Kiwi cool: take restless natives and a string quartet, add some bomb threats, then throw in Mr. Olympia himself and you have the first-ever New Zealand Grand Prix! - bodybuilding competition

IT HAPPENED SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING.

Shortly after arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 6, 2001, Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman lost about 20 pounds of prime meat. Grade A, low-fat, USDA choice. All gone in an instant. So what produced this sudden reduction? Superdiet? Liposuction? Try "The Man."

"I had eight pounds of steak, eight pounds of chicken and about four or five pounds of turkey," explained the four-time Mr. Olympia. "Customs officials told me I couldn't bring food of any kind into the country. I told them I had brought meat with me and they took it and threw it in the trash."

A sadness crept into Coleman's searching brown eyes as he recalled the horror. "Then they x-rayed my luggage and found some baked potatoes I forgot about," he continued, obviously heartbroken. "They took those and fined me a few hundred dollars for not telling them."

It takes guts to take food away from Mr. Olympia. Actually, it takes armed guards and a litany of statutes. But for all the stunning shock of having his carefully prepared victuals confiscated, the 260-pound champ would step out of Auckland's airport and into a Shangri-la of gorgeous countryside manned by eager Kiwis catering to his every gastronomical whim. Tragedy averted.

"Losing my food ended up not being a problem," said Coleman. "After I got to the hotel, they brought me whatever I wanted. It was really good."

Such service to the pros wasn't by accident. New Zealand Grand Prix promoter Boris Borodin challenged the odds of bringing the first-ever IFBB pro show to the country only two weeks after the October 27 Mr. Olympia contest, and the Russian-born entrepreneur wasn't about to fail on any detail.

"These are great champions," said Borodin, 43, who lived for a spell in the United States before moving to Wellington, New Zealand, six years ago. "They should be treated as so."

Borodin's efforts included a media onslaught resulting in posters, billboards and numerous newspaper mentions in local and national outlets. Of particular delight to Coleman was an article in The Eveninq Post of Wellington that named Ronnie "the world's sexiest bodybuilder."

"Somebody finally got that right," said the champ. It's no wonder he made himself readily available to media personnel during the following few days.

THE CHRIS AND RONNIE SHOW

Less thrilled with the press and Ronnie's accessibility to it was Chris Cormier. The Real Deal arrived in Wellington only a day before the contest, and he was quickly handed a newspaper interview of Coleman, where Mr. Olympia complained that Cormier might never show up in New Zealand, seeing how unreliable and unpredictable he was.

"Chris didn't like that," admitted Coleman, laughing. "He thought he should have been given a chance to respond. But he wasn't there to respond. He was late. But he got over it fast. Chris doesn't stay mad for long."

It's hard to get angry in this exotic land of lush green hills, glistening blue lagoons and spacious valleys alive with rainbow palettes of flora unique to this island country. This luscious scenery has a cinematic sweep that was the setting for much of the 2001 blockbuster epic movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Although there wasn't an ancient and powerful ring up for grabs at the Michael Fowler Centre on November 10, an IFBB title was at stake, meaning this showdown between Coleman and Cormier was no small matter. The two superstars would also have to contend with always-gritty Claude Groulx and fast-rising wunderkind Tommi Thorvildsen, Glutezilla himself. Throw in some local talent, and the contest was hardly a posedown of patsies, although Coleman wasn't too concerned. "Chris and I were pretty much the contest," conceded Ronnie. "The other guys were cool. Not many of them seemed to speak English, though."

Borodin, intent on showcasing New Zealand's rich cultural stew, put a variety-pack of acts onstage to complement the bodybuilding action. A group of Maori natives--the indigenous people of New Zealand--performed a traditional dance called haka, an ancient ritual that prepares the tribe for battle--kind of a pump-up for Maori warriors. Later, a string quartet in tails played for the audience. During the lull of one particularly lengthy movement, Coleman and Cormier decided they had had enough and interrupted the ensemble. The symphony went on, but the posing brought more noise than the cannons in the climax of the 1812 Overture.

If the evening's playlist wasn't predictable, the recipient of the first-place trophy was. Coleman won his third title of 2001 to go along with his Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic and Mr. Olympia trophies. Cormier finished second, and Groulx was third, earning an all-important Olympia qualification in the process.

Coleman had done what he could to avoid a post-Olympia letdown. "I stayed on my diet after the Olympia. I can't be showing up looking out of shape. I'm representing the sport."

Although the New Zealand Grand Prix was indeed a blast, the show's participants were facing more than metaphorical blowups. Borodin said that he received bomb threats before the show that specifically targeted the Americans in the contest.

"It didn't affect us," said Coleman. "You can't let terrorists win. We would never have canceled the show because of the threats."

Borodin agreed. Security was beefed up and the contest went on. The first-ever New Zealand Grand Prix not only survived, but flourished, successfully introducing the high-spirited stimulating world of pro bodybuilding to a new audience. According to the number-one bodybuilder on the planet, the credit goes to Borodin.

"Boris is one of the biggest supporters of bodybuilding out there. He puts a lot of time and money into it," reported Coleman, who was impressed with the media saturation of the contest. "People knew who I was and were asking me for autographs wherever I went. On every corner, there was a poster of the show, sometimes three or four. Mentions of the contest were everywhere: prime-time television, radio and newspapers. The Kiwis were really positive about the sport and friendly."

Yes, go to New Zealand, you physique fanatics. Just leave your meat at home.

2001 NEW ZEALAND GRAND PRIX

Wellington, New Zealand

November 10,2001

1 Ronnie Coleman    United States *
2 Chris Cormier     United States *
3 Claude Grouix     Canada *
4 Tommi Thorvildsen Norway
5 Erwin Marquez     Venezuela
6 Nicloas Schilko   Australia
7 Matt McLean       Australia
8 Marc Rainbow      New Zealand
9 Justin Rys        New Zealand

Note: Sergei Chelestov also took part in the contest and was judged
fifth on the day. His participation was later declared null and void
because he had not completed a suspension imposed by the IFBB at the
time of the contest.

* Qualifies for 2002 Mr. Olympia Contest.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group