Don Howorth 1967 MR. AMERICA

The audience was sitting and talking about what they had just seen.  Already they had witnessed one of the best Mr. America contests ever staged.  They had been entertained by Rick Wayne who sang with a rock and roll group.  They had drooled over the lovelies in the Miss Americana contest.   They had been astounded by the muscle control artistry of Ed Jubinville and thrilled by the posing of one of bodybuilding’s immortals, Jack Delinger.  As incredible as it may seem, that was only half of the show, with the best yet to come.

Once again, the house lights dimmed and the spectators strained forward in anticipation.  As the stage lights brightened, the handbalancing act of "David and Goliath" began to perform.  I never get tired of watching good balancing acts.  This one is one of the best.  They’ve performed all over the country and have appeared on nationwide TV.  As a result, they have the most polished balancing act I have ever seen. All their moves are slow, with deliberate testimony to strength and control.  No sooner had they finished than the great Chuck Sipes appeared to do his strongman act.  I have now seen this act three times and it seems to get better with age.  The audience went wild as he threw the links of chain he broke with his bare hands to the clamoring spectators.  A few minutes after his performance, a young man came to the entrance that leads backstage and requested the bar that Chuck had bent as part of his performance.  Sipes is the perfect combination of physical excellence combined with brute power.  It makes me proud to know him and prouder still to know that he inhabits the realm of bodybuilding.

Rick Wayne (England) 1967 MR. WORLD

The next event on the program was the Mr. World contest.  We have already pre-judged this event in the afternoon and, unlike the Mr. America contest, there seemed no doubt in anyone’s mind just who Mr. World should be.  No sooner had Rick Wayne stepped onto the posing dais than the audience knew who the new Mr. World was to be.  It has always amazed me how someone with the spectacular set of bumps like these of Wayne has never copped the biggest of titles.  Now, at last, it was his turn and long overdue.  One of the only flaws Wayne has ever seemed to have is his legs.  While they are good for the average bodybiulder, Rick doesn’t have the average bodybuilder’s upper body.  This time, he seemed to have really worked over this section of his body and he looked like a world-beater.  Rick’s closest competition was furnished by Vic Downs of Canada.  Vic improves with every contest and could take all the marbles if he keeps trying.

The IFAW Arm Wrestling Champonships were next.  My job was to MC this section of the program.  In spite of my droning voice, I think this competition was one of the most exciting of the evening.  There isn’t any room in this report to give you all the details; that will be done in a separate article.  The former champion Lloyd Lampton was not present so a new titleholder was crowned.  Marc Korman is his name and you’ll hear a lot more of him soon.

Let’s admit it.  You could have taken all the show that had been seen so far and tossed it away.  The majority had come to see just one thing.  The world series and the pro bowl all rolled into one.  This is the only way to describe the Mr. Olympia contest.  It is the premiere event in the bodybuilding world.  All else had been done.  Everyone had gotten their trophies and now it was time to decide the greatest of the greats.  There was no pre-judging on this event so as one of the judges, I had to go out front to try to contain my excitment with all the others.

Dave Draper (USA) 4th Place - 1967 MR. OLYMPIA

"Sergio Oliva!" yelled Bud.  In all the time I have ever witnessed and written about these events, I have always been able to pull some appropriate words from the gray matter to fit the occasion.  Well, I give up.  The words to describe Oliva haven’t been invented yet.  I may never again see such a display of muscle as long as I live.  His musculature was an assault upon believability.  At one time, he had size and shape but not much actual separation.  Now things were different.  In a year’s time, he had become the most phenomenal physical specimen I had ever seen.  As he swung from pose to pose, the excitement became almost violent.  Hardly anyone could believe what they were seeing.

"Harold Poole" shouted Parker but I doubt if anyone could hear as they shouted for more poses from Sergio.  Poole walked slowly to the dais while the music from the "King of Kings" played dramatically in the background.  I have always regarded Harold as one of the two or three greatest bodybuilders ever to stand under the posing light.  He didn’t let anyone down this evening.  If he had ever had any weak point, it was his biceps.  Now when he flexed them they seemed to be one of his strongest assets.  The audience went wild and when he went into his famous "most muscular" pose, I thought everyone would come unglued.

Harold Poole (USA) 3rd Place - 1967 MR. OLYMPIA

This ended the Olympia contest - for the audience, but the job of the judges was just beginning.  We went through the orchestra pit to the level under the stage for our balloting.  I voted for Oliva but to my surprise Poole pulled most of the votes.  We argued and balloted and argued and balloted while the audience waited.  Jon Twichell came down to see what we had decided.  He was told that Poole was the winner.  He nodded and started upstairs when someone suggested that we have just one more look at them all together.  Twichell was literally a step away from Parker with the decision when he was caught.  Except for a step and a voice, Poole would have been Mr. Olympia.

The curtains were closed and the contestants mounted the platform backstage while the judges once again went about the task of trying to decide who was Mr. Olympia for 1967.  We went into a side room and reballoted with the promise that this was the final vote.  This time Oliva emerged the winner in one of the closest contests I’ve ever seen.