Prize money

Let me start by stating, as before, a very well deserving win went to Phil Heath on Saturday night. Nice guy, outstanding physique and what looked like a genuine emotional response to the win. But his $200,000.00 first prize package contrasts very strongly with the reported $40,000.00 that the winner of the World's Strongest Man will pick up.

I am confused as to what merits such a difference. The sheer numbers of people, worldwide, that will watch the various athletes test their strength in the WSM contest are far and away greater by a probable factor of something like 400-600 x as much compared to the No 1 bodybuilding competition - the Mr Olympia. Bodybuilding.com combined with any clips of the same on Youtube will be around 1 million or so. The lowest WSM figures have been around 200m with their best year (seemingly when WSM was held in China) was 600m that year.

Based on a man in the street being stopped and asked the name of the winner of both events I'd guess few would get the right answer. But ask them which they'd watched on TV... WSM would kick butt all day long.

There are obvious flip sides - you can sell products 24-7 to the core viewing audience (wanna-be bodybuilders) of the Mr O but the core numbers (would be strength athletes) for WSM are far lower. On the other hand it's easier to see mainstream advertisers seeing an angle in using a WSM level pro associated (our product is as strong as...) with their goods. Even an out of shape Glenn 'who's the daddy?' Ross (200+ kilos) has been used (Citroen or Renault vans I think). The years he did well Ronnie Coleman was beginning to make his mark and doing very well financially. Even seminars and exhibitions fees do not compare for most strength pros. A top 3 Mr O contender can command $5-10,000 per seminar with the No1 guy getting as much as $20k. With the exception of 5x winner Marius Pudzianowski in his homeland of Poland where, it seems, he can do no wrong (his singing... it's not all that but has been on many shows there) I can't think of any recent WSM winner getting anywhere close to the fees a well-known bodybuilder will get.

It's shame. BOTH sets of athletes, bodybuilding or strength (I'll include the Olympic Weightlifters and top Powerlifters such as Andy Bolton), train and work very hard to get to the top levels. I've seen both sets acknowledge the work, fame and so on of the other set. So both appreciate what's needed to get to the elite level. But the difference in the pay cheques... it's still there.

Your thoughts?