Bodybuilding And The Olympics

The debate on whether bodybuilding should be an Olympic sport has been raging for years amongst the bodybuilding community and those interested in the Olympics. Ardent fans argue that weightlifting has been an Olympic sport for years, so why not bodybuilding? 

Perhaps the more telling questions to ask are “Should bodybuilding be an Olympic sport?”, and “Would making bodybuilding an Olympic sport help the Olympics?”

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: Why It Is Not Already An Olympic Sport

The current Olympic program consists of 35 sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events, ranging from archery to weightlifting and wrestling. The bodybuilding fan base, competitors, and sponsors are all ready and willing to take the step to Olympic level.

The stumbling block is the International Olympic Committee and the OPC, who state simply that according to their criteria, bodybuilding is not a sport and there has no place in the Olympics.

This stand begs the question, “what determines a sport in the first place?”. A simple definition by the Australian Sports Foundation says that sport is “a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organization, is competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport.”

Arguably, Ryan Reynolds bodybuilding fits within this definition, and one would think this should be enough for the IOC.

However, the primary problem the IOC has with allowing bodybuilding into the Olympics concerns drug abuse. They claim that the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs by bodybuilders would prevent bodybuilding from complying with Olympic drug policies.

There are harsh and vigilant doping rules for Olympic competitors, which would certainly exclude many professional bodybuilders.

However, the natural bodybuilding fraternity does not use performance enhancing drugs. The Olympics could uphold their drug policies, allowing only natural bodybuilders to compete at the Olympics.

This also aligns with the tradition of the Olympics being a competition for sporting amateurs, not professionals.

Another reason stated by the IOC for excluding bodybuilding from the Olympics was that the judging in competitive bodybuilding was far too subjective for an Olympic judge to critique.

How Bodybuilding Could Help The Olympics

 It would also make the sport more accessible, allowing people to learn more about bodybuilding, and possibly participate themselves.

Bodybuilding would also help the Olympics by widening the scope of sports on display. By showcasing bodybuilding, the Olympics would be encouraging people of all ages to eat good food,

work out, become fit, and look after their health. These are important messages in a world where so many people are overweight.

A look back into history reveals that the Olympics were first introduced by the Greeks, who idolized and revered well toned, aesthetic bodies with healthy strong physiques.

Joe Weider and his brother Ben came into the game to facilitate a more specialized muscle-based bodybuilding training that had nothing to offer the health and fitness of an individual. Theirs was the muscle mass business. Larry Scott, the muscle legend, Sergio Oliva and Serge Nubret were the stars of the 60’s muscle mass decade.

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