In a recent letter to the sports community, the president of the Spanish Weightlifting Association, Tomás Abeigón, has outlined a number of concerns about the current state of bodybuilding and fitness. This document seeks to clarify misconceptions and shed light on problems affecting these disciplines, such as organizational fragmentation and the use of doping substances.
According to Abeigon, the International Federation of Fitness and Bodybuilding (IFBB) is not a sports federation in the strict sense, but an association. Although the IFBB presents itself as “the international governing body for bodybuilding and fitness,” this statement does not reflect the reality of the global landscape. There are multiple international organizations, such as NABBA, WABBA and the NPC/IFBB Pro League, which also regulate competitions and bring together thousands of athletes, which is evidence of the fragmentation of competitive bodybuilding.
The lack of a universal governing bodybuilding
Bodybuilding and fitness lack a recognized international sports federation, which generates a diversity of organizational criteria and regulations. This situation, coupled with the lack of Olympic recognition, prevents the existence of a single universally accepted governing body. In this context, the IFBB cannot be considered the highest international authority, as it publicly claims.
Furthermore, the separation of the NPC/IFBB Pro League from the IFBB, due to disagreements with its president, is an example of the internal tensions affecting these organizations. This fragmentation not only makes it difficult to regulate the sport, but also generates confusion among athletes and the public.
The problem of doping in bodybuilding and fitness
Another issue highlighted in the letter is the indiscriminate consumption of doping substances in bodybuilding and fitness. According to Abeigón, except in “natural” competitions, the use of hormones, anabolics and steroids is a common practice, even among recreational practitioners. This situation has led to the sport carrying the stigma of being associated with doping.
The president of the Spanish Weightlifting Association considers that winning competitions with artificially obtained muscle is unethical and unsportsmanlike. In addition, he points out that the IFBB has been declared “non-compliant” with the World Anti-Doping Code by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which further aggravates the problem.
Absence of doping controls in IFBB
In his letter, Abeigón also denounces the lack of anti-doping controls in competitions organized by the IFBB. Despite the fact that this association claims to carry out controls in world and continental events, the Spanish State Agency Commission for Anti-Doping in Sport confirmed that no doping controls are being carried out in bodybuilding.
This fact is particularly worrying, given that a European Championship was recently held in Santa Susana (Barcelona), organized by the IFBB. The absence of controls calls into question the transparency and ethics of these competitions, according to the letter.
