I will second that.
So my favorite, and who I consider the Greatest was The Myth. Sergio Oliva. By the way, it makes me feel old as hell seeing his son becoming an IFBB Pro.
My favorite too. Don’t know about the ‘greatest’ but clearly, by any standard or measurement,
he was the most genetically gifted bodybuilder. Small waist, small head, wide shoulders, great
calves and legs, unbelievable muscle attachments . . . could go on and on. But, to be equitable,
his muscle attachments / long muscles may have worked to his disadvantage (like his small waist
did when he competed as an Olympic lifter, before he sought asylum in the USA) as his biceps
attached so low in arm that when flexed, they lacked the peak that so many desire, that coupled
with forearms that attached damn near to his wrist, actually got in the way of his biceps. Further-
more, he never, in my opinion achieved real contest condition. While he never had the ‘dryness,’
‘graininess,’ and muscle clarity that is so often desired now-a-days (of which I am not a big fan of)
he did have exceptional fullness in spite of his so called dieting and was truly gifted with a fantastic
metabolism and response to AAS (of which I know nothing of his use) which is probably why he
seemed to cruise through everything, from what little I have read and heard about training and diet.
I tried to interview him for a book a friend of mine was writing years ago but his reply was talk to his
manager, which I did, but we could never come to terms . . .
I did see him once back in the 70’s when he guest posed at a contest in Oakland, CA. I had a friend
that was competing so I was fortunate to get access to backstage and see him upclose and
personal as they say. I remember two . . . three things . . . one; he pumped up for what seemed like
an eternity. Two; he had a very foul mouth (as in words) and three; he was bigger, more impressive
than any bodybuilder I had ever seen. And I had seen about all the best the golden age of bodybuilding
had to offer at the time. (Arnold was the first real bodybuilder I had ever seen and that was when he
was at his peak.) I was literally, not visually prepared be see a human being with that much muscle.
Just mind boggling. I think the 72 Olympia in Essen, Germany he was at his best. There is a video
somewhere on the internet where is filmed by Wayne Gallasch at Wanstead Heath, in London a couple
of days after the show and I think his conditioning had actually improved.
One can’t help but wonder if he were starting out today, with the proper guidance and training,
with all that is ‘chemically’ available now, what he would have looked like. Bigger for certain,
but perhaps not better. (See my tag line.) Leaner and harder, probably so, but it also, in my opinion,
would have destroyed his physique, his proportions, would not have been as visually appealing in
my opinion, could have been, would have been, a grotesque caricature of himself.