I came across an interesting bit of reading a few weeks ago, and thought that it might serve as a humorous side-note to this discussion. Many of the original Greek games held by the individual city-states held competitions that might be roughly analagous to bodybuilding. And, like Bill Roberts said, they combined several different elements besides just physique contests. However, unlike Mr. Roberts’ suggestion, they were generally not athletic. They included singing and facial beauty contests to determine the overall winner. How do you think this would go over in the wonderful modern Olympic Games :)? I can see the headlines now – “Russia Claims Bias, American Competitor had Clear Pimple!” or “Swiss Favorite Sings Two Notes Flat, Still Takes Second” or even “American Competitor Coleman Penalized for Choice of Hip Hop music and General Freakiness”.
Bodybuilding will never be in the olympics because it is not athletic… Now before everyone jumps on my case about bodybuilding not being athletic. Let me give you my defenition what an athlete is. Is some who is paticapting in an event at it could be mesurared like olypmic lifting how much can you lift how fast can you jump how difficault is the gymnastic rotuine ect… BB is such an opionated sport there is no line between what a physique should look like. Remeber you don’t always have to train to look good some people don’t even have to train and go on stage and win a show a pefect example was Kenny “Flex” Wheeler. He looked great when he was competing but he didn’t have to train nearly as hard as the next competator on stage. People say so way is figure skating a olympic sport its also subjective but they are looking for something also how diffculate the jump is what the artistic and techincal level is so there is something to be measured.So BB will never be in the olympics. Remind you I am a competive bodybuilder I know its hard work to achive the look that we have but when you are judge for how you look and there are so many opinon out on what a physique should look like how big how hard ect. then you can se why BB will never be in the Olympics.
And steriods is not the reason why Bodybuilding is not an olympic sports. Do think the top Olympion is natural??? I don’t think so but I don’t know either. I just know there have been people that got caught using steriods in the Olympics but who’s to say the ones that didn’t get caught??? Onces you get to a certian level I think steriods are un avoidable in all sports.
The only thats good about Bodybuilding is that at least in our area we know the PRO’S are on the sauce. Where as other sports it is not known that some or majority are on it.