„Arnold Schwarzenegger Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Douglas Kent Hall
When I got to the IFBB Mr. Universe contest in New York that autumn, I had dieted down properly, I was ripped and tanned, and I felt great in every way. I ran my eye down the list of competitors and discovered that one man was missing. That man was Sergio Oliva, the Cuban-born bodybuilder they called “The Myth”. He had won Mr. Olympia two years in a row. He was a world-class competitor. But Sergio was entered in the Mr. Olympia contest, which was being held the same evening. I asked the organizers whether, if the schedule allowed, they could add me to the Mr. Olympia entry list as well. They agreed.
I won Mr. Universe easily. Seven out of seven judges placed me first. Throughout the contest I felt that this was only preparation for my appearance at Mr. Olympia.
By that point I had beaten almost everyone in the world, except for that Black bodybuilder, Sergio Oliva.
I walked into the dressing room and saw Sergio Oliva himself for the first time. I understood why they called him “The Myth”. He destroyed me completely. He was so powerful, so fantastic, that I couldn’t even think about beating him. I felt the loss coming. Just one look at Sergio left me weak, and I knew I was a second-place man before we even stepped onto the stage.
Sergio did win. The only surprise was that he beat me by four votes to three. That was truly strange. I myself believed he would win seven to nothing, with no votes against.
I have never liked admitting defeat, but I have to say that Sergio was better. There was no doubt about it. And yet he wasn’t far ahead of me. That thought gave me new strength to keep up my training the following year. As usual, I took no break at all and set my mind on a new round of hard training. I pictured Sergio in front of me. Every time I felt tired or weak, I thought of Sergio. I was going to destroy that Myth.
A week later, the Mr. Universe contest of the NABBA league was held in London. These contests were always held a week apart. I flew to London because I knew that several American bodybuilders planned to compete there. They were trying to stay away from me and compete where I wasn’t, hoping to win.
I showed up unexpectedly and beat them all. That was already my second Mr. Universe win that year. By then I had won four Mr. Universe titles in total. But Sergio Oliva and the Mr. Olympia title were still unwon. I had to beat Sergio. I went to Weider and told him: “Joe, I’ve made a fool of myself in everyone’s eyes. I want to stay one more year, train as hard as I can and beat Sergio Oliva.”
To be continued …
Author: joker
Come and work out! ArtGym
