After Larry Scott's reign, bodybuilding needed someone equally great and inspiring to keep the Olympia name relevant and to help further grow professional bodybuilding. It could not have been a better time for one Sergio Oliva to hit his stride and bring his refined, powerful and bulky yet well-proportioned and genetically superior weightlifters physique to bodybuilding's biggest stage.
If audiences were amazed by the - until then - unsurpassed development Scott demonstrated they were positively shocked by what Sergio had to offer: the smallest waist in the pro ranks capped off with the widest lat muscles and tremendously deep cuts adorning the largest muscular physique ever seen. It would sure take some beating as underscored by convincing wins at Olympia's '67 through to '69.Easily winning his second Olympia (his first, prior to revamping his physique, being in 1966 where he placed third behind Harold Poole), beating out the 23-year-old veteran Poole (competing in his third such event), such was Sergio's dominance he again won unchallenged in '68; one assumes his competition had learned of his inclusion before the show.In '69 Sergio encountered an inexperienced Arnold Schwarzenegger and, again, proved his worth with a third Olympia win against the visibly upset Austrian Oak. The question on the minds of most was: who could counter the genetic marvel that was Sergio Oliva"Being Mr. Olympia carried a magic completely different from that associated with other titles," said Sergio several decades later. "I feel good still being known as Mr. Olympia - you stand apart." As the second ever Mr. Olympia, Sergio indeed stood apart and would take some beating.
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