Every era in bodybuilding seems to have its own Little Big Man. Names such as Freddy Ortiz, Lee Labrada, Lee Priest, Franco Columbu, Flavio Baccianini and Mohamed Benaziza all come to mind when discussions turn to sub-5'6" bodybuilders. Arguably two of the best of this bunch are Danny Padilla and David Henry.
At 5'2", Padilla (known as “The Giant Killer”) possessed equal amounts of mass and proportion. When he was on, as at the 1981 Mr. Olympia (where he took a ridiculous fifth) and throughout 1990, he was phenomenal. His arms and legs are among the best ever seen.
Henry, 5'5", is the current undisputed king of the under-202 division, reaching his competitive pinnacle with a win at the inaugural 202 Showdown, held during the 2008 Olympia Weekend. With his world-class back and peeled conditioning, Henry is a legitimate threat in every contest he enters, open class included.
What if two of bodybuilding’s all-time great short men were to have faced each other at their respective peaks? One thing’s for sure, it would have been one giant of a spectacle.
