Mike Mentzer - 1980 Mr Olympia loss - Schwarzenegger wins!

[jwb]

78

[hazbin]

Mike was better between 1976 and 1978

you're right.   I think he got too carried away with the heavy duty.   his mass and hardness went up, but his separation and definition decreased.

[jwb]

His chest was rubbish in 1980 compared to 76 and 78. His legs were smooth too.

[Mr Nobody]

Both Ray and Mike great hair genes.

[Johnny Bravo]

Arms out vacuum pose was good for Mentzer

[ob205]

Mentzer should have won in 79, when there were under/over 200 categories and Zane took overall.  I don't believe Mentzer ever thought HE should have won 80, just not Arnold!

[kimo]

mike was at the opposite of most . no supplements no volume . philosophy . . and so. . and he hated the oak . i guess.after this olympia...

[wolfrittner]

I used to see mike all the time at gold's and the rose café. Once in a while he would walk down to Arnolds office and ask for money because he was broke again. Arnold would give it to him.

[oldtimer1]

Mike had psychological problems bought on from his love of using amphetamines. He felt he should have won when Robby beat him for the Universe. He thought he should have won when Kalman beat him in the Universe. Each time Mike was wrong. The right guy won.

Let's not forget he came in 5th in the 1980 Olympia, not 2nd. If you want to make an argument in this subjective sport who should have won you have more credibility with me saying it should have been Chris Dickerson.

 If you watch the video of the contest everyone looked small standing next to Arnold. Arnold was ripped but a lot smaller than he usually was.  

[oldtimer1]

I used to see mike all the time at gold's and the rose café. Once in a while he would walk down to Arnolds office and ask for money because he was broke again. Arnold would give it to him.

I have heard from more than a few that Arnold helped Mike out several times with money. Toward the end of his life the feud was over between the two.

[doriancutlerman]

I have heard from more than a few that Arnold helped Mike out several times with money. Toward the end of his life the feud was over between the two.

It was.  In his final few years, Mike actually spoke pretty highly of Arnold.  Among other things, he regarded him as the best bodybuilder ever, better than Yates or Haney.

I do think he deserved to win that contest against Kal, though.  Kal's legs were pathetic next to Mike's.  He had a big chest, great biceps and ... eh.  Mike was way more complete. 

Also, I know he held Robby Robinson in fairly high regard, at least physique-wise.  He said the second he saw Robby disrobe at the '75 Mr. America, nobody else had a chance.

[phil mcgroin]

While arnold was a great BB i always thought of him as a pussy.MM definately beat him that day.

[DanielPaul]

Meth addict of peace

[wolfrittner]

I have heard from more than a few that Arnold helped Mike out several times with money. Toward the end of his life the feud was over between the two.

Mike would ask for help and Arnold always did. Mike spend quiet some time in Arnolds Office on Main street just hanging out talking.. But Mike also knew not to step over the line.

[The Scott]

I place it as Arnold first, Mentzer second.  Third, maybe Padilla.   Chris Dickerson shouldn't have been allowed on stage, his physique was pathetic even when he won a couple of years later.  The worst Mr. Olympia winner, ever.  Talk about getting robbed, Padilla won that show with ease.

It's a shame what losing caused Mike to do to himself.  I doubt he was ever really arrested as there would be records of same along with the accompanying mugshot(s).  Mike may not have been a "genius" (except compared to Coleman), but he definitely wasn't a moron.  Too bad he wound up like most bodybuilding champions.  Dying early.

At least he wasn't like Charles "Matt Foley" Glass, living in a van down by the gym. 

[wolfrittner]

I place it as Arnold first, Mentzer second.  Third, maybe Padilla.   Chris Dickerson shouldn't have been allowed on stage, his physique was pathetic even when he won a couple of years later.  The worst Mr. Olympia winner, ever.  Talk about getting robbed, Padilla won that show with ease.

It's a shame what losing caused Mike to do to himself.  I doubt he was ever really arrested as there would be records of same along with the accompanying mugshot(s).  Mike may no have been a "genius" (except compared to Coleman), but he definitely wasn't a moron.  Too bad he wound up like most bodybuilding champions.  Dying early.

At least he wasn't like Charles "Matt Foley" Glass, living in a van down by the gym. 

Arnold said it himself. He didn't understand why Mike wouldn't  continue Competing. he could have won the Olympia a couple times after. Go figure...

[Radical Plato]

Mike had a great upper body, his legs were his weak point, not so much the size, but just the shape and structure.

[The Scott]

Arnold said it himself. He didn't understand why Mike wouldn't  continue Competing. he could have won the Olympia a couple times after. Go figure...

Yup.   Arnold lost to Zane in what...'68?    He chose winning over whining. If you're going to dwell on the past, use it to fuel a better future.   I'm a fan of Mentzer's method of training as well as his physique.  

[O.Z.]

The controversy of controversies.

The 1980 Mr Olympia contest staged in Sydney, Australia, remains by far the most controversial in the event's history. The contention centers on the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had announced his retirement from competition in 1975 after winning six consecutive Mr. Olympia titles.
Seemingly only in Sydney to do commentary for CBS TV , Arnold stunned the bodybuilding world on the eve of the contest by declaring that he was returning to competition in pursuit of a seventh title.

Two days before the contest, Mike had that same " death's door feeling " which again confined him to bed for a whole day. By the morning of the contest, though, he had fully recovered. He was 225 pounds and more cut than he'd ever been. " I looked my best , but I didn't feel at my best.  It just didn't feel like a normal contest; no one was being their usual selves. There was a strain and tension in the air all the way though."

WHO TERMINATED WHOM!

That strain and tension came to an electrifying climax at the competitors meeting held the morning of the contest. Fifteen of the 16 athletes had signed a petition asking that the two weight classes be abolished and that the Olympia should be contested as one open class. The one athlete not in agreement was Arnold Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Whatever the rights & wrongs , facts and misconceptions , theories and myths surrounded the 1980 Me. Olympia contest , in the interests of this narrative, it's important to understand that Mike Mentzer felt he was cheated in Sydney, and that sinister machinations were afoot. His belief is that certain forces , fueled by ignorance and sycophancy, combined to thrust an undeserving Arnold to first place and relegate him - perceived as owning the best physique in the contest - " ridiculous " fifth place.

This is how Mike recalls that fateful day. " There were maybe 50 people at the competitors meeting and as usual, Arnold wanted to be the center of attention. In every situation, he tries to be the standout, and on this occasion, he was the only athlete of the 16 in the contest who wanted to keep the two weight classes. " He said something to denigrate Samir Bannout that I thought was uncalled for. I passed on that, feeling Samir should have defended himself. As the debate progressed, there was a lot of arguing between Arnold and some of the guys. I wasn't really concerned one way or the other - I thought I could win anyway. Then Boyer Coe stood up and , as the gentlemen he is , said , " Why don't we let Arnold explain to us right here and now his exact reasons for wanted to have two weight classes? "

" Arnold barked , ' Boyer, lets talk like adults here. ' That really irked me , because Boyer made his plea with no hint of malice. In addition, this was the IFBB's event, but here was this big Prussian son of a bitch standing there acting like a Nazi and trying to walk all over us. " For some reason , that question pissed him off. He seemed like a guy out of control as he turned to face me, his upper lip curled around like a snarling animal. We were debating the issue of weight classes, but Arnold choose to snap at me. ' Mike Mentzer, we all know Zane beat you last year because you have a big stomach! '

" I was seated 20 feet away from Arnold, who was standing holding court, and I perhaps allowed that comment to irritate me too much, as on impulse, I bolted toward him. As I approached him, I decided I wouldn't hit him, but nevertheless I was surprised when Arnold sat down: I scared him! He sat as I continued to berate him. Wagging my finger at him, I told him, ' Look, Arnold, Boyer Coe said what he did as a gentlemen- he didn't deserve that response. You're the one who's acting like a baby,literally! ' Armold couldn't look me in the eye. He went from being a frantic hysterical adolescent to shrinking away like an injured child. "

Not for the first time in the history of bodybuilding, Joe Weider stepped in and defused the situation. He advised Arnold to accept the voices of the other 15. The debate ended as Arnold proclaimed, " I withdraw my objection. "

DECISION DOWN UNDER

" Throughout that meeting, Arnold had on a tight-knit weather that made him look skinny. I was curious to see what he looked like once he stripped down. When he did, I remember looking at him and thinking, Not only and I going to win this contest, but I'm going to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger as well!

" When I was called fifth, I was totally shocked. It was just a ridiculous placing, made more ridiculous by an out-of-shape Arnold winning. As for the other who finished ahead of me, I knew Frank Zane [ third ], due to an accident he had sustained four months earlier, wasn't as good as he had been the previous year. I mist say that Chris Dickerson [ second ] and Boyer Coe [ fourth ] were in phenomenal shape, particularly Chris. I felt he and I were the ones in absolute peak condition, and we should have been top two.

" The majority of observers at the 1980 Mr. Olympia, with the exception of the judging panel, didn't have Arnold in the top five. The crowd booed Arnold at the contest's conclusion, and there were a number of things that took place during the prejudging that perhaps should have provided an indication that as was not as it should have bee.

" Several of the judges were close friends of Arnold. Boyer Coe told me afterwards that he saw Reg Park, one of the judges, actually coaching Arnold from the official's table. In contrast, Bill Pearl had honorably removed himself from the judging panel, as he had spent some time training with Chris Dickerson.

" At times, the contest was like a circus. We had Franco Columbu- one of Arnold's weak-willed namby-pamy lackeys - coming onstage with a towel, a comb and oil, to go through a little act with Arnold at the expense of everybody else. I could quote other anomalies, but possibly the most pertinent is that CBS Sports flew half away around the world to tape the event and then never televised it. The word was that they were convinced it was a fix. " The record may show Arnold Schwarzenegger as the 1980 Mr. Olympia champion, but he wasn't the best bodybuilder onstage that day - not by a mile. "

In the immediate aftermath of the contest, several top names stated they would never compete again. They would later reverse their decisions and return to the contest dais. But even as he was announced fifth, Mike knew he would never compete again: " There was no way I was going to put myself though the same tortuous process again for a similar reward. At no point since 1980 have I been even sligthtly tempted to consider the possibility of competing. I don'tmiss it. "

Of all of its repercussions, it is difficult not to nominate Mike's premature retirement at 29 as being the major consequence of the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. It effectively denied the sport of a view of the physique he could have built in future years.

Arnold was doing what he does the best, playing mind games. Exactly same thing he did to Lou in Pumping Iron.
If you cannot ignore people like that you are heading to failure and that is what happened to Mike. It screwed his life actually.
Weak minds.

[oldtimer1]

I place it as Arnold first, Mentzer second.  Third, maybe Padilla.   Chris Dickerson shouldn't have been allowed on stage, his physique was pathetic even when he won a couple of years later.  The worst Mr. Olympia winner, ever.  Talk about getting robbed, Padilla won that show with ease.

It's a shame what losing caused Mike to do to himself.  I doubt he was ever really arrested as there would be records of same along with the accompanying mugshot(s).  Mike may not have been a "genius" (except compared to Coleman), but he definitely wasn't a moron.  Too bad he wound up like most bodybuilding champions.  Dying early.

At least he wasn't like Charles "Matt Foley" Glass, living in a van down by the gym. 

Padilla wasn't in shape or ripped for the 1980 Olympia. Dickerson was ripped and had density. Dickerson looked like he was carved out of ice. Mentzer was placed at what he deserves.

[Viking11]

Arnold said it himself. He didn't understand why Mike wouldn't  continue Competing. he could have won the Olympia a couple times after. Go figure...

He might have. Mike came to see IFBB contests as being fixed. Following that premise it was no longer worth the sacrifice, drug use and dieting. He trained for a few more years, then basically cashed it in.

[The Scott]

Padilla wasn't in shape or ripped for the 1980 Olympia. Dickerson was ripped and had density. Dickerson looked like he was carved out of ice. Mentzer was placed at what he deserves.

To me, Dickerson was sagging like a petrified prune.  His physique was awful, but as with most such things, its subjective.

[kimo]

mike legs were amazing . only his hip structure a bit peculiar . he had the best triceps in bodybuilding for a long time . . strange than he he the oak buried the ax . . once he spoke to me a bout arnold over the phone and he didnt say much amicable things . .

[Alucard]

Epitome of bitterness... Videos and pics don't lie, Arnold won that show in my opinion, altough smaller he dwarfed the competition, coupled with great conditioning and dryness... Mentzer was not in his best shape, that's another myth, no chest, average back, incredibly narrow with average structure, probably the first competitor showing a distended stomach...

[crownshep]

Mike had a great upper body, his legs were his weak point, not so much the size, but just the shape and structure.

You honestly think these legs are a weak point.