BAKU WILL HOST "IRON MEN"

The World Bodybuilding Championship in Jeju has become a truly historic event for Azerbaijan. We are not just talking about its sporting aspect, but also about the administrative success of the federation which was granted the right to host the world championship in 2010. Thus, the calendar of world championships is ready for three years ahead - it will be hosted by Bahrain in 2008, Dubai in 2009, and in 2010, the best athletes of the planet will compete for medals in the Azerbaijani capital.

Naming the host of the championship three years ahead is a little extraordinary because the International Federation (IFBB) is usually in no hurry to name the city, giving other candidates a chance to promote themselves. However, in the case of Baku there has been a pleasant exception because the city has hosted European bodybuilding championships twice, including this year, which is why the IFBB leadership, led by Rafael Santonja, is well-aware of Azerbaijan's organizational ability. It is not without significance that at the Jeju congress, Santonja stressed the excellent organization of Euro 2007 in Baku, telling participants about his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Minister of Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov. "The decision of the IFBB is no accident. We all know very well how much attention the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee are paying to holding major sporting events in Azerbaijan. All this activity is accumulated in the tireless attention to this issue and support from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The guests who came to the European Bodybuilding Championship in Baku have twice seen this for themselves. To be honest, I do not conceal my pleasure at the IFBB decision to hold the championship in Baku. There are pages in your activity and life that have a formative nature and will stay in your mind for ever. For this reason, the holding of the world championship in Azerbaijan cannot be overestimated," the president of the National Federation, Rauf Bunyadaliyev, said. It is notable that at the same time as the World Championship in Baku, a new IFBB president will be elected, which is actually just a formality. Especially as Santonja has indisputable authority in the world of bodybuilding and is trying to raise it to a new level. For example, it was the Spaniard who initiated amateur bodybuilding contests at the famous professional tournament, the Arnold Classic, which was founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. Santonja and the Californian governor have reached a fundamental agreement, and Azerbaijani athletes will be able to participate in this tournament next year.

Commenting on the situation, Bunyadaliyev indicated that this step is of a historic nature. "Any good innovation is of benefit, defining the future direction of development. When the innovation is of global importance, it is difficult to overestimate it. The tournament is closely related to the name of the great and respected person and sportsman, a symbol of the modern period - Arnold Schwarzenegger. What is more, the Arnold Classic is the second most important contest after Mr Olympia. It was precisely Mr Olympia that made Arnold what he is now. Then Schwarzenegger decided to make his own contribution to the contest and founded the Arnold Classic Start. The fact that amateurs are allowed to attend the tournament has a really historic importance. I think that this fact will play a defining role in the further development of bodybuilding in the world. The thing is that there is a great abyss between amateur and professional bodybuilding right now. In my view, the holding of a contest in which these two trends co-exist will re-orient the future of this sport. The two trends will be presented on one stage - the real one and in my view, one which is not quite real. What is more, the tournament will attract serious media support. In my opinion, amateur bodybuilding enjoys much more serious support from viewers and rank-and-file people than the professional form, because it is a more accessible and realistic event," Bunyadaliyev said.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani bodybuilders recently achieved great success in the international arena. This is also proved by the outcome of Euro 2007, held in Baku, at which the host team took second place in the team performance. The team is very well balanced, and its current leaders are Anatolu Masimov (65 kg) and Vuqar Verdiyev (85 kg). Masimov had an excellent chance to win a prize in Jeju, however, health problems just before the contest knocked him out of his stride. "Everyone knows that Anatolu is one of the most gifted sportsmen, but at the same time, he is one of the most unsuccessful in terms of realizing his talent. Information about Anatolu makes it possible to say that he has no match in the world in this weight category. There is not a single person with such size and proportions. The only problem for this athlete is to raise his shape to a better condition by improving quality. The second factor, which is beyond our control, is the strong rivalry in the tournament, and it is often affected by federations which have some influence on the referees. When we looked at the composition of participants during the weighing procedure, it became clear that it will be the fourfold world champion from Brazil, Santos, and our Anatolu who will be vying for "the gold". The South American was shocked by Masimov's shape during the weighing procedure and did not hide his obvious attention. The athlete was really in top shape, however, by the evening, the sportsman had almost lost his appetite and did not feel well after that. His body was in convulsion, and our efforts to stabilize the situation proved unproductive. As a result, Anatolu started drinking saline solutions to prevent the further development of convulsions and muscle spasms. As a result, he lost his shape, and we had serious doubts about his ability to perform on the stage. However, Masimov never abandoned the fight and decided to participate. But, due to his condition, he could not pose, but only showed one or other posture. And the most tragicomic thing is that having filled up with five litres of water and having failed to pose, he won 10th and 11th places and made it into the semi-finals - all this testifies to Anatolu's strength," Bunyadaliyev stressed.

At the same time, bodybuilding is quite a subjective sport. The thing is that not everything depends on the level of a sportsman's preparation, and much is decided by the referees. Their assessments may not correspond to the real state of affairs. Often referees develop a stereotype - they pay more attention to the representatives of generally-recognized bodybuilding powers - Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Poland and others. For this reason, the countries that have not really achieved any success in "Europe and the rest of the world" have a hard time. It is exactly this situation that faced Masimov in his debut season when he came fourth at the European and World Championships. Even generally-recognized leaders find it difficult at times. The famous Tahir Fakhruddinov quite rightly said: "I am not afraid of my rivals, I am afraid of the referees." For this reason, in order to be successful, a sportsman needs to be one step ahead of his rivals.

In turn, Bunyadaliyev admitted that he never sets his bodybuilders any definite goals, since such an approach is not right. Everyone must demonstrate his best shape and give the best of himself on the stage. At the same time, the team intends to take an active part in the World Championship in Baku for which we need to start preparing now. "We have made a bid to host the World Championship not to surprise anyone with our hospitality and hand out gifts. We will host the World Championship in order to win and achieve high results. Otherwise, as the president of the federation, I will regard the competition as a failure," the ABBF president said in conclusion. In any case, it is too early to guess because there are still three years left to the championship.