Can we finally put an end to the controversy surrounding the 1980 Olympia?

[Whey Hey]

I guess the same time a Back did...OR...Lats...OR...Legs...OR...Arms..Every year these body parts are picked apart as who had the best and people saying " well this person should have won cause they had better xxxx part"..

FOR me..if you dont have the best abs "the one thing every single pro should have a 6pk" then you lose points. Does that mean that Arnold shouldnt have won? NO, he clearly is larger and more detailed then pretty much anyone there.

With regards to genetics, not many people have perfect "6 packs". It doesnt matter if you have a 2 pack, 4 pack etc... as long as they are symmetrical and well proportioned.

[Memorial93]

Remember, abs are a genetic thing shape-wise. Look at Jay's. His abs look incredibly odd and thats because its his genetics that give him that look so they won't necessarily look proportioned and symmetrical

[siersy]

LOL at zane looking like palumbo's worst showing ever....

and they call it palumboism... maybe they should call it zanism

[-SLIX-]

Remember, abs are a genetic thing shape-wise. Look at Jay's. His abs look incredible odd abd thats because its his genetics that give him that look so they won't necessarily look proportioned and symmetrical

X2 it would be a really sad day if abs won someone a contest. They are genetic and people can't do nothing to alter the shape. Mark people down for wide waists, pertruding guts but don't mark them down for ab shape

[Zeneth]

Zane's chest was thicker than Mentzer's that year.

[siersy]

Zane's chest was thicker than Mentzer's that year.

frank zane + dave palumbo

Flave Zanlumbo

[Flex500]

Remember, abs are a genetic thing shape-wise. Look at Jay's. His abs look incredible odd abd thats because its his genetics that give him that look so they won't necessarily look proportioned and symmetrical

yeah...but genetics determine everything...

Let's ignore arms in shows because genetically mine will never be that great etc. etc.

[morderstwo]

clear ownage

I like Arnold. BUT for me he lacked good defined abs "he has a 2pack"..and his legs "TO ME" were very weak. There were others at that point in time that were as good or better imho

they werent better overall, even with arnold being off.

s, i think the 2001 olympia was a lot more contreversial..


l

not really. most abided by the rules & restricted their diuretic use so they could pass demilia's test. cutler usd them with no restrictions & the tests picked up not 1 but 5 different diuretics. 2nd place was a gift for him. after disqualification they gave it back to him based on a technicality (they took it to a lab that was not a member of some body), not that the tests were inaccurate. if ronnie had of used them with no restrictions also he would have repeated his 01 A.C condition.

[ign_fan_4life]

Arnold's legs are definitely lacking.

[d16daily]

never saw much in Zane anyways

[Lespaul59]

I'm surprised at how narrow Mentzer was and Zane does look pretty bad the more pictures you see of him. And I still don't see how this Olympia get more attention that the '81 Olympia.

[Zinder]

frank zane + dave palumbo

Flave Zanlumbo

I don't know why, but I lolled at that.

[TheSheepdog]

Obviously not if you're gonna make titles like that.

lol, beat me to it
funny how hundreds who were actually there thought otherwise and a bigger controversy was in 81

[debrovnik]

Man, Zane looks awful in those pics.

[Hugh2]

funny how hundreds who were actually there thought otherwise and a bigger controversy was in 81

That's the kind of unprovable rumor that causes the controversy in the first place. It's a second hand account of a contest that happened over 20 years ago. Who made the statement? Was it a competitor who got his ass whipped and now has axe to grind? Motives factor a lot when making a generalisation like "hundreds booed his win." Why not claim thousands, that's would be even more effective for people who hate Arnie.

I prefer to let the photos speak for themselves. But do a search for his posing routine on Youtube sometime, the crowd certainly weren't booing, but then why would a crowd boo the biggest competitor in the contest?

[Captain Sagara]

Arnold wasn't at his best but he finally had that mature muscle look going on and he owned the competition. Why the polemics? 81 though.

[Hugh2]

He's the clear winner, no doubt about it.

[ANARKY]

Whos the black guy in this pic?

[DPNZ]

I could be way off here, but it looks a lot like Bill Cosby...

[VoxExMachina]

It looks to me like the only controversy in the 1980 Mr. Olympia is that only one real competitor showed up....

[TheSheepdog]

you know whats better then pics of a competitor on the beach and claiming that he's the winner because he's big

video




btw, bodybuilding is more then who's the biggest, there's a thing called conditioning.

Arnold did not have the full package that year, his upper body was so big it made his legs look small, his physique didnt flow at all from top to bottom. Mentzer was the most complete guy on stage, so the hell with the pics, here's the video, make your own unbias judgement

[TheSheepdog]

I could be way off here, but it looks a lot like Bill Cosby...

I lol'd, but nevertheless whoever that was looks damn good.

Im guessing it was Roy Callendar
http://www.musclememory.com/show.php?a=Callendar,+Roy

[pyrolee]

I love Arnold and Mentzer but after looking at these pics and video and I don't see the clear domination that all you guys are saying.

Mentzer was RIPPED and the most complete. Tiny waist and big everything else...only real weaknesses were the depth of his chest and height (5'7-5'8). He wasn't exactly a narrow guy either.

FDB is supposed to expose weaknesses right?:

[SiLHarD]

I dont think people are as mad about the actual package Arnold brought as much as just being pissed when they got wind the contest was fixed, no matter how Arnold came in that night. Thats why CBS pulled the plug when they found out the fix was in, and that just set everyone off, knowing no matter what they stood no chance. But ofcourse judging from the pictures and the video Arnold still should of won. Was he at his best? ofcourse not, but he still dwarfed everyone on stage.

Hold on all this talk about Zane looking like ****, the man almost bled to death, but came back eight weeks before the Mr. Olympia, and was in phenomenal shape, ready and poised to be in the best shape of my life, but after almost bleeding to death and being in the hospital for a week and a half, he lost almost fifteen pounds, so lets not forget that dudes.

Chris Dickerson (2nd) looked great that night and could of very easliy won the whole damn show, great shape and lines, as did Boyer Coe (4th).

[pyrolee]

Hai Gais

[ANARKY]

You know whats sick...Arnold came back to that type of shape in just 8 weeks.....

[Mr...Genetics]

Look how FLAT mentzer is in that 2nd pic and his chest is not even as thick as zanes

[Contract Killer]

Hai Gais

great find

[Hugh2]

you know whats better then pics of a competitor on the beach and claiming that he's the winner because he's big

btw, bodybuilding is more then who's the biggest, there's a thing called conditioning.

Arnold did not have the full package that year, his upper body was so big it made his legs look small, his physique didnt flow at all from top to bottom. Mentzer was the most complete guy on stage, so the hell with the pics, here's the video, make your own unbias judgement

There is a thing called conditioning but there is also a reason why Lee Haney always beat Rich Gaspari even though Rich was always more ripped.
And I admit Mentzer looked good on his own but the fact is he was only 5'7 and when he stood next to the big boys like Arnold you can see how small he actually was. Posing videos of them individually can't compare to photos of them actually standing side by side.

Mentzer was small and narrow with the smallest pecs in the lineup, and there is no way he deserved to win over guys like Arnold, Boyer, Dickerson and Walker. Also Arnold was cut and defined so he didn't just have mass.

[Gosu]

Exactly, twice the size of the legs of the smallest Mr.Olympia of all time.

who is still twice the size of you and me and 80 % of world lol