Mr. Universe
Mister Universe (English Mr. Universe ) is one of the highest titles in bodybuilding . Since the first election to a Mr. Universe in 1947, there have been numerous competitions under this name, which have been carried out by various bodybuilding associations. The most traditional event is hosted by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association .
history
The NABBA Mr. Universe as the unofficial BB world championship
The first title of a Mister Universe was awarded in 1947 in the framework program of the World Weightlifting Championships in Philadelphia . In 1948, the bodybuilding magazine Health and Strength organized another event under the name of Mr. Universe , which was held in honor of the recently held first Olympic Games of the post-war period in London . Two years later, the competition was chaired by the newly formed UK National Amateur Bodybuilders Association . In the following years, this event established itself as the unofficial bodybuilding world championship, in which, from 1952, a distinction was made between amateurs and advanced athletes for the first time. In both categories the athletes competed in different height classes; the title Mister Universum was ultimately awarded to the overall winner, who triumphed in a direct comparison of the best in class. Among them were with John Grimek , Steve Reeves , Reg Park and Bill Pearl the first stars of the still young bodybuilding sport.
Competition from the IFBB-Mr. Universe
From 1959, the North American NABBA competition association International Federation of Bodybuilders awarded another Mr. Universe title . This was due exclusively to the overall winner of all body size classes, which, in contrast to the international NABBA event, were primarily occupied by athletes from the United States and the Caribbean.
Even if the NABBA still hosted the only competition recognized as a full world championship, the IFBB developed over time as a serious competitor for global supremacy in bodybuilding. While the British federation has only organized the annual Mr. Britain election alongside the Mr. Universe for years , there have been constant innovations under the IFBB. So with the competitions IFBB-Mr. America and IFBB-Mr. World introduced two amateur comparisons for US and non-US athletes, while the association's own Mr. Universe contest was now reserved for the most powerful bodybuilders. In addition, the IFBB established the title of Mr. Olympia in 1965 as "World Champion of World Champions", to which only the overall winners of the NABBA and IFBB-Mr. Universe competitions were allowed to fight. Since both associations held their world championships and the Mr. Olympia almost simultaneously every year in late summer in London (NABBA) and North America (IFBB), there was hardly any overlap in the field of participants, and the battle for the Mr. Olympia crown usually fought only the few title holders of the IFBB-Mr. Universe opposite.
In the shadow of Mr. Olympia
From the mid-1960s, the balance of power began to shift in favor of the IFBB, which promoted the professionalization of competitive bodybuilding with the introduction of prize money. IFBB co-founder Joe Weider , who, in addition to his function as organizer and journalist for trade magazines, had built an empire in the field of the dietary supplement and sporting goods industry, was able to offer training opportunities under full-time conditions for the first time in Venice Beach, California, for the world's best athletes, who in return the marketing rights to their name were overwritten. The signing of the shooting star of the scene at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger , who was the first athlete to win the NABBA Mr. Universe had won four times in a row. After the Austrian had also participated in the IFBB championships in the United States for two years and won the title of Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia, he finally turned his back on NABBA in 1971, to become a full-time athlete to defend his Mr. Olympia title. Also in 1971, the IFBB first issued sanctions against the professionals who continued to take part in NABBA events, with the triple Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva not being spared their most successful athlete to date. As a consequence, more and more athletes with professional ambitions remained the NABBA-Mr. Universe competition, which made the figurehead of what was once the largest bodybuilding organization in the world less attractive.
The competition event of the IFBB, however, was converted to a pure amateur world championship, which was manifested again in 1976 when the competition was renamed the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships . With the establishment of the amateur status, a medium-term establishment of bodybuilding as an Olympic sport should be achieved, which the IFBB had set itself as the goal of the world's largest umbrella organization. According to a regular championship, each class winner was awarded the title of world champion in future, the choice of a cross-class Mister Universum was canceled without replacement. An IFBB Professional Mr. Universe Contest, which was introduced at around the same time as a separate competition for professional bodybuilders, was discontinued after a few years, as the Mr. Olympia, the most highly endowed event of the world market leader IFBB, had the status of the most prestigious professional world championship in bodybuilding.
Continuation with NABBA
In contrast to the IFBB, the NABBA continued to hold on to its annual elections for the Mr. Universe for amateurs and professionals. That did not change when NABBA adapted its organizational structures to those of a world association in 1984 and introduced its own world championships. Since 2011 only one Mr. Universe for amateurs has been chosen because the NABBA statutes no longer provide for a professional category.
In addition to the NABBA, there are now other bodybuilding organizations that each organize their own Mr. Universe competitions in their self-image as a sovereign world association.
List of all title holders
The following overview only deals with the title holders in the men's class in the conventional bodybuilding category. However, all senior and junior classes or athletic and fitness categories were not taken into account.
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1 Contrary to the name of the category, there was neither prize money nor a professional bodybuilding scene at the time of the introduction. The starting field was reserved for advanced athletes. This included all the overall winners of the amateurs, since according to NABBA rules they were no longer allowed to participate in this category again.
2 The competition, in which John Grimek emerged as the winner, took place two years before NABBA was founded and was sponsored by the bodybuilding magazine "Health and Strength".
3 The event, held as part of the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce's Golden Jubilee celebrations , was organized by the local AAU regional association and therefore had no national competition status.
4 Originally second behind Dennis Tinerino, whose participation in the NABBA-Pro-Mr. Universe became known in retrospect in 1973. Since this represented a violation of the IFBB statutes, Tinerino's victory was subsequently revoked.
5 The IFFB-Mr. Universe competition was replaced by the newly introduced World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships .
See also
Web links
- IFBA
Individual evidence
- ↑ Muscle Builder , December 1966: “The Great 1966 IFBB Mr. America - Mr. Universe - Mr. World -Mr. Olympia - Miss Americana Show ” , last viewed on November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Muscular Development from January 1972: “Mr. Universe Contest ” , last viewed on November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Muscle Builder from April 1972: "1971 IFBB Mr. Universe & Mr. Olympia Contests" , last viewed on November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Iron Man, September 1956: “Mr. Universe of USA - Klisanin Wins Title ” , last viewed on November 3, 2013.
- ↑ Muscle Builder from January 1976: "The 1975 AABA American Bodybuilding Championships and the 1975 IFBB Professional Mr. Universe Contest" , last viewed on November 9, 2013.