Bodybuilding in Germany

{{Sport overview | country = Germany |sport = bodybuilding | image = Falk, Benjamin J. (1853-1925) - Eugen Sandow (1867-1925) 11.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Eugen Sandow, an early German bodybuilder | union =  | nickname = | registered = | clubs =  | first =  | match =  | league = | national1 =  | club1 =  | club2 = | national2 =  | national3 =  | national4 =  }} '''Bodybuilding in Germany''' dates to at least 1812, and was focused around the gymnasium. Later it would develop a national governing organization that was internationally recognised. German competitors have competed in international competitions. Drug testing is done for the national championships.

== History == 1812 saw the start of ''Turnverein'' by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, which started the tradition of muscle building in Germany focused around the gymnasium.<ref name="Chapman1994">{{cite book|author=David L. Chapman|title=Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79QappH54EYC|year=1994|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-02033-9|page=3}}</ref> At least 1,500 gymnasiums existed in Germany by the 1870s with muscle mass building a component of what took place in them.<ref name="Chapman19946">{{cite book|author=David L. Chapman|title=Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79QappH54EYC|year=1994|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-02033-9|page=6}}</ref>

The 1992 edition of the Ms. Olympia contest was held in Chicago, Illinois with 20 competitors, including at least one from Germany.<ref name="Lowe1998">{{cite book|author=Maria R. Lowe|title=Women of Steel: Female Bodybuilders and the Struggle for Self-Definition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Lm0EbYDkmAC|date=1 January 1998|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-5276-0|pages=1–6}}</ref> In 2003, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation was founded by Berend Breitenstein.<ref name="Breitenstein2013">{{cite book|author=Berend Breitenstein|title=Bodybuilding - Successful. Natural. Healthy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGEoquh_x_MC|date=January 2013|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-8482-4750-9}}</ref> In 2003, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation became affiliated with the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/> Frank Guenther won the men's world championship in 2003.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/> In 2004, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation organized the German National Bodybuilding Championships.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/> Frank Kaeger won the men's world championship in 2007.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/> In 2009, German competitor Sabine Streubel won the WNBF Pro World Championships in the women's category.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/> In 2012, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation became affiliated with the Drug Free Athletes Coalition and severed its relationship with the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/>

== Drug testing == The German National Bodybuilding Championships test competitors using a polygraph, and urine analysis for all winners.<ref name="Breitenstein2013"/>

== Governance == Germany has an organization that is a member of the European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation.<ref name=euro>{{cite web|url=http://ebff.es/?page_id=41|accessdate=1 February 2014|title=European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation National Members|publisher=European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation|date=2012}}</ref> The country has a national organization that is a recognized by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness as a national federation, representing the country's bodybuilding community.<ref name=international>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifbb.com/national-federations|accessdate=1 February 2014|title=International Federation Of Bodybuilding And Fitness|publisher=European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation|date=2013}}</ref>

== References == {{Portal|Sports}} {{reflist|30em}}

Category:Bodybuilding in Germany