There have been several notable upsets in sports. Examples include the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeating Russia in 1980, George Foreman shocking the world by defeating Michael Moorer to win the world title at the age of 45, and the New York Giants pulling off the miracle win against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42.
In the world of bodybuilding, the biggest upset in history may be when Gunter Schlierkamp defeated five-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman at the GNC Show of Strength in 2002. Over 20 years after that contest, the hosts of Prime Time Muscle look back at how the man from Germany pulled off the win against the man many people thought was unbeatable. Chris Cormier was in that show, and he recalled that someone that knew the sport pretty well saw potential in Schlierkamp, Joe Weider.
“He expressed to us how good Gunter was looking, and that he was possibly going to be giving Ronnie some trouble. He was in that good of shape.”
The trio then looked at some photos of the eventual winner from that contest. Terrick El Guindy is an IFBB Pro League judge, and he wasn’t so sure the decision went the right way.
“I saw the pictures when they were in the magazines at that time, and I said ‘okay, he’s big, he’s hard, but he’s nowhere near the aesthetically pleasing physique of a Ronnie Coleman or a Chris Cormier.’”
El Guindy acknowledged that he wasn’t at the show and couldn’t have judged it at the time, but he may have given the decision to Coleman had the show taken place today.
“If I was sitting there, he would have to show me a lot of hardness, especially in places like the back for him to win the show now.”
The full breakdown of the comparisons can be seen in the full episode on Olympia TV’s YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe so you can catch all new episodes of Prime Time Muscle every week. You can follow @prime_time_muscle on Instagram as well.
