WORLD BODYBUILDING HISTORY.

2023. WORLD BODYBUILDING HISTORY.

ONLY THREE CONTESTS HAD HISTORIC STRATEGIC VALUE.

Today the W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. (World Fitness Federation, World Body Building Federation) International unites 140 Country – Members and organizes nearly 60 annual Amateur and Professional International Events World Wide. Looking from the juridical point of view the W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. International is no doubt the Real World Bodybuilding Leader.

Crowning it‘s 56 years of International Bodybuilding activities, the W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. works on the Unique Global International Bodybuilding Project - the „World Bodybuilding Encyclopedia“ («Энциклопедия всемирного культуризма», “Pasaulio kultūrizmo enciklopedija”).

Part One of the Encyclopedia covering period since ancient times to 1973 is finished. Now we are working on the Second Book covering period of time since 1973 until 1991.

ONLY THREE CONTESTS HAD HISTORIC STRATEGIC VALUE.

There are many various level competitions around us and the value to the World‘s sport of every one is different. Through the time today working on the „World Bodybuilding Encyclopedia“ we can clearly see what really every competition means to our sport. During the eighties of the last Century only three contests played great historic role to the Socialist Bodybuilding and to the World‘s Bodybuilding as well. The World was divided politically and the Bodybuilding Sport was prohibited in the Socialist Countries. It was a big risk for everybody to be connected with this sport. This means that always we look upon the same things from the different point of view. Today we can underline that only three events were extremely important for the further development of bodybuilding:

- 1974 „Georg Tenno Memorial“ (1971 – 1989, «Мемориал Георга Тенно», Tallinn, Estonian SSR, organized Innar Mardo, Иннар Мардо)

1975 I.F.B.B. Europe Championship (Amsterdam, Holland. Peter Stach from Czechoslovakia had broken the „Iron Wall“ and won the Europe Champion‘s title)

- 1978 „Amber Prix International“ („Gintarinis prizas“, „Янтарный приз», Klaipeda, Lithuanian SSR, organized by DSc. Edmundas Daubaras, Др. Эдмундас Даубарас) opened the new page of the U.S.S.R. bodybuilding.

We will speak about each of the mentioned events and explain the essence. Only due to these competitions our sport looks as it looks now.

1974. “GEORG TENNO MEMORIAL”. BEGINNING.

Due to political reasons after 1971 bodybuilding in Socialist Countries was in problems. Finally in 1973 bodybuilding sport was prohibited in the U.S.S.R. and all Socialist Countries. Bodybuilding activities were prosecuted. The press was full of negative articles about bodybuilding.

Competitions were not organized at that time. But there were some exceptions.

A representative of the Estonian SSR INNAR MARDO (Иннар Мардо, 1946 – 2002) and his friends started pressing the polititians of the Estonian SSR. They presented bodybuilding as a national kind of sport in Estonian SSR. They spoke about old Estonian traditions in power sports, strongmen and wrestling. All remembered such known Estonian sport persons as GEORG LURICH (Георг Лурих, 1876 - 1920), GEORG HACKENSCHMIDT (Георг Гаккеншмидт, 1878 – 1968), Olympic Champion KRISTIAN PALUSALU (Kristian Trossmann, Кристиан Палусалу, 1908 – 1987). Estonian GEORG TENNO(Георг Тенно, 1911 - 1967) for long years on was working at the high sport offices of the U.S.S.R.. This was in 1971 when Estonians started organizing in Tallinn the International „Georg Tenno Memorial“ («Мемориал Георга Тенно», 1971 – 1989) competition. The contest was nearly on regular basis and local governments somehow supported it.

Similar to Estonians did the bodybuilders of Czechslovakia. To hide the real bodybuilding basis they added a number of power exercises in their contests.

In Lithuania competitions were held underground and without public. In 1974 DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS organized the fourth historic „Amber Prix International“ („Gintarinis prizas“, «Янтарный приз», 1968 – 2022, Klaipeda, Lithuanian Republic). It was held in a city bomb shelter. After this the „Amber Prix“ was organized regularly. In 1976 the International Competition was held in Kalinin (Tver, Russian Federation). The Contest was done in a small city gym. In 1977 an International Contest was organized in a small Lithuanian SSR city Kedainiai and it was held in a small gym too. Lithuanians as well as bodybuilders of other Socialist Countries were hiding the bodybuilding with the power exercises.

In 1974 in Estonian SSR the „Georg Tenno Memorial“ was the only one bodybuilding contest in the U.S.S.R. which was more or less supported by the Government. Though the U.S.S.R. polititians were prohibiting to do this.

4-th „GEORG TENNO MEMORIAL“ BRAKED PROHIBITION OF BODYBUILDING.

Who can imagine the idea to organize an International Bodybuilding Contest when bodybuilding was prohibited in the U.S.S.R. and in all Socialist Countries? When the Governments announced the prohibition of bodybuilding the competitions were stopped everywhere. The participants of the 4-th „Georg Tenno Memorial“ had risk to be punnished but they dared to particpate in Estonia anyhow. This way the 4-th „Georg Tenno Memorial“ was a serious polittical step.

In 1974 among the possible winners of the contest was the 1971 – 1972 Over All Champion of the „Georg Tenno Memorial“ Russian VLADIMIR DUBININ (Владимир Дубинин). Nevertheless the Estonians were making a surprise with OLEV ANNUS (Олев Аннус) for everybody. Lithuanians kept silence. After serving in the army among the participants was a former National Champion of the Lithuanian SSR and the winner of the 1971 International Contest PRANAS MURAUSKAS (Пранас Мураускас). He represented a famous historical „Vilnius Bodybuilding School“ («Вильнюсская школа культуризма»). VLADIMIR DUBININ laughed at PRANAS MURAUSKAS when somebody showed him this bodybuilder. PRANAS MURAUSKAS weighed 37 kilograms less than VLADIMIR DUBININ.

The results of the the 4-th „Georg Tenno Memorial“:

1-st Junior Category

MISIURA ARVYDAS (Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius)
KIRSUPUU PEEP (Estonian SSR)
OTSUS INDREK (Estonian SSR)

2-d Junior Category

BEREZOVSKY SEMION (Семён Березовский, Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius)
SALAVEJUS GINTAUTAS (Lithuanian SSR)
ARRO ARNE (Estonian SSR)

Men‘s Categories

Category Short

GORELIK JEVGENIJ (Gorelik Eugene, Евгений Горелик, Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius)
KURGPOLD ULO (Estonian SSR)
TOLSTYCH SERGEJ (Сергей Толстых, Russian Federation)

Category Middle

MURAUSKAS PRANAS (Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius)
LOBAČIOV JURIJ (Юрий Лобачёв, Russian Federation)
ŽURENKO JURIJ (Юрий Журенко, Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius)

Category High

ANNUS OLEV (Estonian SSR)
DUBININ VLADIMIR (Russian Federation)
DUDIN SERGEJ (Сергей Дудин, Russian Federation).

The Over All Winners of the 4-th „Georg Tenno Memorial“ were SEMION BEREZOVSKY and PRANAS MURAUSKAS. Except OLEV ANNUS all category Winners were representing „Vilnius Bodybuilding School“ («Вильнюсская школа культуризма»). The Chairmen and Trainers of this „school“ were the Legend of Bodybuilding CZESLAV TAMULEWISZ (Чеслав Тамулевич, Ceslav Tamulevic) and VITALIJ ASOVSKIJ (Виталий Асовский). The main bodybuilding person of the Estonian SSR INNAR MARDO (1946 – 2002) organized the publications about the competition in the „Western“ bodybuilding press. He did it through his personal friends in Finland. For long time the pictures of PRANAS MURAUSKAS were in the pages of many World Bodybuilding Magazines.

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INFORMATION.
More detailed information on the Global International Site www.wff.lt, see forum topics. Also information available on the Facebook pages: W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. International, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. North America, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. South America, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Asia, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Europe, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Africa, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Asia Continental Federation, International Sport University (I.S.U., www.isuniversity.lt), W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Pro Division, W.P.S.F. World Power Sports Federation.