable. When Jay was announced the winner, the audience went wild, and almost lifted the roof off with the rapturous cheers and applause. People stood and applauded making it nearly impossible to take good photographs from the press pit. In a sense this was a bit surprising because Ronnie went into the evening finals in my opinion as a clear favorite with the crowd, but as the show progressed it was evident that the wind may be changing direction. By the end of the night it seemed that Jay was ”THE MAN”. The tide started to turn when Jay came on stage to pose to massive applause with the crowd going wild as he hit each pose. I should mention that Las Vegas is also Jay’s home town!
Many will ask how did Jay beat Ronnie, since defending champ Ronnie was the bigger man, especially in the legs, arms, back and delts. Ronnie has been a fantastic Mr. Olympia champion, not just once but 8 times in a row. In fact I believe that Ronnie has legitimate claim to the title of the greatest bodybuilder of all time. For further evidence of this check him out in the DVD “Ronnie Coleman – On the Road”.
The grand entrance and entertaining posing routine preformed by Ronnie was incredible. However it would take too long for this short report to describe it here. You will need to wait for the Olympia DVD to see it. I hope it will all be included.
I photographed Ronnie and Jay in identical poses during the compulsories preceding the posedown catching them tensed in the pose, and relaxed between each pose. During the actual pose it really was line ball between the two of them. When they were relaxed between poses, Jay may have had a small edge. Everything was line ball although most agreed including the judges that Jay was a fraction tighter. Being a few years younger than Ronnie may have also helped Jay’s cause in what was a close decision – closer than the points would seem to indicate. Although Jay was similarly huge, the judges felt that his slightly better condition was sufficient to finally take the title he has strived for over the past 6 or 7 years. Ronnie’s fans felt otherwise.
I did feel that Jay’s tan was again a little too dark but that is only splitting hairs and a personal opinion. At the same time I would have preferred to see Gunter’s tan a little darker. I have not actually said much about Jay Cutler’s physique. He has an excellent overall package and I let the photos that appear on many different sites do to rest of the talking.
Ronnie was most gracious in defeat and being a true champion I have no doubt he will be back next year to try to regain the crown he feels should still belong to him. No disrespect to Ronnie this year being runner-up, with Jay now having the big task ahead of him to see if he can retain his title next year. Ronnie is now on a tour of Australia where he enjoyed record attendances at every venue last year. Touring the vast continent of Australia is extremely hard work and Ronnie has done it a number of times. (Jay has not yet undertaken a posing tour of Australia.) For Ronnie’s Aussie tour info, see http://www.dohertysgym.com
The Mr. Olympia participation medals were all presented after the top 15 had been announced, and it appeared that some of the competitors didn’t know this was going to take place, because several of them were not present. I would suggest it be done earlier in the show next year.
Finally a comment on the Expo. GMV Productions (www.gmv.com.au) had a DVD booth as usual, and for us it was the most successful Olympia Expo ever. The crowd packed the Las Vegas Convention Centre on each of the two days, but it is a great shame that the Expo has to be held in a different venue to the Olympia competition.
My further comments summing up the Olympia Weekend and the Women’s events will be in my Olympia report Part 2.
Click here to pre-order the Men's DVD.GMV has a large range of DVDs featuring Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler please click here.
RESULTS
1 Jay Cutler2 Ronnie Coleman3 Victor Martinez4 Dexter Jackson5 Melvin Anthony6 Gustavo Badell7 Toney Freeman8 Markus Ruhl9 Dennis James10 Gunter Schlierkamp11 Vince Taylor12 Branch Warren13 Johnnie Jackson14 Darrem Charles15 Troy AlvesDNP Paco Bautista, Rodney St. Cloud, Ronny Rockel, Mustafa Mohammad, David Henry.Click here for the women's results.Wayne's Olympia photos and reports on the female competitions will be posted on his return after the NABBA Universe.
The words on everyone’s lips this year were - could Jay finally pull it off after 4 times in second place – or would Victor Martinez cause the biggest upset of all time, or would Ronnie break Lee Haney’s record. The bodybuilding world was seething with rumors that this might be the year for change. Whatever happened, history would be made – either Ronnie would make it a record 9 wins, eclipsing Lee Haney, or he would be dethroned.
One of the biggest surprises was Branch Warren’s low placing of 12th after such an outstanding debut at the Arnold. Maybe he was a little burnt out by too many competitions in too short a time, as he did not display the muscularity he showed a year ago. After the Arnold he made the long journey to Australia for their Grand Prix.
Vince Taylor made the top 15 after 5 years out of the sport. His posing was elegant and graceful before he went into a reprise of his famous ‘Terminator” routine. I would have liked to have seen a new routine in place of The Terminator performance. At 50 years of age he was by far the oldest man in the contest and Vince is starting to lose muscle thickness in the legs which is understandable at his age. He still looked fantastic.
Gunter Schlierkamp slipped this year to 10th place and seemed to be lacking a little in abs and overall hardness. Dennis James, at 9th, would seem to be on the Olympia slide caused partly by carrying too much mass on his frame. This completely destroys the midsection and overall symmetry. I feel that Dennis could return to the top 6 again if he came in lighter and tighter.
In 8th place Markus Ruhl of Germany was in the most amazing shape of his life and galvanized the crowd into action, as they chanted RUUUUUL every time his name was mentioned by the head judge. His vascularity was awesome with skin so thin that it was almost transparent. He deserved a higher placing than 8th, and I sensed at the prejudging he was being overlooked. I felt he should have placed above Melvin Anthony who was 5th. Ruhl's quads could have been a little larger and his lats a little lower. However he made the rest of the field look like midgets (most of them anyway) and his condition was superb. I did note that as soon as Ronnie Coleman stood next to him he stepped back a little and his eyes look down. With more confidence this will not happen although standing next to Ronnie puts fear into most competitors.
In 7th place it was Toney Freeman, in what was a superb Olympia debut, and showed great showmanship, symmetry and condition to be a top 3 contender next year. His famous X-pose brought the house down, and he is one of the taller men who actually had a good mid-section. Definitely a man to watch in the future.
In 6th place Gustavo Badell looked pretty much the same as last year and lacked the crisp muscularity and mid-section to place any higher this time. He finished 20 points behind Melvin and I though this placing could have gone either way.
5th place went to the world’s greatest poser, Melvin Anthony. In my opinion he looked better last year weighing around 9 pounds less and was fortunate that the judges seemed to like his heavier look and awarded him his highest ever Olympia placing. As usual his routine was outstanding. Melvin is always a class act and was the funniest man at the Press Conference with his dry comments.
4th place went to a rather tired Dexter Jackson, which proves once again that it is very hard to successfully complete the double of winning the Arnold Classic and placing very high in the Olympia 7 months later. Dexter always displays great symmetry but his razor sharp definition was not quite there this year. His back poses always bring the house down.
3rd place went to the very impressive Victor Martinez of the Dominican Republic. He displayed the most amazing leg development and separation which sent the audience into a frenzy. His upper body is equally outstanding and in my opinion he is a future Mr. Olympia. He posed magnificently and displayed a well controlled mid-section. Could have been a touch sharper and is still improving each year.
When it came to announcing first and second the joint MC’s Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo said they would go straight from third place to announcing the winner, leaving Ronnie and Jay in a state of great stress and nervousness. The tension was palpable. When Jay was announced the winner, the audience went wild, and almost lifted the roof off with the rapturous cheers and applause. People stood and applauded making it nearly impossible to take good photographs from the press pit. In a sense this was a bit surprising because Ronnie went into the evening finals in my opinion as a clear favorite with the crowd, but as the show progressed it was evident that the wind may be changing direction. By the end of the night it seemed that Jay was ”THE MAN”. The tide started to turn when Jay came on stage to pose to massive applause with the crowd going wild as he hit each pose. I should mention that Las Vegas is also Jay’s home town!
Many will ask how did Jay beat Ronnie, since defending champ Ronnie was the bigger man, especially in the legs, arms, back and delts. Ronnie has been a fantastic Mr. Olympia champion, not just once but 8 times in a row. In fact I believe that Ronnie has legitimate claim to the title of the greatest bodybuilder of all time. For further evidence of this check him out in the DVD “Ronnie Coleman – On the Road”.
The grand entrance and entertaining posing routine preformed by Ronnie was incredible. However it would take too long for this short report to describe it here. You will need to wait for the Olympia DVD to see it. I hope it will all be included.
I photographed Ronnie and Jay in identical poses during the compulsories preceding the posedown catching them tensed in the pose, and relaxed between each pose. During the actual pose it really was line ball between the two of them. When they were relaxed between poses, Jay may have had a small edge. Everything was line ball although most agreed including the judges that Jay was a fraction tighter. Being a few years younger than Ronnie may have also helped Jay’s cause in what was a close decision – closer than the points would seem to indicate. Although Jay was similarly huge, the judges felt that his slightly better condition was sufficient to finally take the title he has strived for over the past 6 or 7 years. Ronnie’s fans felt otherwise.
I did feel that Jay’s tan was again a little too dark but that is only splitting hairs and a personal opinion. At the same time I would have preferred to see Gunter’s tan a little darker. I have not actually said much about Jay Cutler’s physique. He has an excellent overall package and I let the photos that appear on many different sites do to rest of the talking.
Ronnie was most gracious in defeat and being a true champion I have no doubt he will be back next year to try to regain the crown he feels should still belong to him. No disrespect to Ronnie this year being runner-up, with Jay now having the big task ahead of him to see if he can retain his title next year. Ronnie is now on a tour of Australia where he enjoyed record attendances at every venue last year. Touring the vast continent of Australia is extremely hard work and Ronnie has done it a number of times. (Jay has not yet undertaken a posing tour of Australia.) For Ronnie’s Aussie tour info, see http://www.dohertysgym.com
The Mr. Olympia participation medals were all presented after the top 15 had been announced, and it appeared that some of the competitors didn’t know this was going to take place, because several of them were not present. I would suggest it be done earlier in the show next year.
Finally a comment on the Expo. GMV Productions (www.gmv.com.au) had a DVD booth as usual, and for us it was the most successful Olympia Expo ever. The crowd packed the Las Vegas Convention Centre on each of the two days, but it is a great shame that the Expo has to be held in a different venue to the Olympia competition.
My further comments summing up the Olympia Weekend and the Women’s events will be in my Olympia report Part 2.
Click here to pre-order the Men's DVD.GMV has a large range of DVDs featuring Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler please click here.
RESULTS
1 Jay Cutler2 Ronnie Coleman3 Victor Martinez4 Dexter Jackson5 Melvin Anthony6 Gustavo Badell7 Toney Freeman8 Markus Ruhl9 Dennis James10 Gunter Schlierkamp11 Vince Taylor12 Branch Warren13 Johnnie Jackson14 Darrem Charles15 Troy AlvesDNP Paco Bautista, Rodney St. Cloud, Ronny Rockel, Mustafa Mohammad, David Henry.Click here for the women's results.Wayne's Olympia photos and reports on the female competitions will be posted on his return after the NABBA Universe.
BODYBUILDING COMPETITION - A JUDGE'S PERSPECTIVE by Wayne Gallasch
Over the years one picks up information and experience on judging by starting at the regional level and working up from there. In some organizations practical judging exams must be passed before you can judge at the next level. So it goes up the ladder till you get your certificate to judge at the Universe or the International level. The ultimate is to judge at the Olympia.
Anyone interested in bodybuilding who regularly reads the magazines will have noticed that certain aspects of the sport are regularly called into question. The main areas of contention appears to be judging and running of competitions, about which there seems to be a number of misconceptions which are often presented as fact.
Bodybuilding seems to thrive on controversy! There is always a bone of contention to be gnawed, mainly it seems when there is disagreement about contest results. Such disagreements seem to arise all too frequently and some people with many years experience in the sport believe that there have always been disputes over results! In any contest the quality of a line-up cannot be predicted before the athletes have actually arrived and registered as competitors. Even then it is impossible to ascertain their size, condition etc until they are actually on stage.
The question that seems to arise most often is "what are the judges looking for?" I have heard that question more than a thousand times over the years, usually as a complaint after the event. Judging can be complex and time consuming and at the end of it all people still argue over the results! So what ARE the judges looking for and how is the judging carried out?
There are three rounds of judging for all categories. The prejudging, which takes place during the day, is when symmetry and proportions, condition and other factors are assessed via line-ups, 1/4 turns and compulsory poses, either solo or on groups of comparisons. If the head judge asks you to stand differently or straighten up, feet together, relax etc, please remember that these directions are always for your benefit and ensure you will be properly assessed by the judging panel. The judging panel usually consists of an odd number of judges such that a tight decision is decided say 5 judges to 4 in selecting a winner.
In the IFBB/NPC athletes will be called on stage in groups of two, three or four for comparisons, depending on how much time is available and the number of competitors in the line-up. In NABBA when all competitors stand across the back of the stage, groups of athletes are called forward for comparisons as called by the head judge. Groups usually are in lots of 4 to 5 athletes, with the head judge often saying who will be in the centre or place two top contenders side by side in the middle.
The judges continue to assess muscle mass, symmetry, proportion, shape and condition of all competitors (including those standing to either side of the stage to see if anyone is letting their belly hang out). When the compulsory poses are performed the various muscle groups can more readily be assessed, but judges will still be looking from time to time at those competitors standing "relaxed" either side of the stage. Incidentally, vascularity is not judged as such and if it is excessive it can obscure a bodypart and mar an otherwise good physique.
In the IFBB/NPC amateur bodybuilding events, round 3 is the free posing routine. In NABBA it is round 2 for the free posing for 1 minute with the final comparisons in compulsory posing taking place as round 3. From the collated results the top 6 get to pose again at the evening show. In the IFBB/NPC the top people also get to pose at the finals. In IFBB Pro bodybuilding all posing is done at the finals and none at the prejudging. With Pro Men sometimes only the top 15 get to pose at the Finals if there is a very large field. Fitness/Figure judging in the USA.Here the fitness girls are a bit harder and more defined than figure because of the degree of strength moves they practice and the added conditioning needed to perfect their routines. This make the fitness girls leaner and harder, but technically the fitness and figure girls should have similar if not virtually the same type of body. They make minor allowances because of the above mentioned things. A perfect fitness or figure body should have the basic structure of a bodybuilder but without the mass. They should have wide shoulders and back, tapering down to a small waist, with good legs and calves and a nice curve to the glutes. It has been my observation that the look the Figure judges are going for is a long lean look. As in men's bodybuilding, a short figure competitor finds it hard to beat a long-legged taller competitor, all things being equal.There should be no weak bodyparts or strong parts that stand out. There should be no deep separations or striations - ripped is out, but no wobbly jiggle either. It's a balancing act to be hard and tight enough, without being TOO hard and tight. This is what the judges are looking for. The confusion comes when women say that at one contest the winner has the harder look, and at the next one the winner is softer.
The Figure class in general terms is where the focus is less on muscular bulk and more on the hard lean symmetrical physique and a fit athletic feminine look. The rounds vary between organizations and in the IFBB/NPC there is no posing routine at any time. In NABBA each woman performs a 1 minute posing routine at prejudging with hands open, no clenched fists as seen in bodybuilding. In NABBA the top competitors, usually the top 6 short and 6 tall women get to do their posing routines at the evening show, followed by an overall judging and posedown between the 2 class winners.
Fitness in NABBA can be more difficult to judge as the bodies are not as muscular or as defined as in the Figure Class, although this is changing with Fitness women often having outstanding lean physiques. There should be some degree of muscularity but they must show an athletic and toned physique with good condition. Condition in this context simply means reasonably lean. It does not mean they should be "ripped to the bone", rather that they should not be carrying excessive fat. This category like Figure is not intended as any form of beauty pageant, but as a viable alternative to the physique and figure categories for those women who train for athleticism, flexibility and lean muscle mass. Last but not least is the fitness routine when it comes to deciding the winner. The variations within these broad guidelines are considerable and judging this category is not always straightforward.
Other points that need mentioning:
* All bodybuilding judging is based on assessing each competitor's physique, looking at muscular size, shape, symmetry, balance and proportions and identifying any weaknesses. Each physique is then judged against the other physiques on stage in the line-up. They will not be compared against some imaginary physique that is deemed to be fashionable this season. The judges are looking for the best physique on stage there and then - nothing else is possible or realistic. The judges still have to judge what is in front of them. If a girl with the ideal body, or the closest to ideal is softer at one contest, the winner will be softer, but if at the next show the girl with the best overall body is harder, then the winner of that show will be harder. The judges are ALWAYS looking for the same things. The variables are based on which athletes are in the show and what condition they are in.
* Competitors are NOT automatically "marked down" if they have tattoos. If that were true Dorian Yates would never have become Mr. Olympia! Flex Wheeler or Lee Priest would have never won any GPs! Tattoos are only a problem when there is a lot of them and they obscure one or more bodyparts and hide the muscularity. Rings should be removed from any obvious body piercings. Bad skin and in particular steroid pimples and boils are a real negative and a big turn-off for the judges and audience. Do not fall into the trap of showing steroid acne .
* The competitors are never given points. They are always given a PLACING in first, second or third position and so on. Each placing represents a decision made by the judge and each decision is compared with the final outcome of the contest in order to assess that judge's accuracy. Obviously the most first placing wins or if a tie on first placing the competitor with the most 2nd placing wins or so on down the line if extremely close.
* Although there tends to be considerable emphasis on achieving extreme, ripped, dry condition, no-one wants you to risk your life and health in pursuit of a title or trophy. It is simply not worth dieing for a trophy.
* The simple answer to the question "what are the judges looking for" is that they are seeking the "best on the day" in each category. The final decision will depend on who turns up to compete and their size, condition, posing etc. In each line-up only one person is guaranteed to be happy with the results and that is the winner.
The judges always strive to be impartial and objective, but no matter how fair they try to be, there will always be someone who is unhappy with the results. It is a subjective sport. If you lose in a close decision, on the law of averages you will win in a close decision in some future contest as it always seems to even out. At least on that point of unhappy losers there is no argument. That is bodybuilding!
My special thanks to D. Devries for much of the basic research for this article and to Kenny Kassel for most of the USA information.(Editor's note. Wayne is a qualified International judge and has judged for Australia at the Mr. Universe competition on many occasions.)
Anyone interested in bodybuilding who regularly reads the magazines will have noticed that certain aspects of the sport are regularly called into question. The main areas of contention appears to be judging and running of competitions, about which there seems to be a number of misconceptions which are often presented as fact.
Bodybuilding seems to thrive on controversy! There is always a bone of contention to be gnawed, mainly it seems when there is disagreement about contest results. Such disagreements seem to arise all too frequently and some people with many years experience in the sport believe that there have always been disputes over results! In any contest the quality of a line-up cannot be predicted before the athletes have actually arrived and registered as competitors. Even then it is impossible to ascertain their size, condition etc until they are actually on stage.
The question that seems to arise most often is "what are the judges looking for?" I have heard that question more than a thousand times over the years, usually as a complaint after the event. Judging can be complex and time consuming and at the end of it all people still argue over the results! So what ARE the judges looking for and how is the judging carried out?
There are three rounds of judging for all categories. The prejudging, which takes place during the day, is when symmetry and proportions, condition and other factors are assessed via line-ups, 1/4 turns and compulsory poses, either solo or on groups of comparisons. If the head judge asks you to stand differently or straighten up, feet together, relax etc, please remember that these directions are always for your benefit and ensure you will be properly assessed by the judging panel. The judging panel usually consists of an odd number of judges such that a tight decision is decided say 5 judges to 4 in selecting a winner.
In the IFBB/NPC athletes will be called on stage in groups of two, three or four for comparisons, depending on how much time is available and the number of competitors in the line-up. In NABBA when all competitors stand across the back of the stage, groups of athletes are called forward for comparisons as called by the head judge. Groups usually are in lots of 4 to 5 athletes, with the head judge often saying who will be in the centre or place two top contenders side by side in the middle.
The judges continue to assess muscle mass, symmetry, proportion, shape and condition of all competitors (including those standing to either side of the stage to see if anyone is letting their belly hang out). When the compulsory poses are performed the various muscle groups can more readily be assessed, but judges will still be looking from time to time at those competitors standing "relaxed" either side of the stage. Incidentally, vascularity is not judged as such and if it is excessive it can obscure a bodypart and mar an otherwise good physique.
In the IFBB/NPC amateur bodybuilding events, round 3 is the free posing routine. In NABBA it is round 2 for the free posing for 1 minute with the final comparisons in compulsory posing taking place as round 3. From the collated results the top 6 get to pose again at the evening show. In the IFBB/NPC the top people also get to pose at the finals. In IFBB Pro bodybuilding all posing is done at the finals and none at the prejudging. With Pro Men sometimes only the top 15 get to pose at the Finals if there is a very large field. Fitness/Figure judging in the USA.Here the fitness girls are a bit harder and more defined than figure because of the degree of strength moves they practice and the added conditioning needed to perfect their routines. This make the fitness girls leaner and harder, but technically the fitness and figure girls should have similar if not virtually the same type of body. They make minor allowances because of the above mentioned things. A perfect fitness or figure body should have the basic structure of a bodybuilder but without the mass. They should have wide shoulders and back, tapering down to a small waist, with good legs and calves and a nice curve to the glutes. It has been my observation that the look the Figure judges are going for is a long lean look. As in men's bodybuilding, a short figure competitor finds it hard to beat a long-legged taller competitor, all things being equal.There should be no weak bodyparts or strong parts that stand out. There should be no deep separations or striations - ripped is out, but no wobbly jiggle either. It's a balancing act to be hard and tight enough, without being TOO hard and tight. This is what the judges are looking for. The confusion comes when women say that at one contest the winner has the harder look, and at the next one the winner is softer.
The Figure class in general terms is where the focus is less on muscular bulk and more on the hard lean symmetrical physique and a fit athletic feminine look. The rounds vary between organizations and in the IFBB/NPC there is no posing routine at any time. In NABBA each woman performs a 1 minute posing routine at prejudging with hands open, no clenched fists as seen in bodybuilding. In NABBA the top competitors, usually the top 6 short and 6 tall women get to do their posing routines at the evening show, followed by an overall judging and posedown between the 2 class winners.
Fitness in NABBA can be more difficult to judge as the bodies are not as muscular or as defined as in the Figure Class, although this is changing with Fitness women often having outstanding lean physiques. There should be some degree of muscularity but they must show an athletic and toned physique with good condition. Condition in this context simply means reasonably lean. It does not mean they should be "ripped to the bone", rather that they should not be carrying excessive fat. This category like Figure is not intended as any form of beauty pageant, but as a viable alternative to the physique and figure categories for those women who train for athleticism, flexibility and lean muscle mass. Last but not least is the fitness routine when it comes to deciding the winner. The variations within these broad guidelines are considerable and judging this category is not always straightforward.
Other points that need mentioning:
* All bodybuilding judging is based on assessing each competitor's physique, looking at muscular size, shape, symmetry, balance and proportions and identifying any weaknesses. Each physique is then judged against the other physiques on stage in the line-up. They will not be compared against some imaginary physique that is deemed to be fashionable this season. The judges are looking for the best physique on stage there and then - nothing else is possible or realistic. The judges still have to judge what is in front of them. If a girl with the ideal body, or the closest to ideal is softer at one contest, the winner will be softer, but if at the next show the girl with the best overall body is harder, then the winner of that show will be harder. The judges are ALWAYS looking for the same things. The variables are based on which athletes are in the show and what condition they are in.
* Competitors are NOT automatically "marked down" if they have tattoos. If that were true Dorian Yates would never have become Mr. Olympia! Flex Wheeler or Lee Priest would have never won any GPs! Tattoos are only a problem when there is a lot of them and they obscure one or more bodyparts and hide the muscularity. Rings should be removed from any obvious body piercings. Bad skin and in particular steroid pimples and boils are a real negative and a big turn-off for the judges and audience. Do not fall into the trap of showing steroid acne .
* The competitors are never given points. They are always given a PLACING in first, second or third position and so on. Each placing represents a decision made by the judge and each decision is compared with the final outcome of the contest in order to assess that judge's accuracy. Obviously the most first placing wins or if a tie on first placing the competitor with the most 2nd placing wins or so on down the line if extremely close.
* Although there tends to be considerable emphasis on achieving extreme, ripped, dry condition, no-one wants you to risk your life and health in pursuit of a title or trophy. It is simply not worth dieing for a trophy.
* The simple answer to the question "what are the judges looking for" is that they are seeking the "best on the day" in each category. The final decision will depend on who turns up to compete and their size, condition, posing etc. In each line-up only one person is guaranteed to be happy with the results and that is the winner.
The judges always strive to be impartial and objective, but no matter how fair they try to be, there will always be someone who is unhappy with the results. It is a subjective sport. If you lose in a close decision, on the law of averages you will win in a close decision in some future contest as it always seems to even out. At least on that point of unhappy losers there is no argument. That is bodybuilding!
My special thanks to D. Devries for much of the basic research for this article and to Kenny Kassel for most of the USA information.(Editor's note. Wayne is a qualified International judge and has judged for Australia at the Mr. Universe competition on many occasions.)
Wayne’s Olympia news and recent travels update.
First of all my Olympia news.
GMV will be part of a Super DVD booth where every bodybuilding DVD known to man will be offered. I will have all my best selling GMV DVDs on sale, and all the DVDs from the other leading DVD producers will also be on sale. It will be a smorgasbord of muscle on DVD. A very special booth and one not to be missed. Here are some of the special things planned for Olympia time.
There will be some IFBB pros at the booth at various times of the day selling their photos and signing the DVD covers, and hopefully even doing some posing for their fans. Be sure to bring both your digital camera - video and photos!
We are presently working on our brand new DVD index on a CD for giving out free of charge to all of the fans who are interested in bodybuilding DVDs. It will contain every single DVD we offer on our site and be viewable both off line, and also on-line with links to our site where you can instantly order if you wish. The CD will have a separate page for each DVD with complete product information, price etc so that you can print out the page if you wish, complete with colour photo of the bodybuilder or DVD cover. This identical information will also be made available as a printable version on our site. You can print out product page right now from our site but they are not in a PDF form at this time.
Secondly we are preparing a 1 hour previews DVD that will be available at the Expo booth. You will also be able to see it playing on the big booth monitor much of the time. The DVD will contain 90 seconds clips of many of the most popular DVDs, not only from GMV but also from many other producers. This is the most exciting new project we have instituted since we started our web site some years ago! It has been months in preparation, and we still have a way to go. The clips are representative of the highlights of each DVD.
This 60 minutes previews DVD will be free of charge to all fans at the Expo who purchase 2 or more of our GMV produced DVDs. It will also be available for $10 at the Expo and available through this web site. As soon as it has been completed, it will be posted on the site. This should be around early September.
For all of our customers who buy 4 DVDs, you will receive a 5th DVD at no charge valued at $39.95, either a male or female DVD. It will be an absolute bonanza of male and female muscle on DVD at this year's Olympia super booth. All DVDs will be available at special prices, depending on how many you wish to buy.
What are we doing at this moment?
At this moment we are preparing for release in this week’s newsletter the 2 men’s DVDs from the recent World Championships in Dublin. They are the complete men’s prejudging and the evening show. There will be a special price for those who order both DVDs as a set. The Women’s DVD is still being edited and will be in the next newsletter.
Last year the 2 photo CDs for men and women from the Worlds in Brazil were extremely popular. This year we have done it again and included photos of every single competitor on the discs. The men’s photo DVD has 1108 high resolution images on it while the women’s photo DVD contains 533 images. This has been reduced down from the massive 2150 photos Tina took in total at the Worlds!
Next to be edited will be the WFF Universe which was held recently in Dornbirn, Austria. I expect there will be the usual 3 DVDs from this event which was of an exceptional standard. The full results of both these events can be found in our Results section of the site by clicking here.
Along with this we are releasing on DVD many of the older videos from past years as quickly as we can. We have so many it is impossible to do this as quickly as many would wish. To check out the latest releases we have to offer, please keep a daily eye on our What’s New section of the site.Below are our latest two classics to DVD.
Tina and I hope to see all of you at the Olympia Expo Super DVD Booth on the Friday and Saturday, September 29th and 30th in Las Vegas. If there is a particular GMV DVD you hope to find on the booth, please let me know in advance at wayne@gmv.com.au I will do my best to ensure it is there!GMV will be at booth #1104. To see an excellent map of our Olympia Expo booth location, please click here. Our DVD super booth is named as Bodybuilding Flix in the index on the left hand side.
GMV will be part of a Super DVD booth where every bodybuilding DVD known to man will be offered. I will have all my best selling GMV DVDs on sale, and all the DVDs from the other leading DVD producers will also be on sale. It will be a smorgasbord of muscle on DVD. A very special booth and one not to be missed. Here are some of the special things planned for Olympia time.
There will be some IFBB pros at the booth at various times of the day selling their photos and signing the DVD covers, and hopefully even doing some posing for their fans. Be sure to bring both your digital camera - video and photos!
We are presently working on our brand new DVD index on a CD for giving out free of charge to all of the fans who are interested in bodybuilding DVDs. It will contain every single DVD we offer on our site and be viewable both off line, and also on-line with links to our site where you can instantly order if you wish. The CD will have a separate page for each DVD with complete product information, price etc so that you can print out the page if you wish, complete with colour photo of the bodybuilder or DVD cover. This identical information will also be made available as a printable version on our site. You can print out product page right now from our site but they are not in a PDF form at this time.
Secondly we are preparing a 1 hour previews DVD that will be available at the Expo booth. You will also be able to see it playing on the big booth monitor much of the time. The DVD will contain 90 seconds clips of many of the most popular DVDs, not only from GMV but also from many other producers. This is the most exciting new project we have instituted since we started our web site some years ago! It has been months in preparation, and we still have a way to go. The clips are representative of the highlights of each DVD.
This 60 minutes previews DVD will be free of charge to all fans at the Expo who purchase 2 or more of our GMV produced DVDs. It will also be available for $10 at the Expo and available through this web site. As soon as it has been completed, it will be posted on the site. This should be around early September.
For all of our customers who buy 4 DVDs, you will receive a 5th DVD at no charge valued at $39.95, either a male or female DVD. It will be an absolute bonanza of male and female muscle on DVD at this year's Olympia super booth. All DVDs will be available at special prices, depending on how many you wish to buy.
What are we doing at this moment?
At this moment we are preparing for release in this week’s newsletter the 2 men’s DVDs from the recent World Championships in Dublin. They are the complete men’s prejudging and the evening show. There will be a special price for those who order both DVDs as a set. The Women’s DVD is still being edited and will be in the next newsletter.
Last year the 2 photo CDs for men and women from the Worlds in Brazil were extremely popular. This year we have done it again and included photos of every single competitor on the discs. The men’s photo DVD has 1108 high resolution images on it while the women’s photo DVD contains 533 images. This has been reduced down from the massive 2150 photos Tina took in total at the Worlds!
Next to be edited will be the WFF Universe which was held recently in Dornbirn, Austria. I expect there will be the usual 3 DVDs from this event which was of an exceptional standard. The full results of both these events can be found in our Results section of the site by clicking here.
Along with this we are releasing on DVD many of the older videos from past years as quickly as we can. We have so many it is impossible to do this as quickly as many would wish. To check out the latest releases we have to offer, please keep a daily eye on our What’s New section of the site.Below are our latest two classics to DVD.
Tina and I hope to see all of you at the Olympia Expo Super DVD Booth on the Friday and Saturday, September 29th and 30th in Las Vegas. If there is a particular GMV DVD you hope to find on the booth, please let me know in advance at wayne@gmv.com.au I will do my best to ensure it is there!GMV will be at booth #1104. To see an excellent map of our Olympia Expo booth location, please click here. Our DVD super booth is named as Bodybuilding Flix in the index on the left hand side.
The Mark Dugdale "DRIVEN" DVD story by Wayne Gallasch.
This month our Hard News is a little different. After regular contact with Mark regarding his new DVD production, I invited him to write for our site about the background and making of his new DVD. He readily agreed and his story is below. As an intro to Mark let me share my experiences to date with this fast rising new pro as he makes his mark on the scene.
It is not possible for me to shoot major men's NPC contests in USA and accordingly I do not get to know the top NPC guys till they obtain IFBB pro cards. Back in 2004 I read that a guy called Mark Dugdale had won the overall USA Championships in Las Vegas and that he was not a huge guy from the Heavyweights! Naturally I was intrigued to find out more about this Dugdale character having never heard of him before.
Next year when I was shooting the 2005 Iron Man Pro I was delighted to find that MARK DUGDALE was making his Pro debut. I was most impressed with the package he brought to that event. His 8th placing was a top class result for a rookie pro in his first event. Making top 10 in such a large and star studded field was an achievement in itself. Mark went on to place 9th 2 weeks later at the Arnold Classic and then a week later place an amazing 6th at the San Francisco Grand Prix. Mark was now setting quite a standard and knocking on the door step of the top 5 finalists.
In February 2006 GMV was back to Pasadena, California and again Mark showed good improvement on the previous year as he took a very strong 5th place at the Iron Man Pro. This time he joined elite company in the top 5 posedown along with Lee Priest (the eventual winner at his 10th try at the Iron Man title), David Henry, Troy Alves and Kris Dim. All are Olympia competitors. Top guys that Mark beat included Mustafa Mohammad, and Toney Freeman who later placed 5th in the San Francisco Grand Prix.
Unfortunately illness struck preventing Mark from competing in the 2006 Arnold Classic or San Francisco Grand Prix. I know he will be back next year at the Iron Man with the 2006 model of his physique. l feel sure his improvements can propel him into at least 3rd place and an Olympia qualification. Mark has “the goods” with one of the most symmetrical physiques I have seen in years, along with great condition and excellent posing.
In regard to our involvement in Mark's new DVD, here is how things evolved with GMV. This may be of interest to all other up and coming new pros and DVD producers who need contest footage to spice up their productions. Firstly I got a message that Mark wanted his finals posing from the Iron Man for his new DVD. I spoke with him briefly at the Arnold Classic Expo. On returning to Australia I thought, "that seems a bit thin for a new DVD so why not offer Mark everything I shot on him at the Iron Man!" This subsequently was accepted and I went through my wild camera footage looking for everything on Mark from the weigh in, to solo compulsory poses, to his posing routine to the posedown and presentation at the finals. I knew that if this had been my own DVD, I would have wanted access to all of this material to work from.
Over the last 5 or 6 years it has been my privilege to shoot and edit the Iron Man DVD and the availability of such footage is a side benefit for all who are involved. Now it is over to Mark to tell his side of the DVD production story. I hope to be announcing ordering details next week for Mark's new 2 hour DVD "DRIVEN". Don’t miss it!
Making “DRIVEN” by Mark Dugdale
Over a year ago I went to lunch with an old friend, Joel Barham, from back in my high school days. Joel and I competed against each other in our first competition back in 1993, the Northwest Natural in Portland, OR, and became good friends ever since.
Joel now lives in Florida teaching English, but came to visit family in Seattle last year. I took him out to lunch and we discussed what it was like for me now that I was an IFBB professional bodybuilder. I brought up the fact that I wanted to come out with my own training DVD, similar to what other pros offer. To my surprise, Joel said he had a real passion for film making and had done a few short films in his spare time. Despite not seeing any of Joel’s work, I agreed then and there to have him direct and edit my first DVD.
The next step involved deciding what exactly the fans would want to see in the DVD. The resounding response via my web site, entailed people asking to see how I live my life outside of the gym. What is it like to own and operate a business; be a husband; be a father to three daughters; and train and compete against the best physiques in the world. Basically, aside from the training, who is Mark Dugdale and how does he live his life?
With this in mind Joel felt the best way to shoot the film was over the course of my prep leading up to the 2006 Iron Man Pro. He thought it should be shot in the spirit of reality TV, whereby, aside from interviews inserted throughout, I don’t directly speak to the camera when filming. In Joel’s words, “He would be a fly on the wall, observing.” The result is not just a training DVD, but a bodybuilding documentary.
One thing I never considered until filming DRIVEN, involved legal issues surrounding audio copyrights for music. Thankfully Joel’s older brother, Isaac Barham, agreed to help us out. Isaac did all the audio for the intro, the training scenes and is the artist for the song Love’s Sure a Funny Game which runs during the Special Thanks. Isaac inspired me with his biceps as a teen, so his involvement made the audio even more special on a personal level.
Another big contributor of music was the church I attend – Mars Hill Church. The Parsons and Team Strike Force both contributed several songs to DRIVEN.
DRIVEN culminates with the weekend of the Iron Man Pro, in which John Balik agreed to provide me with footage from the weigh-in, prejudging and finals. Wayne Gallasch from GMV went above and beyond by providing high quality footage of each of these events which Joel incorporated into DRIVEN.
DRIVEN is special for me on several levels. One, I got to capture a moment in the life of my family. Years later I can look back on this DVD with fond memories of when my daughters were young. Two, I enjoyed collaborating with one of my best friends, Joel, who literally took DRIVEN from an idea to reality and vastly exceeded my expectations in the process. Three, it’s my first DVD and something I think the fans will truly enjoy.
Here is the official chapter list and run time…
Run Time 2:01:37DVD Chapters1. Intro 0:002. A Day’s Work 3:063. Chest & Biceps 10:374. Dinner 31:515. Church 41:016. Back & Hamstrings 42:397. Love Story 58:228. Shopping 1:00:219. Sushi 1:07:0410. Shoulders & Triceps 1:08:5211. Weider Tour 1:23:4412. The Last Week 1:29:1013. Posing with Larry 1:31:4614. Weigh-in 1:37:3915. “He’s Ready” 1:39:1616. Night Show 1:42:5317. Three Days Later 1:46:3018. Placing 1:49:2319. Thank You 1:53:0820. Credits 1:57:31
It is not possible for me to shoot major men's NPC contests in USA and accordingly I do not get to know the top NPC guys till they obtain IFBB pro cards. Back in 2004 I read that a guy called Mark Dugdale had won the overall USA Championships in Las Vegas and that he was not a huge guy from the Heavyweights! Naturally I was intrigued to find out more about this Dugdale character having never heard of him before.
Next year when I was shooting the 2005 Iron Man Pro I was delighted to find that MARK DUGDALE was making his Pro debut. I was most impressed with the package he brought to that event. His 8th placing was a top class result for a rookie pro in his first event. Making top 10 in such a large and star studded field was an achievement in itself. Mark went on to place 9th 2 weeks later at the Arnold Classic and then a week later place an amazing 6th at the San Francisco Grand Prix. Mark was now setting quite a standard and knocking on the door step of the top 5 finalists.
In February 2006 GMV was back to Pasadena, California and again Mark showed good improvement on the previous year as he took a very strong 5th place at the Iron Man Pro. This time he joined elite company in the top 5 posedown along with Lee Priest (the eventual winner at his 10th try at the Iron Man title), David Henry, Troy Alves and Kris Dim. All are Olympia competitors. Top guys that Mark beat included Mustafa Mohammad, and Toney Freeman who later placed 5th in the San Francisco Grand Prix.
Unfortunately illness struck preventing Mark from competing in the 2006 Arnold Classic or San Francisco Grand Prix. I know he will be back next year at the Iron Man with the 2006 model of his physique. l feel sure his improvements can propel him into at least 3rd place and an Olympia qualification. Mark has “the goods” with one of the most symmetrical physiques I have seen in years, along with great condition and excellent posing.
In regard to our involvement in Mark's new DVD, here is how things evolved with GMV. This may be of interest to all other up and coming new pros and DVD producers who need contest footage to spice up their productions. Firstly I got a message that Mark wanted his finals posing from the Iron Man for his new DVD. I spoke with him briefly at the Arnold Classic Expo. On returning to Australia I thought, "that seems a bit thin for a new DVD so why not offer Mark everything I shot on him at the Iron Man!" This subsequently was accepted and I went through my wild camera footage looking for everything on Mark from the weigh in, to solo compulsory poses, to his posing routine to the posedown and presentation at the finals. I knew that if this had been my own DVD, I would have wanted access to all of this material to work from.
Over the last 5 or 6 years it has been my privilege to shoot and edit the Iron Man DVD and the availability of such footage is a side benefit for all who are involved. Now it is over to Mark to tell his side of the DVD production story. I hope to be announcing ordering details next week for Mark's new 2 hour DVD "DRIVEN". Don’t miss it!
Making “DRIVEN” by Mark Dugdale
Over a year ago I went to lunch with an old friend, Joel Barham, from back in my high school days. Joel and I competed against each other in our first competition back in 1993, the Northwest Natural in Portland, OR, and became good friends ever since.
Joel now lives in Florida teaching English, but came to visit family in Seattle last year. I took him out to lunch and we discussed what it was like for me now that I was an IFBB professional bodybuilder. I brought up the fact that I wanted to come out with my own training DVD, similar to what other pros offer. To my surprise, Joel said he had a real passion for film making and had done a few short films in his spare time. Despite not seeing any of Joel’s work, I agreed then and there to have him direct and edit my first DVD.
The next step involved deciding what exactly the fans would want to see in the DVD. The resounding response via my web site, entailed people asking to see how I live my life outside of the gym. What is it like to own and operate a business; be a husband; be a father to three daughters; and train and compete against the best physiques in the world. Basically, aside from the training, who is Mark Dugdale and how does he live his life?
With this in mind Joel felt the best way to shoot the film was over the course of my prep leading up to the 2006 Iron Man Pro. He thought it should be shot in the spirit of reality TV, whereby, aside from interviews inserted throughout, I don’t directly speak to the camera when filming. In Joel’s words, “He would be a fly on the wall, observing.” The result is not just a training DVD, but a bodybuilding documentary.
One thing I never considered until filming DRIVEN, involved legal issues surrounding audio copyrights for music. Thankfully Joel’s older brother, Isaac Barham, agreed to help us out. Isaac did all the audio for the intro, the training scenes and is the artist for the song Love’s Sure a Funny Game which runs during the Special Thanks. Isaac inspired me with his biceps as a teen, so his involvement made the audio even more special on a personal level.
Another big contributor of music was the church I attend – Mars Hill Church. The Parsons and Team Strike Force both contributed several songs to DRIVEN.
DRIVEN culminates with the weekend of the Iron Man Pro, in which John Balik agreed to provide me with footage from the weigh-in, prejudging and finals. Wayne Gallasch from GMV went above and beyond by providing high quality footage of each of these events which Joel incorporated into DRIVEN.
DRIVEN is special for me on several levels. One, I got to capture a moment in the life of my family. Years later I can look back on this DVD with fond memories of when my daughters were young. Two, I enjoyed collaborating with one of my best friends, Joel, who literally took DRIVEN from an idea to reality and vastly exceeded my expectations in the process. Three, it’s my first DVD and something I think the fans will truly enjoy.
Here is the official chapter list and run time…
Run Time 2:01:37DVD Chapters1. Intro 0:002. A Day’s Work 3:063. Chest & Biceps 10:374. Dinner 31:515. Church 41:016. Back & Hamstrings 42:397. Love Story 58:228. Shopping 1:00:219. Sushi 1:07:0410. Shoulders & Triceps 1:08:5211. Weider Tour 1:23:4412. The Last Week 1:29:1013. Posing with Larry 1:31:4614. Weigh-in 1:37:3915. “He’s Ready” 1:39:1616. Night Show 1:42:5317. Three Days Later 1:46:3018. Placing 1:49:2319. Thank You 1:53:0820. Credits 1:57:31
Wayne's Hard News - Videotaping Highlights of 2005 For GMV Productions.
I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some of the highlights of 2005 as they related to GMV Productions and to me personally.
FEBRUARY: The year kicked off brilliantly with the FITEXPO in Pasadena which is run in conjunction with the Iron Man Pro Contest. This is a 3-day expo for not only bodybuilding and fitness, but also for powerlifting, strongman events, seminars on training and healthy living, and much more. The number of booths grows each year and it is a chance to meet your favourite bodybuilder, male or female, and pick up some good deals at the booths.
What I love about this event is the variety from seminars to posing by Ronnie Coleman, Lee Priest, Gunter and many more to the multitude of interviews we shoot with master interviewer Kenny Kassel.
At the Iron Man Pro, a fantastic highlight was the titanic battle between Lee Priest and Gustavo Badell for the title. Both were in best ever condition with Gustavo scoring his first ever pro victory by narrowly edging out Lee.
Not to be denied was super poser Melvin Anthony who took the best presentation award – easily. He is the best I have ever seen.
One week later we visited Mr. Ripped, Clarence Bass, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This time we were not shooting any video of him as we had done the year before, when we shot Ripped 3. Clarence was in tremendous condition and jokingly said we may shoot another DVD together when he is 70!
MARCH: In March it was back to San Francisco for the annual San Francisco Grand Prix. In a way, it was a re-run of the Arnold Classic in Columbus one week before, but with the top 2 placings reversed. In another close one, Chris Cormier took first this time with Dexter a very very close second. I felt it could have gone either way, and my money was on Dexter.
One week later it was Chris Cormier and Lee Priest going head to head in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix. Sean and Ollie shot this event for GMV and Lee was in absolutely sensational condition. He won his home Grand Prix with Chris Cormier second. It is interesting to note that in both Lee’s Grand Prix victories he has beaten Chris Cormier. The previous time was in San Francisco when Lee won his first ever pro show. After the Aussie Grand Prix, Sean and Ollie shot gym workouts with Ronny Rockel and Jaroslav Horvath before they headed back home to Europe.
For Tina and I, our reward at the end of this contest season was a short visit to Yosemite, which is one of the natural wonders of the world. What a backdrop that would make for an outdoor posing for a future bodybuilding production. If any top physique star wants to shoot at this location right after the San Francisco Grand Prix please email me.
APRIL-MAY: Our good friend and expert German bodybuilding cameraman, Timo Sorger shot FIBO for us and then the NABBA European Bodybuilding Championships. Star of FIBO was Alexander Fedorov from Russia.
JUNE: This was a personal fantasy month for me. Over the last 39 years I have been waiting for an hoping for an invite (or excuse) to shoot a major event in South America. In 2005, the NABBA World Championships were held in the city of Natal in North East Brazil. It was without doubt the longest journey I have ever made to a bodybuilding contest but worth every second of the 30 hours of travel time to get there. Apart from the contest which was an extremely high standard, I had video or gym shoots with some of the winners: John Citrone, Andrea Carvalho, Loana Muttoni, Olga Tikhonova and more. Other stars I worked with included Chris Wall, Luke Nichols, Renne Toney etc. I will also never forget how hot and humid it was shooting poolside or on the hotel roof!
JULY: At the end of my South America trip, I shot a gym workout and posing video with Christian Lobarede in his home city of Santiago, Chile. He is the only pro bodybuilder living in South America, and this was a memorable shoot for the intensity and charisma displayed by Christian (Toro) Lobarede.
OCTOBER: It was time for the annual pilgrimage back to UK for the NABBA Universe. This year it was held in Southport and my long term friend and help Clive Jaques and I made the 5 hour drive from Cambridge to Southport on the night before the big event. This time it had a record number of competitors at 170.
It proved to be another bonanza for Brazil As they took 4 titles, Charles Mario as overall Amateur Mr. Universe; Joao Bispo de Andrade, Masters over 40 Mr. Universe; Andrea Carvalho Overall Figure winner and Loana Muttoni Miss Fitness Universe. They presently boast the strongest NABBA team in the world.
Two days later I arrived in Las Vegas ready for the Olympia weekend. It was a great and well-deserved victory for Ronnie, Jen Hendershott and Yaxeni Oriquen. However it was not a great time for GMV as we were unable to obtain video press passes for the first time ever at the Olympia. The only footage I did manage to get, were some outstanding interviews at the Expo.
The organizers decided to try new things and new people at the Olympia as well as a new venue, The Orleans. However we will certainly be bidding for the Olympia DVD rights for 2006.
My personal congratulations to Ronnie on equaling Lee Haney’s record of 8 consecutive Olympia crowns. Also special congratulations to Yaxeni. When I filmed her in her first ever Ms. O in Prague in 1998, I thought she had amazing potential.
After the Mr. Olympia, we had an excellent gym shoot with Ray Arde, who was then 4 weeks away from winning the Nationals and gaining his pro card.
5 days after the Olympia, Ronnie Coleman and my team were shooting Ronnie – On The Road DVD in Melbourne. It was 3 days of hard core gym workout shot with three cameras, plus his guest posing routine at the Victorian Championships. On the 3rd day shooting moved to my home city of Adelaide in South Australia for the seminar with posing at Fitness Warehouse, and then the legs workout.
This was without doubt the best, most exciting, most productive, in depth video shoot I have ever had. Ronnie was fantastic to work with. He really busted himself and gave his all. Not surprisingly, the fans love it and it has sold faster than any other DVD or video we have ever produced.
Who will be the next with GMV – Jay or Dexter. Let us know who you would like to next see get the full GMV treatment.
Now to my 2005 End of Year Awards:
Best and most significant production for the year: Ronnie Coleman on the Road (best ever in fact!!).
Best Team of the Year: NABBA Brazil both at the Universe winning 4 titles and at the Worlds in Brazil winning many titles.
Best Bodybuilding DVD Reviewer: Matt Canning from Canada.
Most Promising new DVD Reviewer: Steve Buccilli
Male Bodybuilder of the Year: Ronnie Coleman equaling the record of 8 Olympia victories.
Female Bodybuilder of the Year: Yaxeni Oriquen – double Ms. Olympia & Ms International.
Fastest Growing but most disappointing Class: IFBB/NPC Figure has rapid growth, but a lack of any form of short posing routine.
Best IFBB Figure Competitor: Davana Medina who won the Figure Olympia again.
NABBA Female Bodybuilder of the Year: Andrea Carvalho – won overall Figure Miss World and Miss Universe (as did Lorna Muttoni with the much smaller Fitness Class)
Special Mention NABBA Female: Olga Tikhonova of Russia who was the winner of the physique class in the Worlds 2 years in a row.
Best NABBA Masters Over 50: John Citrone, winning the World Championships at age 63.
NABBA Female Official of the Year: Val Charles for tireless work processing a record number of competitors and officials at the NABBA Universe.
NABBA Male Official of the Year: Brian Robinson for his work in leading the NABBA Universe Committee to record number of competitors over the last 2 years. There was also the biggest Universe audience for some years.
Role Models of the Year: Jen Hendershott and her never say die attitude, and Ronnie Rockel who came to Australia in March and earned his first Olympia qualification.
Comeback of the Year: Lee Priest in winning the Australian Grand Prix and 2nd in the Iron Man Pro after a disappointing placing at the 2004 Olympia.
Best Male Presentation: Melvin Anthony wins this award with ease from the Iron Man to a fantastic performance at the Olympia.
Best Bodybuilding journalist: Bill Dobbins
Most Outspoken Bodybuilder of the Year: Gustavo Badell for his strong and interesting comments at the Olympia.
Most Improved Bodybuilders of the Year: Branch Warren and David Henry who both came from almost nowhere to achieve Olympia qualification at the last moment. Close runner-up was Ronnie Rockel.
Olympia Rookie of the Year: Branch Warren who placed 8th.
Disappointment of the Year: Dexter Jackson and Lee Priest who both passed on the Mr. Olympia.
Most disappointed bodybuilder for 2005: Jay Cutler on his 3rd straight 2nd placing at the Mr. Olympia. He was most unhappy.
Most Rewarding and challenging amateur event covered in 2005: The NABBA World championships held in Brazil.
Best Bodybuilding Master of Ceremonies: Lonnie Teper – by a mile.
Biggest Loss of the Year: No English Grand Prix. However this loss was in a way our gain as CNP/Dorian Yates Approved became the new official sponsors of GMV Productions. Dorian and Kerry usually run the English Grand Prix each year. GMV has recorded every English Grand Prix since 1993.
Best Rock concert of the Year: The Eagles Farewell Tour # 1 in Adelaide, Australia. Don’t know if these guys all workout, but to play almost non-stop for nearly 3 hours and at their age was a fantastic achievement and showed great endurance and a high level of fitness. Apart from that it was great music as well.
FEBRUARY: The year kicked off brilliantly with the FITEXPO in Pasadena which is run in conjunction with the Iron Man Pro Contest. This is a 3-day expo for not only bodybuilding and fitness, but also for powerlifting, strongman events, seminars on training and healthy living, and much more. The number of booths grows each year and it is a chance to meet your favourite bodybuilder, male or female, and pick up some good deals at the booths.
What I love about this event is the variety from seminars to posing by Ronnie Coleman, Lee Priest, Gunter and many more to the multitude of interviews we shoot with master interviewer Kenny Kassel.
At the Iron Man Pro, a fantastic highlight was the titanic battle between Lee Priest and Gustavo Badell for the title. Both were in best ever condition with Gustavo scoring his first ever pro victory by narrowly edging out Lee.
Not to be denied was super poser Melvin Anthony who took the best presentation award – easily. He is the best I have ever seen.
One week later we visited Mr. Ripped, Clarence Bass, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This time we were not shooting any video of him as we had done the year before, when we shot Ripped 3. Clarence was in tremendous condition and jokingly said we may shoot another DVD together when he is 70!
MARCH: In March it was back to San Francisco for the annual San Francisco Grand Prix. In a way, it was a re-run of the Arnold Classic in Columbus one week before, but with the top 2 placings reversed. In another close one, Chris Cormier took first this time with Dexter a very very close second. I felt it could have gone either way, and my money was on Dexter.
One week later it was Chris Cormier and Lee Priest going head to head in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix. Sean and Ollie shot this event for GMV and Lee was in absolutely sensational condition. He won his home Grand Prix with Chris Cormier second. It is interesting to note that in both Lee’s Grand Prix victories he has beaten Chris Cormier. The previous time was in San Francisco when Lee won his first ever pro show. After the Aussie Grand Prix, Sean and Ollie shot gym workouts with Ronny Rockel and Jaroslav Horvath before they headed back home to Europe.
For Tina and I, our reward at the end of this contest season was a short visit to Yosemite, which is one of the natural wonders of the world. What a backdrop that would make for an outdoor posing for a future bodybuilding production. If any top physique star wants to shoot at this location right after the San Francisco Grand Prix please email me.
APRIL-MAY: Our good friend and expert German bodybuilding cameraman, Timo Sorger shot FIBO for us and then the NABBA European Bodybuilding Championships. Star of FIBO was Alexander Fedorov from Russia.
JUNE: This was a personal fantasy month for me. Over the last 39 years I have been waiting for an hoping for an invite (or excuse) to shoot a major event in South America. In 2005, the NABBA World Championships were held in the city of Natal in North East Brazil. It was without doubt the longest journey I have ever made to a bodybuilding contest but worth every second of the 30 hours of travel time to get there. Apart from the contest which was an extremely high standard, I had video or gym shoots with some of the winners: John Citrone, Andrea Carvalho, Loana Muttoni, Olga Tikhonova and more. Other stars I worked with included Chris Wall, Luke Nichols, Renne Toney etc. I will also never forget how hot and humid it was shooting poolside or on the hotel roof!
JULY: At the end of my South America trip, I shot a gym workout and posing video with Christian Lobarede in his home city of Santiago, Chile. He is the only pro bodybuilder living in South America, and this was a memorable shoot for the intensity and charisma displayed by Christian (Toro) Lobarede.
OCTOBER: It was time for the annual pilgrimage back to UK for the NABBA Universe. This year it was held in Southport and my long term friend and help Clive Jaques and I made the 5 hour drive from Cambridge to Southport on the night before the big event. This time it had a record number of competitors at 170.
It proved to be another bonanza for Brazil As they took 4 titles, Charles Mario as overall Amateur Mr. Universe; Joao Bispo de Andrade, Masters over 40 Mr. Universe; Andrea Carvalho Overall Figure winner and Loana Muttoni Miss Fitness Universe. They presently boast the strongest NABBA team in the world.
Two days later I arrived in Las Vegas ready for the Olympia weekend. It was a great and well-deserved victory for Ronnie, Jen Hendershott and Yaxeni Oriquen. However it was not a great time for GMV as we were unable to obtain video press passes for the first time ever at the Olympia. The only footage I did manage to get, were some outstanding interviews at the Expo.
The organizers decided to try new things and new people at the Olympia as well as a new venue, The Orleans. However we will certainly be bidding for the Olympia DVD rights for 2006.
My personal congratulations to Ronnie on equaling Lee Haney’s record of 8 consecutive Olympia crowns. Also special congratulations to Yaxeni. When I filmed her in her first ever Ms. O in Prague in 1998, I thought she had amazing potential.
After the Mr. Olympia, we had an excellent gym shoot with Ray Arde, who was then 4 weeks away from winning the Nationals and gaining his pro card.
5 days after the Olympia, Ronnie Coleman and my team were shooting Ronnie – On The Road DVD in Melbourne. It was 3 days of hard core gym workout shot with three cameras, plus his guest posing routine at the Victorian Championships. On the 3rd day shooting moved to my home city of Adelaide in South Australia for the seminar with posing at Fitness Warehouse, and then the legs workout.
This was without doubt the best, most exciting, most productive, in depth video shoot I have ever had. Ronnie was fantastic to work with. He really busted himself and gave his all. Not surprisingly, the fans love it and it has sold faster than any other DVD or video we have ever produced.
Who will be the next with GMV – Jay or Dexter. Let us know who you would like to next see get the full GMV treatment.
Now to my 2005 End of Year Awards:
Best and most significant production for the year: Ronnie Coleman on the Road (best ever in fact!!).
Best Team of the Year: NABBA Brazil both at the Universe winning 4 titles and at the Worlds in Brazil winning many titles.
Best Bodybuilding DVD Reviewer: Matt Canning from Canada.
Most Promising new DVD Reviewer: Steve Buccilli
Male Bodybuilder of the Year: Ronnie Coleman equaling the record of 8 Olympia victories.
Female Bodybuilder of the Year: Yaxeni Oriquen – double Ms. Olympia & Ms International.
Fastest Growing but most disappointing Class: IFBB/NPC Figure has rapid growth, but a lack of any form of short posing routine.
Best IFBB Figure Competitor: Davana Medina who won the Figure Olympia again.
NABBA Female Bodybuilder of the Year: Andrea Carvalho – won overall Figure Miss World and Miss Universe (as did Lorna Muttoni with the much smaller Fitness Class)
Special Mention NABBA Female: Olga Tikhonova of Russia who was the winner of the physique class in the Worlds 2 years in a row.
Best NABBA Masters Over 50: John Citrone, winning the World Championships at age 63.
NABBA Female Official of the Year: Val Charles for tireless work processing a record number of competitors and officials at the NABBA Universe.
NABBA Male Official of the Year: Brian Robinson for his work in leading the NABBA Universe Committee to record number of competitors over the last 2 years. There was also the biggest Universe audience for some years.
Role Models of the Year: Jen Hendershott and her never say die attitude, and Ronnie Rockel who came to Australia in March and earned his first Olympia qualification.
Comeback of the Year: Lee Priest in winning the Australian Grand Prix and 2nd in the Iron Man Pro after a disappointing placing at the 2004 Olympia.
Best Male Presentation: Melvin Anthony wins this award with ease from the Iron Man to a fantastic performance at the Olympia.
Best Bodybuilding journalist: Bill Dobbins
Most Outspoken Bodybuilder of the Year: Gustavo Badell for his strong and interesting comments at the Olympia.
Most Improved Bodybuilders of the Year: Branch Warren and David Henry who both came from almost nowhere to achieve Olympia qualification at the last moment. Close runner-up was Ronnie Rockel.
Olympia Rookie of the Year: Branch Warren who placed 8th.
Disappointment of the Year: Dexter Jackson and Lee Priest who both passed on the Mr. Olympia.
Most disappointed bodybuilder for 2005: Jay Cutler on his 3rd straight 2nd placing at the Mr. Olympia. He was most unhappy.
Most Rewarding and challenging amateur event covered in 2005: The NABBA World championships held in Brazil.
Best Bodybuilding Master of Ceremonies: Lonnie Teper – by a mile.
Biggest Loss of the Year: No English Grand Prix. However this loss was in a way our gain as CNP/Dorian Yates Approved became the new official sponsors of GMV Productions. Dorian and Kerry usually run the English Grand Prix each year. GMV has recorded every English Grand Prix since 1993.
Best Rock concert of the Year: The Eagles Farewell Tour # 1 in Adelaide, Australia. Don’t know if these guys all workout, but to play almost non-stop for nearly 3 hours and at their age was a fantastic achievement and showed great endurance and a high level of fitness. Apart from that it was great music as well.
Wayne’s Hard News – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s early competition and lifting history.
Notes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s competitive bodybuilding history 1963-1966
Compiled by David C. New, 29th January 2005 (with updates), Hong KongArticle also includesNotes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s competitive weightlifting andpowerlifting history 1963 - 1968
1963 Steirer Hof Hotel competition (2nd, Graz)
1964 Mr. Steiermark (4th, 26th April, Graz)
1964 Mr. Herkules (3rd, 26th April, Graz)
1964 Mr. Austria (3rd, 26th April, Graz)
1965 Mr. Steiermark (1st, Spring)
1965 Best Built Junior Athlete of Europe (1st, 31st Oct, Stuttgart)
1966 NABBA Mr. Universe (2nd Amateur, Class 1, 24th Sep, London)
1966 VDH-IFBB Best Built International Athlete (1st, 9th Oct, Cologne)
1966 Best Built Athlete of Europe (1st, 30th Oct, Stuttgart)
(Contests in bold have been confirmed from original reports and/or photographs)
Contests in Austria
-Steirer Hof Hotel competition (1963). Joe Roark reported Arnold taking 2nd place at age 15 in the spring of 1963 (M&F, Jul 1997, p. 72; Flex, Jul 1999, p.158). However, Joe’s source was Wendy Leigh’s biography, in which Karl Gerstl told the author that Arnold was, ‘a runner up’ in his first contest at the Steirer Hof Hotel. As she was not specific on the date, it is possible that Gerstl may have been referring to the 1964 contests, particularly as the two photos used by Wendy Leigh to illustrate Arnold’s first contest were taken at the 1964 contests (see next section). If so, perhaps Arnold didn’t compete in the 1963 bodybuilding contests. Although, Mr. Austria/Styria/Herkules contests were often held at the Steirer Hof hotel, Graz and Arnold may have entered one or more of these. I have a full set of Der Muskelbilder from 1963 but, unfortunately, these contests weren’t covered, even though the magazine reported on these contests in 1962 and 1964.
-Mr. Steiermark, Mr. Herkules and Mr. Austria (26th April 1964). The original reports of these 3 contests appeared in Der Muskelbilder (issue Nr. 21). They all took place on the same day at the Steirer Hof hotel, Graz. In the Mr. Steiermark (Styria), Arnold was 4th, Harald Maurer 1st, Adolf Zigner 2nd and Harald Gobetz 3rd. In the Mr. Herkules, Arnold came 3rd, Helmut Cerncic 1st and Zigner 2nd. In the Mr. Austria, 1st-Kurt Marnul, 2nd-Helmut Cerncic, 3rd-Arnold. The photos printed in the Der Muskelbilder and elsewhere make it absolutely clear that Arnold was competitor no. 6 and 10 at two of the contests. As far as I can tell, Arnold was competitor no. 6 for the Mr. Austria and no. 10 for the Mr. Herkules. I am not certain but I suspect that he was no. 15 for the Mr. Steiermark contest (coincidently, there were 15 entrants in this contest but Arnold’s number isn’t clear in the photos of the line-up that I have). Competitor No. 6 (Mr. Austria)
Competitor No. 10 (Mr. Herkules)
Competitor No. 15 (Mr. Steiermark)
NOTE: Albert Busek has written (H&S, 30th March 1967; Kraftsport Revue, Nr. 30) that Arnold came 3rd in the 1964 Mr. Austria and won the Jr. Mr. Austria. Furthermore, from the Graz local government web site on awarding Arnold the town’s ring of honour, "In 1963, he participated in his first bodybuilding competitions which were held in Graz. In 1964 he succeeded in winning the title of Austrian Junior Champion in this discipline.” The original report does not mention a junior contest. Perhaps, as Arnold was the only teenager in the top three of the Mr. Austria, someone decided retrospectively that he should be credited with a junior title.
In ‘Education of a bodybuilder’, Arnold wrote (towards the end of chapter 1), ‘But my first goal was to win Mr. Austria (in the end, I never even entered the contest – by then circumstances had already taken me beyond it)’.
-Mr. Steiermark/Styria (Spring 1965). Albert Busek reported that Arnold won this contest (H&S, 30th March 1967; Kraftsport Revue, Nr. 30), which was probably held in Graz with the annual Mr. Herkules and Mr. Austria contests.
Unidentified contest photos from Austria
-No competitor number. Arnold isn’t wearing a number but in the BBC documentary ‘Arnie’s Millions’, Kurt Marnul’s translator pointed to the picture of the line-up and said it was Arnold’s second contest and he came 5th (Marnul won). In the line-up picture, Arnold looks too well developed to have come 5th. This may have been the 1965 Mr. Steiermark contest.
Contests in Germany
-Best Built Junior Athlete of Europe (31st October 1965). Held in Stuttgart and organized by Peter Gottlob and Albert Busek, the contest was first advertised in Kraftsport revue (issue Nr. 16). The contest report appeared in Kraftsport revue (issue Nr. 19). As also reported by Busek (H&S, 30th Mar 1967), Franz Dischinger, a German who later became Arnold's training partner in Munich, placed 2nd and is standing to Arnold’s right. Helmut Fluck, in 3rd place, is standing on Arnold’s left.
The name of the contest was Bestgebauter Juniorenathlet (Best Built Junior Athlete).
-NABBA Universe (24th September 1966). Original reports appeared in H&S, Ironman, Muscular Development and Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28 & 29).
-Best Built International Athlete (9th October 1966). Held in Cologne and organized by the VDHev and IFBB organizations. The contest reports appeared in Der Muskelbilder (Nr. 43) and Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28). The name of the contest was ‘die Internationale Wahl des Bestgebauten Athleten’. Albert Busek also mentioned this contest in H&S (30th Mar 1967). Franz Dischinger and Franco Columbu also competed and Larry Scott guest posed. Larry Scott’s wife presented Arnold with his trophy. Guiseppe Deiana was 2nd, Franco was 4th and Dischinger won the junior class.
This contest was the same as that captured by British Pathe newsreel and called ‘Mr. Muscles’. British Pathe incorrectly dated this as the 23rd October but Arnold was actually in East Berlin on the 23rd (see Miscellaneous notes below). Strangely, Arnold has the film on his website along with the following description, ‘Although our hero gave it his all, he was not crowned Mr. Muscles that year’.
More pictures of Arnold, Scott and Dischinger at this contest were published in H&S (14th Sep 67, p.21; 6th Jul 67, p.34; 8th Jun 67, centre spread; 18th Jan 1968, p.18-19), Athletik Sportrevue (Nr. 1, spring 1967, p. 19-22), Kraftsport revue (Nr. 31, Feb/Mar 1967, p. 21) and Body Builder (Nr. 24, Sep 1973, p. 17).
-Best Built Athlete of Europe (30th October 1966). Kraftsport revue (Aug/Sep 1966, Nr. 26, pages 6 and 16) reported that a Bestgebauter Athlet contest was due to be held in Stuttgart on the 30th October. The contest was organized by Peter Gottlob and Kraftsport revue magazine. Reports of Arnold’s victory appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28-30). Albert Busek also reported that Arnold won in H&S (30th Mar 1967). Both of these photos were taken at this contest (in the first the backstage curtains are partially drawn). Riedmeier was 2nd, Said 3rd, Franco 4th. Dischinger won the junior class. Arnold won the heavyweight powerlifting competition at the same event (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30).
The first photo is often mislabeled as the 1965 Jr. Mr. Europe contest.
Miscellaneous notes:
1) This photo appeared in ‘Education of a bodybuilder’ and was described as the 1966 Mr. Europe. It was in fact a studio shot. Arnold is holding a NABBA Universe trophy. Another photo from this shoot was used in Kraftsport revue throughout 1968 to advertise Arnold’s gym in Munich. Other shots showed Arnold using some chest expanders (Kraftsport revue Nr. 43)
2) Dianne and Wag Bennett published a photo of Arnold in Bodypower magazine (Jul 1988). The photo was labeled as the 1965 Jr. Mr. Europe. It clearly wasn’t and looked more like a shot from 1966 or possibly 1967.
3) In English language publications we are told by Arnold that BEFORE the 1966 Universe he won Mr. Europe and Best Built Man competitions. In fact, he said that because he won the Best Built Man competition the organisers of Mr. Europe withdrew their offer to send him to the Universe. There are no reports of these contests and I suspect that Arnold was actually referring to the 9th and 30th October competitions.
4) Arnold describes, in ‘Education of a bodybuilder’, winning a contest in Essen shortly after the Universe, at which a judge jumped on stage to measure his arm. There are no reports of this competition and Arnold may have been referring to an, as yet, unidentified guest posing.
5) Bob Gajda has said that he beat Arnold at the 1966 FIHC World Physique Championships in East Berlin (23rd October). The original contest report appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 29), making it clear that Arnold was the guest poser and not a competitor. Albert Busek informed Joe Roark that Arnold was not allowed to compete as he was not sent by a German or Austrian bodybuilding organization. A list of the first seven place winners was also published in IronMan magazine (Jan 1967, vol. 26/2, p.18). A picture of Arnold guest posing appeared in Bodypower magazine (Jul 1988).
7) I have a complete set of Kraftsport revue from 1967. There are no reports of Arnold competing in German bodybuilding competitions in 1967. Although, in FLEX (May 2005, p. 102) Albert Busek contributed a photo of Arnold and Dischinger doing side chest poses. The caption read, ‘1967, Munich- Arnold competes against German champ Franz Dischinger’. Dischinger won the junior class at the 1967 Mr. Germany contest and Arnold guest posed. Perhaps this photograph was taken then (2nd April 1967).
Notes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s competitive weightlifting and powerlifting history
Compiled by David C. New, 18th June 2005, Hong Kong
1963 Olympic Lifting Competition (placing unknown, early 1963, Graz)
1964 Styrian Junior Weightlifting Champion (1st, Autumn)
1965 Austrian Olympic Lifting Champion (1st, Heavyweight, Summer)
1966 International Powerlifting Champion (1st, 80+ kg, 30th Oct, Stuttgart)
1967 German Powerlifting Championships (2nd, 80+ kg, 2nd Apr, Munich)
1967 Graz Paradise Keller Lifting Championships (2nd, Dec)
1968 German Powerlifting Champion (1st, 80+ kg, 5th May, Munich)
(Contests in bold have been confirmed from original reports)
Notes
1963 Olympic lifting competition. In an interview with Peter McGough (M&F, July 1997, p. 60), Arnold told of competing in a competition at a beer hall in Graz in early 1963. This was apparently Arnold’s first contest. He lifted 165 lbs overhead, beating his previous best of 150 lbs. It is not clear whether this was a jerk or a press.
1964 Styrian Junior weightlifting championships. Albert Busek’s article on Arnold (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30, Jan 1967) states that Arnold was the Steirischer Jugendmeister in the Autumn of 1964. The winning weight is given as 280 kg (616 lbs). However, the English version of Busek’s article (H&S 30th March 1967) claims a total of 705 lbs. Neither article is clear about which lifts were included.
1965 Austrian Olympic lifting championships. Arnold states in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ that before he was 18 he had won the heavyweight division of the Austrian Olympic lifting championships. Busek also wrote (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30; H&S 30th March 1967) that by the summer of 1965, Arnold ‘occupied an undisputed first place in the list of Austrian weightlifters’. The impression given in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ was that this was Arnold’s last Olympic lifting competition.
The H&S article reported best lifts of, Press 264 lbs, Snatch 243 lbs and C&J 298 lbs. There was no suggestion that these were the lifts from the 1965 Austrian contest.
1966 International powerlifting championships. Results of the Internationale Meisterschaft Kraftdreikampf appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 30, p. 36-37). Arnold won, Michelik Stanko was 2nd and Leo Pelekies 3rd. Arnold’s lifts were, Deadlift 250 kg, Bench 165 kg and Squat 170 kg. The original contest report gave the total as 585kg, Busek’s H&S article reported 1290 lbs.
1967 German powerlifting championships. Results appeared in Kraftsport revue Nr. 34 (p. 34-35). Arnold came 2nd to Georg Schipper, Klaus Schumann was 3rd. Arnold’s lifts were, Bench 170 kg (374 lbs), Squat 200 kg (440 lbs), Deadlift 280 kg (616 lbs). A photo of Arnold deadlifting at this event was published in FLEX (May 2005) but incorrectly dated as 1966. I have the results for the 1966 competition. Arnold did not compete, although he was one of the guest posers.
1967 Graz Paradise Keller lifting Championships. Wendy Leigh reported that Arnold lost to Helmut Cerncic. Apparently, Kurt Marnul, Karl Kainrath and Adolf Ziegner also competed.
1968 German powerlifting championships. A brief summary of the results was given in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 45, p. 38). These indicated that Arnold deadlifted 310 kg for a total of 725 kg. Full results were promised for issue nr. 46, which I don’t have. However, Thomas Klose has previously told us that the full results were later reprinted as, Squat 215 kg, Bench 200 kg and Deadlift 310 kg.
The impression given in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ was that this was Arnold’s last powerlifting competition.GMV Productions features the world's largest selection of Arnold Schwarzenegger videos/DVDs. Click here.
Compiled by David C. New, 29th January 2005 (with updates), Hong KongArticle also includesNotes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s competitive weightlifting andpowerlifting history 1963 - 1968
1963 Steirer Hof Hotel competition (2nd, Graz)
1964 Mr. Steiermark (4th, 26th April, Graz)
1964 Mr. Herkules (3rd, 26th April, Graz)
1964 Mr. Austria (3rd, 26th April, Graz)
1965 Mr. Steiermark (1st, Spring)
1965 Best Built Junior Athlete of Europe (1st, 31st Oct, Stuttgart)
1966 NABBA Mr. Universe (2nd Amateur, Class 1, 24th Sep, London)
1966 VDH-IFBB Best Built International Athlete (1st, 9th Oct, Cologne)
1966 Best Built Athlete of Europe (1st, 30th Oct, Stuttgart)
(Contests in bold have been confirmed from original reports and/or photographs)
Contests in Austria
-Steirer Hof Hotel competition (1963). Joe Roark reported Arnold taking 2nd place at age 15 in the spring of 1963 (M&F, Jul 1997, p. 72; Flex, Jul 1999, p.158). However, Joe’s source was Wendy Leigh’s biography, in which Karl Gerstl told the author that Arnold was, ‘a runner up’ in his first contest at the Steirer Hof Hotel. As she was not specific on the date, it is possible that Gerstl may have been referring to the 1964 contests, particularly as the two photos used by Wendy Leigh to illustrate Arnold’s first contest were taken at the 1964 contests (see next section). If so, perhaps Arnold didn’t compete in the 1963 bodybuilding contests. Although, Mr. Austria/Styria/Herkules contests were often held at the Steirer Hof hotel, Graz and Arnold may have entered one or more of these. I have a full set of Der Muskelbilder from 1963 but, unfortunately, these contests weren’t covered, even though the magazine reported on these contests in 1962 and 1964.
-Mr. Steiermark, Mr. Herkules and Mr. Austria (26th April 1964). The original reports of these 3 contests appeared in Der Muskelbilder (issue Nr. 21). They all took place on the same day at the Steirer Hof hotel, Graz. In the Mr. Steiermark (Styria), Arnold was 4th, Harald Maurer 1st, Adolf Zigner 2nd and Harald Gobetz 3rd. In the Mr. Herkules, Arnold came 3rd, Helmut Cerncic 1st and Zigner 2nd. In the Mr. Austria, 1st-Kurt Marnul, 2nd-Helmut Cerncic, 3rd-Arnold. The photos printed in the Der Muskelbilder and elsewhere make it absolutely clear that Arnold was competitor no. 6 and 10 at two of the contests. As far as I can tell, Arnold was competitor no. 6 for the Mr. Austria and no. 10 for the Mr. Herkules. I am not certain but I suspect that he was no. 15 for the Mr. Steiermark contest (coincidently, there were 15 entrants in this contest but Arnold’s number isn’t clear in the photos of the line-up that I have). Competitor No. 6 (Mr. Austria)
Competitor No. 10 (Mr. Herkules)
Competitor No. 15 (Mr. Steiermark)
NOTE: Albert Busek has written (H&S, 30th March 1967; Kraftsport Revue, Nr. 30) that Arnold came 3rd in the 1964 Mr. Austria and won the Jr. Mr. Austria. Furthermore, from the Graz local government web site on awarding Arnold the town’s ring of honour, "In 1963, he participated in his first bodybuilding competitions which were held in Graz. In 1964 he succeeded in winning the title of Austrian Junior Champion in this discipline.” The original report does not mention a junior contest. Perhaps, as Arnold was the only teenager in the top three of the Mr. Austria, someone decided retrospectively that he should be credited with a junior title.
In ‘Education of a bodybuilder’, Arnold wrote (towards the end of chapter 1), ‘But my first goal was to win Mr. Austria (in the end, I never even entered the contest – by then circumstances had already taken me beyond it)’.
-Mr. Steiermark/Styria (Spring 1965). Albert Busek reported that Arnold won this contest (H&S, 30th March 1967; Kraftsport Revue, Nr. 30), which was probably held in Graz with the annual Mr. Herkules and Mr. Austria contests.
Unidentified contest photos from Austria
-No competitor number. Arnold isn’t wearing a number but in the BBC documentary ‘Arnie’s Millions’, Kurt Marnul’s translator pointed to the picture of the line-up and said it was Arnold’s second contest and he came 5th (Marnul won). In the line-up picture, Arnold looks too well developed to have come 5th. This may have been the 1965 Mr. Steiermark contest.
Contests in Germany
-Best Built Junior Athlete of Europe (31st October 1965). Held in Stuttgart and organized by Peter Gottlob and Albert Busek, the contest was first advertised in Kraftsport revue (issue Nr. 16). The contest report appeared in Kraftsport revue (issue Nr. 19). As also reported by Busek (H&S, 30th Mar 1967), Franz Dischinger, a German who later became Arnold's training partner in Munich, placed 2nd and is standing to Arnold’s right. Helmut Fluck, in 3rd place, is standing on Arnold’s left.
The name of the contest was Bestgebauter Juniorenathlet (Best Built Junior Athlete).
-NABBA Universe (24th September 1966). Original reports appeared in H&S, Ironman, Muscular Development and Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28 & 29).
-Best Built International Athlete (9th October 1966). Held in Cologne and organized by the VDHev and IFBB organizations. The contest reports appeared in Der Muskelbilder (Nr. 43) and Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28). The name of the contest was ‘die Internationale Wahl des Bestgebauten Athleten’. Albert Busek also mentioned this contest in H&S (30th Mar 1967). Franz Dischinger and Franco Columbu also competed and Larry Scott guest posed. Larry Scott’s wife presented Arnold with his trophy. Guiseppe Deiana was 2nd, Franco was 4th and Dischinger won the junior class.
This contest was the same as that captured by British Pathe newsreel and called ‘Mr. Muscles’. British Pathe incorrectly dated this as the 23rd October but Arnold was actually in East Berlin on the 23rd (see Miscellaneous notes below). Strangely, Arnold has the film on his website along with the following description, ‘Although our hero gave it his all, he was not crowned Mr. Muscles that year’.
More pictures of Arnold, Scott and Dischinger at this contest were published in H&S (14th Sep 67, p.21; 6th Jul 67, p.34; 8th Jun 67, centre spread; 18th Jan 1968, p.18-19), Athletik Sportrevue (Nr. 1, spring 1967, p. 19-22), Kraftsport revue (Nr. 31, Feb/Mar 1967, p. 21) and Body Builder (Nr. 24, Sep 1973, p. 17).
-Best Built Athlete of Europe (30th October 1966). Kraftsport revue (Aug/Sep 1966, Nr. 26, pages 6 and 16) reported that a Bestgebauter Athlet contest was due to be held in Stuttgart on the 30th October. The contest was organized by Peter Gottlob and Kraftsport revue magazine. Reports of Arnold’s victory appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 28-30). Albert Busek also reported that Arnold won in H&S (30th Mar 1967). Both of these photos were taken at this contest (in the first the backstage curtains are partially drawn). Riedmeier was 2nd, Said 3rd, Franco 4th. Dischinger won the junior class. Arnold won the heavyweight powerlifting competition at the same event (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30).
The first photo is often mislabeled as the 1965 Jr. Mr. Europe contest.
Miscellaneous notes:
1) This photo appeared in ‘Education of a bodybuilder’ and was described as the 1966 Mr. Europe. It was in fact a studio shot. Arnold is holding a NABBA Universe trophy. Another photo from this shoot was used in Kraftsport revue throughout 1968 to advertise Arnold’s gym in Munich. Other shots showed Arnold using some chest expanders (Kraftsport revue Nr. 43)
2) Dianne and Wag Bennett published a photo of Arnold in Bodypower magazine (Jul 1988). The photo was labeled as the 1965 Jr. Mr. Europe. It clearly wasn’t and looked more like a shot from 1966 or possibly 1967.
3) In English language publications we are told by Arnold that BEFORE the 1966 Universe he won Mr. Europe and Best Built Man competitions. In fact, he said that because he won the Best Built Man competition the organisers of Mr. Europe withdrew their offer to send him to the Universe. There are no reports of these contests and I suspect that Arnold was actually referring to the 9th and 30th October competitions.
4) Arnold describes, in ‘Education of a bodybuilder’, winning a contest in Essen shortly after the Universe, at which a judge jumped on stage to measure his arm. There are no reports of this competition and Arnold may have been referring to an, as yet, unidentified guest posing.
5) Bob Gajda has said that he beat Arnold at the 1966 FIHC World Physique Championships in East Berlin (23rd October). The original contest report appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 29), making it clear that Arnold was the guest poser and not a competitor. Albert Busek informed Joe Roark that Arnold was not allowed to compete as he was not sent by a German or Austrian bodybuilding organization. A list of the first seven place winners was also published in IronMan magazine (Jan 1967, vol. 26/2, p.18). A picture of Arnold guest posing appeared in Bodypower magazine (Jul 1988).
7) I have a complete set of Kraftsport revue from 1967. There are no reports of Arnold competing in German bodybuilding competitions in 1967. Although, in FLEX (May 2005, p. 102) Albert Busek contributed a photo of Arnold and Dischinger doing side chest poses. The caption read, ‘1967, Munich- Arnold competes against German champ Franz Dischinger’. Dischinger won the junior class at the 1967 Mr. Germany contest and Arnold guest posed. Perhaps this photograph was taken then (2nd April 1967).
Notes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s competitive weightlifting and powerlifting history
Compiled by David C. New, 18th June 2005, Hong Kong
1963 Olympic Lifting Competition (placing unknown, early 1963, Graz)
1964 Styrian Junior Weightlifting Champion (1st, Autumn)
1965 Austrian Olympic Lifting Champion (1st, Heavyweight, Summer)
1966 International Powerlifting Champion (1st, 80+ kg, 30th Oct, Stuttgart)
1967 German Powerlifting Championships (2nd, 80+ kg, 2nd Apr, Munich)
1967 Graz Paradise Keller Lifting Championships (2nd, Dec)
1968 German Powerlifting Champion (1st, 80+ kg, 5th May, Munich)
(Contests in bold have been confirmed from original reports)
Notes
1963 Olympic lifting competition. In an interview with Peter McGough (M&F, July 1997, p. 60), Arnold told of competing in a competition at a beer hall in Graz in early 1963. This was apparently Arnold’s first contest. He lifted 165 lbs overhead, beating his previous best of 150 lbs. It is not clear whether this was a jerk or a press.
1964 Styrian Junior weightlifting championships. Albert Busek’s article on Arnold (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30, Jan 1967) states that Arnold was the Steirischer Jugendmeister in the Autumn of 1964. The winning weight is given as 280 kg (616 lbs). However, the English version of Busek’s article (H&S 30th March 1967) claims a total of 705 lbs. Neither article is clear about which lifts were included.
1965 Austrian Olympic lifting championships. Arnold states in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ that before he was 18 he had won the heavyweight division of the Austrian Olympic lifting championships. Busek also wrote (Kraftsport revue Nr. 30; H&S 30th March 1967) that by the summer of 1965, Arnold ‘occupied an undisputed first place in the list of Austrian weightlifters’. The impression given in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ was that this was Arnold’s last Olympic lifting competition.
The H&S article reported best lifts of, Press 264 lbs, Snatch 243 lbs and C&J 298 lbs. There was no suggestion that these were the lifts from the 1965 Austrian contest.
1966 International powerlifting championships. Results of the Internationale Meisterschaft Kraftdreikampf appeared in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 30, p. 36-37). Arnold won, Michelik Stanko was 2nd and Leo Pelekies 3rd. Arnold’s lifts were, Deadlift 250 kg, Bench 165 kg and Squat 170 kg. The original contest report gave the total as 585kg, Busek’s H&S article reported 1290 lbs.
1967 German powerlifting championships. Results appeared in Kraftsport revue Nr. 34 (p. 34-35). Arnold came 2nd to Georg Schipper, Klaus Schumann was 3rd. Arnold’s lifts were, Bench 170 kg (374 lbs), Squat 200 kg (440 lbs), Deadlift 280 kg (616 lbs). A photo of Arnold deadlifting at this event was published in FLEX (May 2005) but incorrectly dated as 1966. I have the results for the 1966 competition. Arnold did not compete, although he was one of the guest posers.
1967 Graz Paradise Keller lifting Championships. Wendy Leigh reported that Arnold lost to Helmut Cerncic. Apparently, Kurt Marnul, Karl Kainrath and Adolf Ziegner also competed.
1968 German powerlifting championships. A brief summary of the results was given in Kraftsport revue (Nr. 45, p. 38). These indicated that Arnold deadlifted 310 kg for a total of 725 kg. Full results were promised for issue nr. 46, which I don’t have. However, Thomas Klose has previously told us that the full results were later reprinted as, Squat 215 kg, Bench 200 kg and Deadlift 310 kg.
The impression given in ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ was that this was Arnold’s last powerlifting competition.GMV Productions features the world's largest selection of Arnold Schwarzenegger videos/DVDs. Click here.
2005 NABBA UNIVERSE REPORT - Hard News by Wayne Gallasch
Hard News by Wayne Gallasch2005 NABBA UNIVERSE REPORTThis year the Universe returned to Southport and the wonderful 57th Universe was a year of records. Entries were received from 33 countries and I believe this was more countries represented than ever before. The number of competitors rose to 170, smashing last year’s record of 150 competitors. I would not be surprised to see it crash the 200 competitors barrier in the next year or two.
For those into statistics here is how it turned out:
THE MEN Masters Over 40 19 competitors Masters Over 50 14 competitors Juniors 14 competitors Mr. Class 4 13 competitors Mr. Class 3 18 competitors Mr. Class 2 16 competitors Mr. Class 1 16 competitors Pro-Am 7 competitors TOTAL 117 competitors
THE WOMEN Miss Figure Class 2 21 competitors Miss Figure Class 1 15 competitors Miss Physique 9 competitors Miss Fitness 8 competitors TOTAL 53 competitors
My comments on the Men’s classes are first, followed by my comments on the Women.
MASTERS OVER 40
This was the biggest and toughest class of the whole Universe with 19 great physiques. Each year this class is unbelievable and many of the guys would have placed in the open classes, if they had not entered the Masters.
It was in fact a trifecta for Brazil with de ANDRADE, MURAYAMA and FEITOSA making it a well-deserved 1, 2, 3 in that order. De Andrade was the recent Masters World champion from Brazil in June this year. A magnificent double for him and a most clear cut victory for this outstanding champion. He had size, shape and condition and could go on winning this class for years if he so decides.
Second was Mr Symmetry, NORTON MURAYAMA with his classic physique and superb condition. In third place was the fine physique of GILBERTO FEITOSA, who narrowly edged out England’s own TERRY FISHER by 2 points. I thought that the extra size Fisher displayed would help him snatch 3rd place, but it was not to be. Fisher is a former winner of this class plus an Amateur class and has been competing at the Universe since his early 20s. In this superb line-up, 4th place was certainly not a bad result.MASTERS OVER 50
This was another “hard as nail” class such that previous masters winner EARL MADURO could only place 4th. It was obvious to me from the very first set of comparisons that NABBA superstar JOHN CITRONE could be in trouble in making it a double victory this year. John brilliantly won this class at the Brazil Worlds in June. Making life difficult for him was DIMITRI DOKOUR representing Israel. I am not sure of the age difference, but Dokour looked to be about 50 while John is 63. Both men were in incredible condition with Dokour holding an edge in shoulder development and overall condition – due to his relative “youth”. They tied on 15 points each and 3 first place votes each. However the Israeli took the title with 4 second place votes to John’s 2 second placings. It was a tough decision for John to get so close and not take the title.
Although I was sorry to see John beaten in such a close result, I do feel it was the correct decision on the night. For John’s many fans, his new DVD has just been released, see GMV-231DVD.
In 3rd place was the tight, symmetrical physique of RAFAEL VERA of Spain. A brilliant BERNIE COOPER from UK had to settle for 5th place, such was the standard of this class.
JUNIORS UNDER 21
With 14 competitors in this class it was the largest line-up of Juniors I can recall ever seeing in a Junior Universe division. The clear winner was MARVIN NAGELBLOEM from Holland with straight firsts from 6 of the 7 judges. He displayed a mature, symmetrical, shredded physique and will be a young man to watch in the future.
In second place was JARRED GRADWELL of South Africa with a narrow 2 point margin over his friend and compatriot ANDREW HUDSON. Two fine young athletes with nothing much between them. Incidentally the 4th place also went to South Africa in DAMIEN CLOETE. These young men are the future stars of the open classes of the Universe. It was gratifying to see many new and outstanding young faces coming through.
MR CLASS 4
This class is often the largest of the Men’s Amateur Classes, but this year it was the smallest of the 4. What it lacked in quantity it sure made up for in quality as it provided the overall winner of the Amateur Mr Universe in CHARLES MARIO from Brazil. Mario had a wonderful physique. Small in stature it was big in every other way from his superb symmetry to great size, incredible legs to his shredded, sliced and diced condition. MARILANDIO PONCHET made it a one – two finish for Brazil with Ponchet a clear cut winner over 3rd placegetter SIMONE MEIATTINI of Italy. The Italian tied on points with 4th placed PAUL SUTTON of UK but was placed 3rd on a countback.
As far as I can recall, CHARLES MARIO is Brazil’s first ever overall Amateur Mr Universe winner. My congratulations to him and also the very strong Brazilian team which again dominated and continued on from where it left off at the Worlds.
MR CLASS 3
What a close, tough class this was with only 7 points separating 1st from 3rd place and the runner up only 2 points behind the winner.
In 1st place was KHALID ALMOHSINAWI from Holland. He had great shape and good condition and in a very close decision was probably a little fortunate in finishing a whisker in front of PHIL CARLON of UK. Phil has been coming up each year in both size and condition and looked fantastic on the day. However it was not to be “his day” this year in Southport. I expect that next year he will nail the title in this class and not let it slip through his fingers. ROY PATTISON of UK presented a tight, hard and most appealing package as he convincingly took 3rd place from BILLY BOURNE from the Republic of Ireland who in 4th place.
MR CLASS 2
This was an exciting class with a brand new star emerging in the form of Russian champion YAN SALAKS. He was huge and impressive and looked like he could possibly take the overall title. His only real weakness was a lack of good, hard condition. Yan narrowly beat former Mr Universe class winner JOSE ACOSTA of Spain. Jose has wonderful shape, great size, fantastic legs but lacked abs this year. As he told me the next day, he missed his peak this time and was most disappointed with his condition.
In 3rd place was DOMENIC SCHEDA from Malta. This was a great result for Malta and Domenic showed outstanding shape and condition.
LUKE NICHOLS of UK was 4th with his excellent and symmetrical physique. Luke displayed superb leg development and will take this class when he brings his upper body up to the standard of his legs.
MR CLASS 1
These were the tall guys and the biggest physiques in the amateur competition. HEDWIG PARDEN of Holland had too much class and condition for last year’s class 1 winner NEVEN CORAK. Hedwig looked sharp, big and tight and was a more convincing winner that the 3 point margin suggested.
In third place was new guy ALEXEI NETESONOV of Russia.
The overall Amateur Mr Universe judging took place at the evening show. In my opinion it was a battle between the pocket Hercules CHARLES MARIO of Brazil and the much bigger HEDWIG PARDEN of Holland. The judges preferred the total package of shape, size and muscularity of Mario over the larger mass of Parden. It proves that a good smaller guy can still beat a good big guy.PRO-AM EVENT
CHARLIES MARIO now joined the other 6 competitors in this class. It produced a perfect ending for Russian star and 2000 Amateur Universe winner SERGEI OGORODNIKOV as he took this premier title. Runner up was a previous winner in GARY LISTER with IFBB English Pro PETER BROWN taking 3rd and BORIS KLEINE of Germany now living in Poland taking 4th. I had the pleasure of training at Kleine’s superb gym in Berlin in 2004.
All 4 guys looked fantastic and this whole class was the highest standard I have seen in the Pro-Am.
THE WOMEN
FIGURE CLASS 2
ANDREA CARVALHO of Brazil made it a sensational double as she not only won this class convincingly, she then won the overall Figure Miss Universe title. Back in June she won the overall figure title at the Worlds in Brazil. Watch for a DVD on her next year! She has the complete package – symmetry, beautiful shape, the right degree of size and hardness and no real weaknesses. She is a beautiful lady and a worthy champion.
Runner up was her friend from Brazil in LUCIANE VIEIRA with another star from Brazil in FLAVIA CRISSOS in 3rd place. I should mention that Flavia had one of the best posing routines I have seen in a long time. The men in the audience certainly loved it!
SUSAN BORG of Malta showed great potential in 4th with TERRI ROBERTS of Australia taking an excellent 5th place. Terri has won this class some years ago and still competes each year in fantastic condition. Rounding out the top 6 was a new competitor from Western Australia in CHRISTINE HAJJAR. Christine also displayed great condition and will place much higher with more experience at the top level.
FIGURE CLASS 1
The winner was a ripped and slender Russian in the figure of VICTORIA ZABOURDIAEVA. Her total performance was outstanding in every way and I felt she was a clear winner. Her posing routine was incredibly sensual and displayed her physique to perfection. However the judges had her tied with fellow Russian YANA VLADIMIROVA with Victoria winning with more first placings from the judges.
3rd place in this very tough class of 15 went to beautiful CLAUDIA FRANCIS de SOUZA of Brazil. I predict Claudia will win this class in the future after her recent 2nd placing a the Worlds. She displays enormous potential and is another sensational performer on stage.
DIANNE SHIPWAY of Australia earned her wonderful 4th place in this very strong class and ANGELA THOMAS of Australia took 8th.
As mentioned, CARVALHO of Brazil took the overall title from ZABOURDIAEVA in a very popular and well deserved victory.
MISS PHYSIQUE
I felt this class was somewhat controversial in its results. This year it was victory at last to DESIRE DUMPEL of Holland over multi titled Russian star and recent World Champion OLGA TIKHONOVA. The judges preferred the ripped hardcore muscle of Dumpel to the slightly softer more aesthetic physique of Tikhonova. They were both in great shape and Olga was visibly shocked when she was announced in 2nd place.
Close behind in 3rd position was TONI CARRERAS of Spain. It is good to see so many different countries of Europe figuring in the results both for men and women. UK is traditionally strong every year, Australia always does well in the figure classes and USA has been strong in the past. Sadly USA president Bob Gruskin could not be with his team this year and we wish him a speedy recovery from his illness.
MISS FITNESS
It was another double for Brazil, as the winner LOANA MUTTONI is the current NABBA World Fitness Champion. She again blitzed the field with her awesome routine and fantastic body. In 2nd place was TONICA LODDER of South Africa with another superb routine, with HELEN HEANEN of UK a very worthy 3rd place getter. All 8 competitors were outstanding and it is good to see this class is really progressing and getting bigger each year.
All in all it was a fantastic Universe in every way. My congratulations to NABBA Secretary Val Charles, Chairman Brian Robinson and all officials involved - too numerous to name, on a job well done. This is one contest I never tire of covering after many years of covering this famous event.
NB. Many of the names are quite complex and I may have some spelling errors above, and in the complete results which will be posted today on our site. If anyone notices an incorrect spelling of any of the names, please let me know at wayne@gmv.com.au and I will correct it.Our usual 3 DVDs from this event are now available for sale, see below.
For a complete set of UNIVERSE RESULTS, please click here.To see our video on the complete history of the NABBA Universe, please click here.
For those into statistics here is how it turned out:
THE MEN Masters Over 40 19 competitors Masters Over 50 14 competitors Juniors 14 competitors Mr. Class 4 13 competitors Mr. Class 3 18 competitors Mr. Class 2 16 competitors Mr. Class 1 16 competitors Pro-Am 7 competitors TOTAL 117 competitors
THE WOMEN Miss Figure Class 2 21 competitors Miss Figure Class 1 15 competitors Miss Physique 9 competitors Miss Fitness 8 competitors TOTAL 53 competitors
My comments on the Men’s classes are first, followed by my comments on the Women.
MASTERS OVER 40
This was the biggest and toughest class of the whole Universe with 19 great physiques. Each year this class is unbelievable and many of the guys would have placed in the open classes, if they had not entered the Masters.
It was in fact a trifecta for Brazil with de ANDRADE, MURAYAMA and FEITOSA making it a well-deserved 1, 2, 3 in that order. De Andrade was the recent Masters World champion from Brazil in June this year. A magnificent double for him and a most clear cut victory for this outstanding champion. He had size, shape and condition and could go on winning this class for years if he so decides.
Second was Mr Symmetry, NORTON MURAYAMA with his classic physique and superb condition. In third place was the fine physique of GILBERTO FEITOSA, who narrowly edged out England’s own TERRY FISHER by 2 points. I thought that the extra size Fisher displayed would help him snatch 3rd place, but it was not to be. Fisher is a former winner of this class plus an Amateur class and has been competing at the Universe since his early 20s. In this superb line-up, 4th place was certainly not a bad result.MASTERS OVER 50
This was another “hard as nail” class such that previous masters winner EARL MADURO could only place 4th. It was obvious to me from the very first set of comparisons that NABBA superstar JOHN CITRONE could be in trouble in making it a double victory this year. John brilliantly won this class at the Brazil Worlds in June. Making life difficult for him was DIMITRI DOKOUR representing Israel. I am not sure of the age difference, but Dokour looked to be about 50 while John is 63. Both men were in incredible condition with Dokour holding an edge in shoulder development and overall condition – due to his relative “youth”. They tied on 15 points each and 3 first place votes each. However the Israeli took the title with 4 second place votes to John’s 2 second placings. It was a tough decision for John to get so close and not take the title.
Although I was sorry to see John beaten in such a close result, I do feel it was the correct decision on the night. For John’s many fans, his new DVD has just been released, see GMV-231DVD.
In 3rd place was the tight, symmetrical physique of RAFAEL VERA of Spain. A brilliant BERNIE COOPER from UK had to settle for 5th place, such was the standard of this class.
JUNIORS UNDER 21
With 14 competitors in this class it was the largest line-up of Juniors I can recall ever seeing in a Junior Universe division. The clear winner was MARVIN NAGELBLOEM from Holland with straight firsts from 6 of the 7 judges. He displayed a mature, symmetrical, shredded physique and will be a young man to watch in the future.
In second place was JARRED GRADWELL of South Africa with a narrow 2 point margin over his friend and compatriot ANDREW HUDSON. Two fine young athletes with nothing much between them. Incidentally the 4th place also went to South Africa in DAMIEN CLOETE. These young men are the future stars of the open classes of the Universe. It was gratifying to see many new and outstanding young faces coming through.
MR CLASS 4
This class is often the largest of the Men’s Amateur Classes, but this year it was the smallest of the 4. What it lacked in quantity it sure made up for in quality as it provided the overall winner of the Amateur Mr Universe in CHARLES MARIO from Brazil. Mario had a wonderful physique. Small in stature it was big in every other way from his superb symmetry to great size, incredible legs to his shredded, sliced and diced condition. MARILANDIO PONCHET made it a one – two finish for Brazil with Ponchet a clear cut winner over 3rd placegetter SIMONE MEIATTINI of Italy. The Italian tied on points with 4th placed PAUL SUTTON of UK but was placed 3rd on a countback.
As far as I can recall, CHARLES MARIO is Brazil’s first ever overall Amateur Mr Universe winner. My congratulations to him and also the very strong Brazilian team which again dominated and continued on from where it left off at the Worlds.
MR CLASS 3
What a close, tough class this was with only 7 points separating 1st from 3rd place and the runner up only 2 points behind the winner.
In 1st place was KHALID ALMOHSINAWI from Holland. He had great shape and good condition and in a very close decision was probably a little fortunate in finishing a whisker in front of PHIL CARLON of UK. Phil has been coming up each year in both size and condition and looked fantastic on the day. However it was not to be “his day” this year in Southport. I expect that next year he will nail the title in this class and not let it slip through his fingers. ROY PATTISON of UK presented a tight, hard and most appealing package as he convincingly took 3rd place from BILLY BOURNE from the Republic of Ireland who in 4th place.
MR CLASS 2
This was an exciting class with a brand new star emerging in the form of Russian champion YAN SALAKS. He was huge and impressive and looked like he could possibly take the overall title. His only real weakness was a lack of good, hard condition. Yan narrowly beat former Mr Universe class winner JOSE ACOSTA of Spain. Jose has wonderful shape, great size, fantastic legs but lacked abs this year. As he told me the next day, he missed his peak this time and was most disappointed with his condition.
In 3rd place was DOMENIC SCHEDA from Malta. This was a great result for Malta and Domenic showed outstanding shape and condition.
LUKE NICHOLS of UK was 4th with his excellent and symmetrical physique. Luke displayed superb leg development and will take this class when he brings his upper body up to the standard of his legs.
MR CLASS 1
These were the tall guys and the biggest physiques in the amateur competition. HEDWIG PARDEN of Holland had too much class and condition for last year’s class 1 winner NEVEN CORAK. Hedwig looked sharp, big and tight and was a more convincing winner that the 3 point margin suggested.
In third place was new guy ALEXEI NETESONOV of Russia.
The overall Amateur Mr Universe judging took place at the evening show. In my opinion it was a battle between the pocket Hercules CHARLES MARIO of Brazil and the much bigger HEDWIG PARDEN of Holland. The judges preferred the total package of shape, size and muscularity of Mario over the larger mass of Parden. It proves that a good smaller guy can still beat a good big guy.PRO-AM EVENT
CHARLIES MARIO now joined the other 6 competitors in this class. It produced a perfect ending for Russian star and 2000 Amateur Universe winner SERGEI OGORODNIKOV as he took this premier title. Runner up was a previous winner in GARY LISTER with IFBB English Pro PETER BROWN taking 3rd and BORIS KLEINE of Germany now living in Poland taking 4th. I had the pleasure of training at Kleine’s superb gym in Berlin in 2004.
All 4 guys looked fantastic and this whole class was the highest standard I have seen in the Pro-Am.
THE WOMEN
FIGURE CLASS 2
ANDREA CARVALHO of Brazil made it a sensational double as she not only won this class convincingly, she then won the overall Figure Miss Universe title. Back in June she won the overall figure title at the Worlds in Brazil. Watch for a DVD on her next year! She has the complete package – symmetry, beautiful shape, the right degree of size and hardness and no real weaknesses. She is a beautiful lady and a worthy champion.
Runner up was her friend from Brazil in LUCIANE VIEIRA with another star from Brazil in FLAVIA CRISSOS in 3rd place. I should mention that Flavia had one of the best posing routines I have seen in a long time. The men in the audience certainly loved it!
SUSAN BORG of Malta showed great potential in 4th with TERRI ROBERTS of Australia taking an excellent 5th place. Terri has won this class some years ago and still competes each year in fantastic condition. Rounding out the top 6 was a new competitor from Western Australia in CHRISTINE HAJJAR. Christine also displayed great condition and will place much higher with more experience at the top level.
FIGURE CLASS 1
The winner was a ripped and slender Russian in the figure of VICTORIA ZABOURDIAEVA. Her total performance was outstanding in every way and I felt she was a clear winner. Her posing routine was incredibly sensual and displayed her physique to perfection. However the judges had her tied with fellow Russian YANA VLADIMIROVA with Victoria winning with more first placings from the judges.
3rd place in this very tough class of 15 went to beautiful CLAUDIA FRANCIS de SOUZA of Brazil. I predict Claudia will win this class in the future after her recent 2nd placing a the Worlds. She displays enormous potential and is another sensational performer on stage.
DIANNE SHIPWAY of Australia earned her wonderful 4th place in this very strong class and ANGELA THOMAS of Australia took 8th.
As mentioned, CARVALHO of Brazil took the overall title from ZABOURDIAEVA in a very popular and well deserved victory.
MISS PHYSIQUE
I felt this class was somewhat controversial in its results. This year it was victory at last to DESIRE DUMPEL of Holland over multi titled Russian star and recent World Champion OLGA TIKHONOVA. The judges preferred the ripped hardcore muscle of Dumpel to the slightly softer more aesthetic physique of Tikhonova. They were both in great shape and Olga was visibly shocked when she was announced in 2nd place.
Close behind in 3rd position was TONI CARRERAS of Spain. It is good to see so many different countries of Europe figuring in the results both for men and women. UK is traditionally strong every year, Australia always does well in the figure classes and USA has been strong in the past. Sadly USA president Bob Gruskin could not be with his team this year and we wish him a speedy recovery from his illness.
MISS FITNESS
It was another double for Brazil, as the winner LOANA MUTTONI is the current NABBA World Fitness Champion. She again blitzed the field with her awesome routine and fantastic body. In 2nd place was TONICA LODDER of South Africa with another superb routine, with HELEN HEANEN of UK a very worthy 3rd place getter. All 8 competitors were outstanding and it is good to see this class is really progressing and getting bigger each year.
All in all it was a fantastic Universe in every way. My congratulations to NABBA Secretary Val Charles, Chairman Brian Robinson and all officials involved - too numerous to name, on a job well done. This is one contest I never tire of covering after many years of covering this famous event.
NB. Many of the names are quite complex and I may have some spelling errors above, and in the complete results which will be posted today on our site. If anyone notices an incorrect spelling of any of the names, please let me know at wayne@gmv.com.au and I will correct it.Our usual 3 DVDs from this event are now available for sale, see below.
For a complete set of UNIVERSE RESULTS, please click here.To see our video on the complete history of the NABBA Universe, please click here.
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