Oliva Sergio - three-time Mr. Olympia

Arnold Schwarzenegger was well known to both the general public and professional bodybuilders. And Oliva Sergio was not very popular. Legend, he was only among those who were keen on bodybuilding on a professional level. Most athletes considered him the best bodybuilder in the world. In this article we will present a brief biography of the athlete.

Service in the army and sport

Sergio Oliva (photo below) was born in Cuba, in 1941. From the age of 12 the boy worked on a sugar plantation in Guanabacoa. Then his father advised Sergio to join the army of Fulgencio Batista. The young man did not have a birth certificate, but the recruiter officer believed Olive the eldest when he announced his son's desire to fight communism, despite a small age. However, this idea was not crowned with success. After the victory of Fidel Castro, the hero of this article left the army.

Weightlifting is the next hobby of Sergio Oliva. The power indicators of the young man reached impressive figures in six months. He made a push with a weight of 136 kilograms and pulled on three sets of 453 kilograms.

Competition

In 1962, Oliva Sergio took part in the Cuban Weightlifting Championships and took second place there. Later, the winning tournament Alberto Hernandez was injured, and the hero of this article had to represent the country in the Caribbean games. During the trip, Olive did an unexpected maneuver. Sitting in the hotel room, he waited until the guard had weakened his attention, and ran to the embassy of America with all his might. There, Sergio asked for political asylum. Soon, the same thing was done by another 65 Cubans - the entire team of weightlifters and the security that has shifted to them.

Life in America

The new house of the hero of this article was Miami. There, Oliva Sergio earned a living by repairing televisions. In 1963, the Cuban moved to Chicago. In the new city Sergio found a job in the steelworks. Despite the fact that the working day of Oliva lasted from 10 to 12 hours, he managed to allocate 2-3 hours of time to the gym. Soon a talented newcomer noticed Bob Gaja - one of the best local bodybuilders. He took Sergio under his wing. As expected, hard lessons have borne fruit. The olive muscles grew, as if on leaps and bounds. In the district began to talk about the Cuban strongman, showing incredible results.

Body-building

The first competition in this discipline Oliva Sergio won in 1963. A year later the Cuban won the title "Mr. Illinois". He also took part in the tournament "Mr. America", but Sergio managed to win there only in 1966. Further, Oliva joined the IFBB and was subjugated by Mr. Universe. And in 1967 Sergio won the most prestigious tournament - "Olympia".

Victory over Schwarzenegger

The next two years, Oliva again took with him a statue of Sandova. Especially remarkable was his victory in 1969, because Sergio overcame Schwarzenegger himself. In his autobiography, Arnold recalled that Oliva simply "destroyed" him on stage. The future actor and politician took revenge a year later. Although the preponderance of points was minimal. Sergio was never able to "recoup". In 1970 and 1972 the first place of the pedestal was again Arnold. Many considered this decision dishonest judging, since Oliva was at the peak of form and deserved only victory.

Care and return

In 1973, Sergio virtually won the tournament, "Mr. International", but at the end of the competition he was disqualified. After that, the Cuban completely broke the contract with the IFBB and began cooperation with other federations. The return of Oliva occurred twelve years later. In 1984, the athlete entered the stage of the competition "Mr. Olympia", but was only the eighth. Sergio was in great shape and many considered the refereeing not quite adequate. A year later, he made another attempt, but again took eighth place. Again, most viewers felt that the Cuban is worthy of the statue of Sandow, because Oliva looked just perfect. But the judges were of a different opinion.

Causes of defeat

Despite the widespread popularity of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the mass public, all professional athletes and bodybuilding experts of the time recognized Oliva as an unbeatable athlete. Of course, his results were due to excellent genetics. But Sergio's body, which was taken from his parents, brought to perfection by regular training. Now it is difficult to find an athlete who would be so demanding and ruthless towards himself. Therefore, the defeat of Oliva is associated with his sports form, which was considered impeccable. It's just that the Cuban spoiled relations with the federation of the IFBB. And she, in turn, directly influenced the "recognition" of the bodybuilder among the general public. Nevertheless, the talent of the hero of this article does not detract from this.

Death

Oliva Sergio, whose biography was presented above, died in Chicago in 2012. The likely cause of his death was renal failure. Sergio was 71 years old. He is the first deceased holder of the title "Mr. Olympia".