1971 Mr. Olympia Information:
Correct or not?
From various websites, including the IFBB website, here is the information
that we have about the 1971 Mr. Olympia. "Arnold took the title unopposed
in 1971. For the first time, the show was held outside of New York. The
Mr. Olympia contest was held in Paris the same day as the NABBA Universe
was held in London. Arnold, with his loyalty 100% behind the IFBB, competed
in the Mr. Olympia while other great champions of that year chose to avoid
Arnold and compete in the NABBA competition."
However, some people have indicated to me and others that this is not
entirely correct, that is sounds like an invented press release. Here is
more information about the 1971 Mr. Olympia. Any thoughts on it?
From Wayne in Australia regarding the 1971 Mr. Olympia contest.
On an historical note, the first Mr Olympia event I attended and filmed
was the 1971 Mr Olympia in Paris, staged by Serge Nubret. Not much is ever
written about this particular Olympia, so I will share a few thoughts and
facts with you. It was the first Olympia held outside the New York area
and was held in conjunction with the 1971 IFBB Mr Universe. It was a strange
year as there were only 3 entries for the Olympia being Arnold, Franco
and Sergio Oliva. So let's examine the possible reasons why.
Firstly Sergio was banned from competing as he had just competed in
the NABBA Pro Universe the week before on September 18th in London where
I watched him place 2nd to Bill Pearl. In Paris it was agreed that Sergio
could appear as a guest poser at the Olympia that day, September 25th.
That left just Arnold and Franco to compete for the US$1000 prize. They
had height classes, not only to make the contest longer but it was an IFBB
rule at that time. It also enabled Arnold and Franco to pose down for the
overall title which was a great crowd pleasure. It was a foregone conclusion
that Arnold would win, which he did with ease. However Franco also looked
in fantastic condition, so no disrespect to him just because he was much
shorter. This was only Arnold’s second Mr Olympia victory.
We should ponder for a moment as to why no other Mr Olympia competitors
were present. This was only the 7th ever Mr Olympia and there were not
that many pro bodybuilders on the scene at that time. Secondly most of
them were USA domiciled and this was before the days of generous sponsorship
deals from supplements companies. So I expect that being the first Olympia
held outside USA, the other pros just could not afford or justify the cost
of attending in France. Some were possibly also daunted by the presence
of Arnold who was clearly in a class of his own. If any readers of this
report were present that day in Paris I would love to hear your thoughts
on this event. It was 31 years ago and my memory of the contest is not
quite as sharp as it was. But I clearly remember Arnold checking the check
to see it was correct before holding it up to the cheering crowd.
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