Congratulations to the true 1980 Mr. Olympia winner Mike Mentzer!

[NarcissisticDeity]

Great shot , Cormier looks like the black Bob Paris

[arce1988]

[Submissionfytr]

Mentzer had an awesome build...  I love that rugged, hardcore look.  I always admired Mr. T's build even though he'd never win a contest

[hazbin]

Great shot , Cormier looks like the black Bob Paris

why are their calves so big???

[NarcissisticDeity]

why are their calves so big???

Yeah no kidding the whole line-up even the black guys

[kawaks]

Just re-watched the contest. Mike Mentzer....no wonder why he shunned weider and the corrupt ifbb.

Hahaha Mentzer looks like a child of Arnolds with his not-there chest, weak arms and delts and legs to boot.

Don't even mention back!

[Vince B]

About the booing at the 80 Olympia. When Arnold was announced the winner there was a lot of booing but there was also cheering. The booing faded and the cheering continued. Arnold was very popular in Sydney. A lot of bodybuilders weren't happy with the result. I gave the contest to Arnold and it was confirmed after looking at all the photos I took at the judging and evening show. He had the best arms and chest and his back and calves looked good, too. Only his thighs let him down a bit. Dickerson had small arms. Zane wasn't very big. Coe had few abs. Mentzer had a gut in some poses. Walker was blocky. Callender wasn't as sharp as he was in 79. Tinerino was perhaps the hardest guy but somehow wasn't near the top. Danny was the biggest, size for size, but was totally overlooked and never compared. Platz was weak in his upper body. Waller wasn't that cut. And so it goes.......Arnold first and the rest second.

A couple of days ago I re-read an article I wrote for one of the muscle magazines after the Olympia in 1980. After the judging this is how I scored the competitors: Arnold, Mike Mentzer, Zane, Dickerson, Tinerino, Coe, Walker, Callender,

After viewing the photos I took at the judging and slides I took at the finals I placed the men as follows:  Tinerino, Dickerson, Zane, Coe, Arnold, Mentzer, Walker, Callender.

Immediately after the contest I was surprised to hear the consensus from some of the bodybuilders at my gym had Dickerson first.

Eventually we saw the video from the contest and that was like seeing the show again and by this time there were many more photos published of the contest plus articles by various writers.

The long term consensus is that Arnold was just good enough to win but way down from his condition in 73 and 74. Since that time Mike has had supporters saying he should have won.

Arnold shouldn't have competed that day but just guest posed. That would have been the smart thing to do. I believe the controversy will persist.

The impression I had after the contest was that Arnold appeared to be the best and that is what the judges saw as well. We can examine photos and videos till the cows come home

but that doesn't change the result in any way.

I edited the photo that I took and had published by Ironman Magazine. In this photo Mike looks the winner. No weak points and plenty of size from forearms to calves. Look at his

midsection. Superb.

[Vince B]

Here is a photo of Dennis from the 1980 Mr Olympia.

[Teutonic Knight]

VAFFANCULO Vincenza 

[Vince B]

Here is a photo I found of Frank Zane. Spent some time editing the scan of the 8X10 inch image.

[Vince B]

Here is Chris Dickerson from 1980.

[AbrahamG]

why are their calves so big???

Probably esiclene.

[pamith]

Arnold is the winner

[Gym-Rat]

arnold winning was as flaky as franco winning a year later

boyer coe said "franco's going to win in 1981, arnolds the promoter"
franco was butt-hurt, called coe and said angrily "why are you telling everyone im going to win the olympia"
coe said "because you are" (and he did).
scam artists (arnie and franco)

[beakdoctor]

A while ago I heard a Boyer Coe interview.  He was talking about his 1982 Olympia prep. Said he was taking some kind of speed or amphetamine. Said he was training like crazy. Felt great and thought he looked amazing. He competed and placed poorly.  It was only later after looking at the pictures and watching the video did he see and realized how small and depleted he looked. He admitted he looked like shit and said it was a real bitch getting off the amphetamines.

Basically this is what I believe happened to Mentzer. Only he didn't get off the amphetamines so he never had the moment of realization that he just didn't look that great in 80. Certainly not his best.

He didn't have to agree with Arnold winning- everyone has their opinions- but it would have been best for his mental health to admit that he was off that year. Then he could have focused on fixing his problems and come back better. Instead of self destructing.