Over the holidays, Chris Bumstead successfully defended his Mr. Olympia title, proving his dominance over one of his biggest rivals.
Bumstead is an Ottawa native and was the focus of a piece published by the Charlatan in December, outlining his journey to capture his first bodybuilding title. Since then, Bumstead has gone on to once again compete in the 2020 Mr. Olympia, defeating one of his biggest rivals, Breon Ansley.
Over the weekend of Dec. 17, the 2020 Mr. Olympia took place, seeing Bumstead join an elite list of back-to-back winners. This victory had to have been extra satisfying for Bumstead after receiving months of criticism and doubt from his rival Ansley.
After Bumstead’s 2019 win, Ansley took to social media, criticizing Bumstead’s victory. Ansley criticized Bumstead’s physique, saying Bumstead’s back was not nearly as developed and detailed as his own, and that Bumstead is not a “complete” bodybuilder. The back is a critical muscle group in bodybuilding, as it makes up the largest surface area of the body.
Ansley publicly claimed that Bumstead’s title was undeserved and fraudulent. Ansley was adamant about his suspicion, as well as his belief that he has been a better athlete than Bumstead over the last year.
Due to Ansley’s repeated criticisms, a rivalry formed between the two and dominated news in the bodybuilding community. The spotlight was put on these two athletes to see who would be the better Classic Physique bodybuilder at this year’s Mr. Olympia.
The Classic Physique division is focused on what is considered “old school” bodybuilding. It looks for broad shoulders, a thin waist, and muscle definition. This is different from the other divisions which typically focus on size.
While the attention was focused on Bumstead and Ansley’s rivalry, one competitor in particular slipped under the radar—Terrence Ruffin, a Classic Physique competitor who punched his ticket to compete at the 2020 Mr. Olympia.
Ruffin beat Bumstead at the 2016 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness,with Ruffin placing second and Bumstead placing third. Ahead of the 2020 Mr. Olympia, Ruffin said he was hopeful for a third place finish.
Coming into the event, Bumstead and Ansley were the favourites, predicted to battle it out for first place. Ansley even brought their rivalry into the Mr. Olympia press conference before prejudging began. However, once the prejudging began, it was obvious Bumstead was the better Classic Physique bodybuilder.
During the prejudging, Bumstead was kept at centre stage the entire judging session. This is a good sign, as it indicates the judges were comparing every other competitor to Bumstead. Ansley was moved around stage a bit, swapping in with other competitors, including Ruffin.
Bumstead’s dominance carried over from the prejudging into the finals the next day. He stayed center stage, his back looking much more developed than last year, likely to Ansley’s chagrin.
The rivalry continued into the event, with controversy making itself known during the finals. Ansley posed very close to Bumstead and appeared to be trying to cover some of Bumstead’s body parts with his own—a move that is considered immature and heavily looked down upon in the bodybuilding world. This resulted in Ansley being moved away from Bumstead during the judging.
After the judging, the announcer prepared to call out the top five finalists. To many’s surprise, Ansley was called out and awarded third place. An emotional Ansley walked to take his spot on stage, but shook Bumstead’s hand to show a sign of respect. Ruffin took second place, and of course Bumstead took first place, silencing all his doubters to prove that he is deserving of his Mr. Olympia titles.
This year’s Mr. Olympia did not disappoint, the committee having done an outstanding job with the show despite the COVID-19 pandemic—and is likely to be remembered as a different but special Mr. Olympia for many years to come.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
