9 November 2009
“I think this is one of the best championship we have ever witnessed,” said Paul Chua, Secretary-General of the world body who has seen over 40 world bodybuilding championships. “The reason is because the results are fantastic. The organisers have provided a really super duper hospitality. It was a great stage, great competition and everybody was happy. There were no protests at all. This is very important for us. I’m sure people in UAE enjoyed this championship.”
“This is a milestone in bodybuilding because this time we combined everything together. There was great sportsmanship, organisational excellence and good-hearted approach,” said Axel Bauer, Vice-President (Europe) of the WBPF. “The hospitality from the side of UAE was excellent, specially from our president Osama Al Shafar who gave so much energy, time and money to make this championship a success. We have to be very grateful to have him as the president and UAE as host country,” he added.
Speaking of the shift in balance of power in the world of bodybuilding, Bauer acknowledged that “Asia is really catching up although Europe is a strong continent.”
However, the top officials of the WBPF were not surprised by Iran’s emergence as world power.
“I believed that Iran is a really strong country. A lot of people practice this sport and they give all they have. I was not surprised but the Iranians made a fabulous performance. All their athletes were in unbelievable shape. They are deserving winners not only of many categories but also of the overall title. I have to congratulate the Iranians under the leadership of President Nasser Pouralifard for doing a great job,” said Bauer.
“Iran is dominating now the world scene. They are really a super house in the world,” added Chua.
“The WBPF will go a long way because of its objective and transparency,” he said of the newly formed body.
Asked what message he would give those countries on the fringe, Bauer said: “In July we started to proclaim this new federation. Some countries were still waiting to see what is going to happen. Now they can see it was a very successful championship and we have already announced that the next World championships will be held in Thailand in November 2010 for both men and women in the city of Bangkok. And we are going to have a great Asian championship, European, African, South Pacific. I’m sure the growth of WBPF will continue. We are just three months old but we have already 69 countries,” said Bauer.
Explaining why they broke away from IFBB (International Bodybuilding Federation), Bauer said: “I was working with them for 24 years and I gave my all for IFBB. But then these problems were coming up — legal, constitutional, results management, doping controls, arrogant behaviour, lack of understanding for problems. There was no other solution but to form this new federation,” said Bauer, a lawyer by profession.
