Though Sergio Oliva (The Myth) was a three-time Olympia champion, his life wasn’t a bed of roses. In a 2023 video, his son Sergio Oliva Junior disclosed a tricky rule that prevented his father from competing. He also indicated how politics played a role in tilting the Olympia results in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favor.

Sergio Oliva Junior made these revelations to the Flex Lewis podcast on 30th January 2023. His disclosure is important, as Sergio Oliva was the only one to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1969 Mr Olympia contest. Talking about his father’s reaction to this rule, the son also spoke about another bodybuilder affected by the rule.

The controversial rule and its devastating consequences on two bodybuilding legends 

Sergio Oliva Junior stated how his father was suspended from competing at Olympia due to a rule. Surprisingly, he also put the onus on Joe Weider for making that rule. According to Sergio Oliva Junior, “Joe makes a rule that you can’t compete in another federation.” This led to Sergio Oliva being banned since he had competed for the NABBA Mr Universe title in 1971. 

Continuing, Sergio Oliva Junior told how Joe Weider had played a double game. While on one hand, he allowed Sergio Oliva to guest pose so that people are encouraged to buy tickets, on the other hand, Weider prevented an Arnold-Oliva faceoff. “It was very smart”, Sergio Oliva Junior admitted. “Arnold won the Olympia and my dad was suspended.”  

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Later, he expressed that his father reacted to this rule by showing his disrespect towards Arnold Schwarzenegger and Joe Weider. With this, Sergio Oliva’s son also revealed that Lee Priest was also suspended due to the same rule. However, he believed that his father was “the reason that rule was invented.”  He also pointed out that earlier, “They used to be okay to compete in both federations.” Needless to say, Sergio Oliva had struggled a lot in his bodybuilding career. In another interview in 2018, Sergio Oliva Junior expressed how his father reacted to the thought of his son pursuing bodybuilding. 

Sergio Oliva Junior discloses lesser-known details about his father Sergio Oliva Junior 

The son explained his father’s perspective, “I went through so much, there’s no way my son’s gonna struggle…”  Having escaped from Cuba as a teenager, Sergio Oliva faced many hardships. 

Not only this, Sergio Oliva had problems speaking English. Junior also expressed a huge possibility that his father might’ve faced discrimination due to being a black, colored bodybuilder. These factors make it easy to understand why Sergio Oliva strongly disapproved of his son pursuing bodybuilding as a career. 

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Junior’s statements reflect his mature perspective about his father’s struggles despite not receiving support from him. Do you agree with Sergio Oliva Junior’s statements that the rule was made to keep Sergio Oliva out of Olympia? Share your thoughts in the comments section.