Samuel Hartman wants to change federation to participate in Mister Olympia, the best in bodybuilding… with a certain price to pay.
When you are a high-level athlete, whatever the sport, you aspire to reach the summits.
For a footballer, it’s the Champions League. For a cyclist, it’s the Tour de France. For a bodybuilder, it’s Mister Olympia. This competition, created in 1965, brings together the biggest names in the discipline. “It’s the Holy Grail,” admits Samuel Hartman.
This will be the next step in his career. “I wanted to achieve as a natural athlete, but at one point I knew I was going to change federations. » He will therefore join the IFBB, that of Mister Olympia, where the practice of bodybuilding is not regulated and where the use of doping products is a common practice.
“There are few risks if you are well surrounded”
Samuel knows it. He doesn’t hide it, he will have to take products. He is aware of it, but he wants to complete his approach. By knowing the risks, with full knowledge of the facts. “I wouldn’t say that it’s not dangerous,” acknowledges Limougeaud, “but I know that there is little risk if you are well surrounded, particularly at the medical level. »
“It’s the game, those around me know it and it will be over a short period of my life. »
Samuel Hartman (empty)
Faced with the excesses taken by Mister Olympia competitors in recent years, the federation which governs the competition created in 2016 the Classic Physique category in which Samuel wants to participate.
The goal of the IFBB is to find on stage athletes approaching the standards of bodybuilding as it was practiced during the 50s, 60s and 70s where the competitors of the time were already very bulky and very well proportioned.
The main reason for the emergence – and success – of the Classic Physique category in recent years is that the vast majority of the bodybuilding world was fed up with seeing the doping abuses plaguing their sport, notably with bodies that are less and less aesthetic, presenting major imbalances.
If Samuel reaches this summit, he will be able to turn towards his professional horizon. He will undoubtedly continue to take care of his gym, the Iron Gym in Limoges, which he owns with his father. He will also undoubtedly be a coach. A little more for him, and a lot for the others.
Jean-Christophe Bourdin
