MENTZER vs. ARNIE
MENTZER vs. ARNIE
What really happened at the 1980 Olympia?
The 1980 Mr. Olympia staged in Sydney, Australia is still viewed as the most controversial in the contest’s history. This by virtue of Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to competition after a five-year absence to claim his seventh Olympia title. Among all the episodes surrounding the event the most explosive was the near fistfight that happened between pre-contest favorite Mike Mentzer and Arnold. Here’s how it went down.
The fifteen official entrants scheduled to contest the 1980 Mr. Olympia showdown duly arrived in Sydney a few days before October 4. They were still unaware that there would be a 16th contender entering at the 11th hour.
Boyer Coe, who was destined for fourth place, first heard about Arnold’s participation on the morning of the contest. Bill Pearl (who withdrew from being head judge) called him in his hotel room and said, “I just want to let you know that Arnold is gonna enter the contest.” Pearl also added that Arnold wanted the competition to be run under the format of two classes: under 200 pounds and over 200 pound, with the two class winners posing off for the title. The contest had been conducted along those lines from 1974 through 1979. But after the ’79 Olympia it was decided to go back to the open class as the situation could occur where the second placed guy in the lighter class may be better than the winner of the heavy class and vice-versa.
Only when Arnold – complete with gym bag -- showed up at the competitors meeting shortly before Saturday afternoon’s prejudging did the rest of the field know he was in.
Arnold’s immediately called for a return to having two classes in the contest. It transpired that Arnold was the only one in favor of maintaining the two-class system.
- FLASHPOINT
- To cut to the chase Coe addressed the meeting as follows: “Fifteen of us want it one way, Arnold’s the only guy wants it another way. Why not let Arnold explain his reasoning.”
Arnold snapped back, “Boyer why don’t you act like a man.”
Before Coe could respond Mike Mentzer jumped into the fray. This is how Mentzer, who would retire after getting fifth, recalled what happened next.
“What Arnold said to Boyer 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 son of a bitch standing there and trying to walk all over us. I interjected and asked Arnold why he was so reluctant to see the open class introduced.
"For some reason, that question pissed him off. We were debating the issue of weight classes, but Arnold chose 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 continued to berate him. Wagging my finger at him, I told him, 'Look, Arnold, Boyer Coe said what he did as a gentleman - he didn't deserve that response. You're the one who's acting like a baby, literally!’”
At that flashpoint moment someone stepped in between the two and defused the issue. Coe recalls that the peacemaker was Bill Pearl; others cite Joe or Ben Weider. Whatever, at that juncture Arnold withdrew his plea for two weight classes and some sort of peace was restored.
So why was Arnold so strongly opposed to an open class? Some say he saw the greater threats to him coming from under 200 pounders like Dickerson and Zane and felt he would have a better chance standing against only one of them at the end when his size and height would be thrown more advantageously into sharp relief. That may be the case but what can’t escape scrutiny is the theory that he just wanted to show up at the meeting and press more buttons than an overworked elevator operator and if the other guys had been in favor of two classes then maybe he would have argued for one class. Perhaps the whole point of creating the altercation was to deflect his rivals from the intense inner mental concentration that is de rigueur for bodybuilders in the hours before competition. As it was his rivals left the meeting with dark thoughts of Arnold, and not fully focused on their own preparations. Mission accomplished?