Muscular Development, Vol 5, No 1, Page 32, January 1968

THE MR. UNIVERSE CONTEST

BY OSCAR HEIDENSTAM

ANOTHER GREAT NABBA MR. UNIVERSE CONTEST is over. This being the 18th one. Each year the contest proves just as interesting and exciting as the one before with the Mr. Universe titles being hotly contested to the very end.

This year 38 contestants competed in the amateur division, while only 11 took part in the professional category. This smaller professional entry was due to Bill Pearl's entry which was made known months in advance. His entry no doubt was responsible for keeping some of the contestants away. Even so, besides Bill there were some worthy competitors in the professionals.

Twenty-eight different countries were represented in NABBA this year. Our international panel of judges included men from the USA, Italy, France, Belgium, West Indies and England. All these men on our panel of judges have been associated with the sport and physique contests for years. Each being well qualified to judge and know the kind of man they feel should be a Mr. Universe title holder.

As is our custom, the prejudging takes place the day before the actual contest so as to give the judges plenty of time to make their selection. This year, however, we were honored by several U.S. visitors and two judges. This included Dr. Craig Whitehead and Leo Stern. Leo Stern operates a modern health studio in San Diego, while Dr. Whitehead, a captain in the air force has competed and placed high in several Mr. America contests. The other Americans on the scene to "take in the sights" were the famous old-timer, Henry "Milo" Steinborn and his son, Henry, Jr., Bob Hinds the muscular marvel, and several others whose names escape me at this time. We hope, however, that all these visiting Americans were sufficiently impressed by our efforts as all the others who have attended our show in the past.

We started judging early, around 10 o'clock with the small men. This was:

Class-3 Under and up to 5' 6"

This is always a rough class and a number of wonderfully developed men competed in this category. The first three selected in this class are those who have been in competition last year and each has won the Mr. Britain title. This division was won by John Citrone, who also won this class last year. In second place was Wilfred Sylvester of St. Lucia, and third place went to Terry Parkinson from England.

Wilfred, though placing second, was selected as the winner of the Most Muscular Man award, a title which we added to the Mr. Universe contest this year.

Class-2 Over 5' 6" and up to 5' 9"

This year this class had the greatest number of contestants. Some excellent contestants competed in this class and gave the judges something to ponder. Albert Beckles from Barbados jumped from fifth place last year into the top position this year. His muscularity was needle-sharp and he appeared in fantastic shape. I doubt if anyone ever had arms with such high peaks as Albert displayed in this contest. In second place was Roy Callender, a newcomer from Barbados who is another impressively built lad. And third place went to a much-improved Arthur Fairhurst who comes from England and who last year did not place in the competition at all.

Class-1 5' 9" and Over

This is always the most eagerly awaited class and a real battle of giants. I am sure the fellows who failed to show up anticipated stronger competition than they could offer, so failed to be present. Vic Downs of Canada informed us he would be over yet failed to show up, and probably competed in another contest held in New York. We had, in fact, arranged three other shows for him while he would be visiting but apparently he felt he couldn't win so did not come over this year.

In this class great speculation hovered around the newly-crowned Mr. America, Dennis Tinerino, and the young Austrian giant Arnold Schwarzenegger who, as readers will remember, caused quite a sensation with his appearance last year. Had Vic Downs made the trip this class would have been hotly contested.

Schwarzenegger's improvement since last year was phenomenal, especially his legs. He weighed in at 248 pounds and boasted 21½ inch arms, with a 57 inch expanded chest. Arnold stands 6' 2½" in height and is hard as nails.

Tinerino made the mistake of not doing any back poses at the prejudging, allowing some of the more experienced judges to conclude that he had a weak back. It was only after the judges singled out small groups for a closer inspection that Dennis displayed his back. Good as Dennis was he was simply swamped by the huge Austrian, though in other years he could have won comfortably. I was happy to note that both of the American judges voted for the youthful Austrian which made Arnold's victory unanimous.

So it was Arnold Schwarzenegger 1st, Dennis Tinerino 2nd, and Henry Greaves of Trinidad 3rd.

The professional entries were next called up after the task of selecting the amateur Mr. Universe was completed. In this category Bill Pearl dominated the field. He gave everyone a lesson in performance. Although this contest did not have the usual entries, several of the competing men were worthy contestants.

Only two classes for the professionals are held. Class-2 which is under and up to 5' 8" was won by Charles Sintat of Guadeloupe but resides in Paris, and second place went to Guiseppe Deiana of Italy -- both well-built fellows.

Bill Pearl won his height division and the overall professional Mr. Universe title.

Besides the Mr. Universe competition a Miss Bikini Beauty contest is also staged. A line-up of this group appears on page 36 in this edition.

The whole affair was well-staged and the contest was a sellout long before the date of the show. Now plans are being made for next year's gala affair when we will again see new faces and, maybe, new champions!

PHOTO CAPTIONS

- The two Mr. Universe champions. On the left is the amateur winner Arnold Schwarzenegger from Austria, and on the right is Bill Pearl from USA.

- Winners of the three amateur height categories. Left to right: John Citrone, England, Class #3, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austria, Class #1, and Al Beckles, Barbados, Class #2.

- One of the scenes taken during the prejudging shows these contestants displaying their arm development for the judges.

- A view of some of the professional contestants on stage. Left to right: Nicolas Kleber from Guadelope, Bill Pearl, USA and the winner of the professional title. Charles Sintat from France, and Guiseppe Deianna from Italy.

- Dennis Tinerino, who placed second in the amateur division, reaches over and congratulates Bill Pearl, the professional winner. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the amateur title holder, is in the center.

- Another shot taken during the prejudging which shows Tinerino and Schwarzenegger comparing chests. Schwarzengger won the overall amateur title, Tinerino placed second.

- The line-up of the Miss Bikini Beauty contest, a contest that continues to grow in popularity. On the far left is Oscar Heidenstam the president of NABBA and the author of this article. Oscar is responsible for the great success that the Mr. Universe contest continues to enjoy year after year.

- First and second place winners in the amateur contest. Dennis Tinerino (on the left) shakes the hand of champion Arnold Schwarzenegger in a congratulatory gesture. The contest was close among these two but the final decision was unanimous to the satisfaction of all.

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