Flex_USA_JulyAugust_2017_2
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1ST SET<br />
RETRO ATHLETE<br />
BY GREG MERRITT<br />
FRANCIS<br />
BENFATTO<br />
THIS PARADIGM<br />
OF CLASSICAL<br />
BODYBUILDING WAS<br />
BOTH BEHIND AND<br />
AHEAD OF HIS TIME<br />
BORN IN 1957, Francis<br />
Benfatto was a man out of time<br />
when he made his pro debut in<br />
1988. If he had been born a<br />
decade prior, his classical<br />
physique may have allowed him<br />
to challenge the similarly<br />
constructed Frank Zane for the<br />
Olympia title. And if he had been<br />
born three decades later, he<br />
might be a favorite for this year’s<br />
Classic Physique<br />
FLEX FACT<br />
IN THE 1992 O,<br />
BENFATTO<br />
BEAT FUTURE<br />
EIGHT-TIME<br />
MR. O RONNIE<br />
COLEMAN.<br />
Olympia. Instead,<br />
over 19 pro shows<br />
from 1988 to<br />
1993, the 5'6"<br />
Frenchman<br />
struggled to carve<br />
out his own niche<br />
as size standards<br />
expanded. He found his greatest<br />
success on the Olympia stage,<br />
finishing sixth in the drug-tested<br />
1990 O and seventh the following<br />
year. Always, he maintained his<br />
classical shape: narrow hips,<br />
V-shape torso, flowing lines,<br />
artistic poses. His legs lagged,<br />
but his delts and arms could win<br />
shots. In 2006, at age 48 and after<br />
13 years away from the stage (and<br />
a torn pec), he made a surprising<br />
comeback in the Australian Pro,<br />
finishing a respectable sixth and<br />
leaving us to wonder what<br />
could’ve been if only he’d been<br />
born earlier or later.<br />
BENFATTO<br />
ON BICEPS<br />
TRAINING<br />
CHRIS LUND<br />
58 FLEX | JULY/AUG ’17
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