Full steam ahead for the 2021 IFBB World Championships.
The IFBB will be celebrating its 75th year since it was created. Santa Susanna will be the place to be for the biggest and most prestigious amateur event in the world.
The are many bodybuilding and fitness organizations all over the world. Many of them boast of having the biggest events, but non of them can compare to IFBB’s prestigious World Championships.
Originally called the IFBB Mr. Universe, former President Ben Weider made the decision to change the name to IFBB World Championships.
The IFBB Mr. Universe was organized between 1959-1977. Some of the most popular bodybuilders in the history of the sport competed and launched their careers after this event.
In 1978, Ben Weider, decided to change the name to IFBB World Championships. Ben Weider always had a dream to include bodybuilding as an Olympic sport, the work continues today with current IFBB President, Dr. Rafael Santonja.
The reasoning behind the name change is that being called a “World Champion” is much more prestigious and is a more recognized and accepted name.
The IFBB World Championships is an amateur event, with the best amateurs from all over the world fighting for the most prestigious amateur title in the history of the sport.
The 2021 IFBB World Championships will be the 62nd edition of the event since IFBB’s creation 75 years ago.
Not only will the IFBB be organizing the biggest event on their calendar, they will also be celebrating their 75th birthday.
Why is the IFBB World Championships so special?
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has met hundreds of amateur athletes, the majority being bodybuilders.
Focusing on bodybuilding, the level of the World Championships is very high. A number of bodybuilders competing at this event are already qualified to compete as IFBB Elite Pro athletes.
Why compete as an amateur and not as a pro athlete? It’s because every amateur athletes dream is to win the IFBB World Championships.
Legends such as Dave Draper, Sergio Oliva, Frank Zane, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Robby Robinson, Lee Haney, Bob Paris, Mike Christian,Berry DeMey, Rich Gaspari all have competed at this prestigious event.
Every IFBB amateur athlete wants to be associated with his contest and if it means keeping their pro career on hold, they will take that decision.
The event
The 2021 IFBB World Championships will be an open event, catering to all categories and divisions.
It is estimated that over 1,500 athletes from over 100 countries will be participating at this great event.
The event will be taking place in Santa Susanna, Spain, 3-8 November, 2021.
The IFBB Fitness challenge will also be organized at the World Championships, giving more opportunities to athletes to compete at the highest level.
IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja and his Executive committee will also be organizing the IFBB International Congress, a very important event on IFBB’s calendar. The two major congress’ are organized at the IFBB European and World Championships. The European Congress will cater to European matters, while the International Congress will cover all international events, new rules and other matters. It is very important to point out that every decision is voted for in a democratic manner.
After the 2021 IFBB International Congress is concluded, the World Championships begin.
What is also special about the IFBB World Championships is that it is an event that athletes take pride in representing their country and not just themselves.
Winners from all open divisions will be eligible to compete in the IFBB Elite Pro division.
The winners – Bodybuilding
As the event increased in popularity, more divisions were added.
1959 – 1976, 1995-present Overall winner was selected.
1977 – 1994 – No overall winner was selected.
1959 – Eddie Silvestre
1960 – Chuck Sipes
1962 – George Eiferman
1963 – Harold Poole
1964 – Larry Scott
1965 – Earl Maynard
1966 – Dave Draper
1967 – Sergio Oliva
1968 – Frank Zane
1969 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
1970 – Franco Columbu
1971 – Albert Beckles
1972 – Ed Corney
1973 – Lou Ferrigno
1974 – Lou Ferrigno
1975 – Ken Waller
1976 – Robby Robinson
1977 – Heavyweight – Kalman Szkalak, Middleweight – Roy Callendar, Lightweight – Danny Padilla
1978 – Heavyweight – Mike Mentzer, Middleweight – Tom Platz, Lightweight – Carlos Rodriguez
1979 – HEavyweight – Jusup Wilkosz, Light-Heavyweight – Samir Banout, Middleweight – Roy Duval, Lightweight – Renato Bertagna
1980 – Heavyweight – Hubert Metz, Light-Heavyweight – Johnny fuller, Middleweight – Jorma Raty, Lightweight – Heinz Sallmayer
1981 – Lance Dreher
1982 – Heavyweight – Lee Haney, Light-Heavyweight – Ahmet Enunlu, Middleweight – Dale Ruplinger, Lightweight – James Gaubert
1983 – Heavyweight – Bob Paris, Light-Heavyweight Chuck Williams, Middleweight – Charles Glass, Lightweight – Appie Steenbeek, Bantamweight – Herman Hoffend
1984 – Heavyweight – Mike Christian, Might-Heavyweight – Rich Gaspari, Middleweight – John Hnatyschak, Lightweight – Wilfred Sylvester
1985 – Heavyweight – Peter Hensel, Light-Heavyweight Josef Grolmus, Middleweight – Lee Labrada, Lightweight – Herman Hoffend
1986 – Heavyweight – Ralf Moeller, Light-Heavyweight – Mike Ashley, Middleweight – Pal Jean-Guillaume, Lightweight – Herman Hoffend, Bantamweight – Steve Brisbois
1987 – Heavy Weight – Luiz Freitas, Light-Heavyweight – Pavol Jablonicky, Middleweight – El Shahat Mabrouk, Lightweight – Mohamed Benaziza, Bantamweight – Mohammed Loftly
1988 – Heavyweight – Pavol Jablonicky, Light-Heavyweight – Renel Janvier, Middleweight – Prem chand Degra, Lightweight – Juan Marquez, Bantamweight – Tevfik Ulusoglu
1989 – Heavyweight – Jean Luc Favre, Light-Heavyweight – Frank Hillebrand, Middleweight – Bernard Sealy, Lightweight – Van Walcott Smith, Bantamweight – Anwar El Amawy
1990 – Heavyweight – Achm Albrecht, Light-Heavyweight – Alq’ Gurley, Middleweight – Wilhelm Jasinowski, Lightweight – Joseph Dawson, Bantamweight – Anwar El Amawy
1991 – Heavyweight – Ronnie Coleman, Light-Heavyweight – Miroslaw Daszkiewicz – Middleweight – El Shahat Mabrouk, Lightweight – Jose Guzman, Bantamweight – Anwar El Amawy
1992 – Heavyweight – Arthur Buurman, Light-Heavyweight – Hamdullah Aykutlu, Middleweight – Johann Schatz, Lightweight 0 Andre Charette, Bantamweight – Pavel Grolmus
1993 – Heavyweight – Gunter Schlierkamp, Light-Heavyweight – Roland Cziurlock, Middleweight – Abdullah Azman, Lightweight – Han Dong Ki, Bantamweight – Bang Woon Hyuk
1994 – Heavyweight – Jean Pierre Fux, Light-Heavyweight – Ron Coleman, Middleweight – El Shahat Mabrouk, Welterweight – Eduard Derzapf, Lightweight – Justin Jospitre, Bantamweight – Sergei Otroch
1995 – Agathoklis Agathoklou
1996 – Jeno Kiss
1997 – Ahmad Haidar
1998 – Hamdullah Aykutlu
1999 – Jaroslav Horvath
2000 – Serguei Dimitriev
2001 – Thomas Scheu
2002 – Jose Carlos Santos
2003 – El Shahat Mabrouk
2004 – Olegas Zuras
2005 – Dennis Wolf
2006 – Ali Tabrizi
2007 – Robert Piotrkowicz
2008 – Ali Tabrizi
2009 – Ali Tabrizi
2010 – Mohammed Touri
2011 – Sami Al Haddad
2012 – Salaheddin Abufanas
2013 – Mohamed Zakaria
2014 – Attia Shaalan
2015 – Abdulhadi Alkhayat
2016 – Behrooz Tabani Abarghani
2017 – Mohsen Samadi
2020 – Aleksandr Martynkin
Tentative Schedule
Event Information
