Olympia Overview
Well the Olympia weekend is done and dusted and I want to go over the placings for the open bodybuilding and give my take on the event.
Firstly, we all know that Kai Greene didn't compete in the Olympia this year. We don't necessarily know the full story with what happened but at the press conference Bob Chic did clear up that the reason he was not competing was simply because for whatever reason he didn't sign his contract. Apparently that's what it comes down to so really Kai is the only one who let his fans and himself down in that situation.
Firstly, we all know that Kai Greene didn't compete in the Olympia this year. We don't necessarily know the full story with what happened but at the press conference Bob Chic did clear up that the reason he was not competing was simply because for whatever reason he didn't sign his contract. Apparently that's what it comes down to so really Kai is the only one who let his fans and himself down in that situation.
I have seen various comments all over social media following the Olympia. Many of them have said that Kai Greene would definitely have won the Olympia had he entered. I find this interesting considering (a) we really don't know what Kai would have looked like on stage this year and (b) the top four competitors this year all brought their A game and it was very close. So considering the reality is that for the past four years Kai was unable to bring really crisp conditioning to the Olympia, I think what is more likely is that Kai would have placed outside of the top four. Of course that is just opinion and speculation but whatever the case it certainly doesn't make sense to claim that he would definitely have won the Olympia. In fact I think I enjoyed the Olympia more this year without Kai because there was less drama, more comradery and it allowed us to focus on some of the other top competitors.
Now that is covered let's get into the placings. The top six places this year were:
1. Phil Heath
2. Dexter Jackson
3. Shawn Rhoden
4. Dennis Wolf
5. Ramy
6. Branch Warren
Now as I mentioned above the top four were very competitive this year. After prejudging I had the top four as: 1. Phil, 2. Dennis, 3. Shawn, 4. Dexter. I think Phil was a little smaller and less "freaky" than he usually is. However he definitely had a tighter mid section this year. Overall he was the most complete though. Dennis Wolf I had in second because he was conditioned, full and freaky looking. His rear double bicep looked crazy. Shawn Rhoden appeared to have made some size gains since last year. From the front he looked great. From the rear of course his back was the area that was lacking. Dexter looked better than he usually does (which is always good anyway). He was conditioned and the only reason I had him in fourth at the end of prejudging was because he was a bit smaller than the other three.
Final call out at prejudging
At finals I felt Phil came in better than he did at prejudging. He looked fuller and his muscles popped more. Dennis and Phil had both improved their tan/colour. I'm not quite sure if Dennis had faded slightly compared to prejudging. Regardless he still looked really good. Shawn looked similar to prejudging but his mid section did look a little watery relative to the previous day. Dexter I would say looked equally good to the way he had looked on Friday.
Top call out during finals
Anyhow it obviously turned out that Dexter ended up placing second, Shawn third and Dennis fourth. I think you could have even mixed and matched those placings and it would have been valid just because it was so close. However the placings as they stand do make sense to me and here is why. Firstly all of the top four had a great combination of conditioning and fullness so that isn't something that could really separate the placings. Phil and Dexter are the only two competitors out of the top four that have complete and proportionate physiques so it makes sense that they are the top two. Phil is bigger than Dexter so of course he was first and Dexter was second. Shawn and Dennis both had weak body parts (Shawn's back and Dennis's calves) which pushed them into the third and fourth placings. Dennis is also probably a little bit less proportionate than the others when you look at his total physique.
Fifth place was a lot more difficult to pick. I actually had Roelly in fifth after prejudging based purely on the call outs. However of course we saw Ramy place fifth and Branch place sixth. Branch does have a fairly ugly physique with a few "battle scars" but he was very conditioned. Ramy has a tremendous amount of size but is always (and was this year) too soft. So in this case the judges went for size and structure over condition which I can understand. But I don't personally agree with that decision as I would never place a soft pillow over a hard, grainy physique.
I think the most overlooked competitor both last year and this year was William Bonac. He is a little bit smaller than some of the other competitors but he really does bring a great overall package - full, conditioned, separated, symmetrical, proportionate. He's got it all and I think he really should have gotten a look into the second call out. He did end up moving up to eighth but I think he could have been as high as sixth if the judging were a little fairer.
So that is my take on the Olympia this year. Before I wrap this up I am going to address a few of the common objections I have seen recently.
Typical objections:
1. It's politics, the IFBB is corrupt and it's all about money
This comment I find typically comes from fans who are disgruntled that their favourite competitor didn't win (or perhaps their least favourite competitor did win). I think what these people need to do is start judging the actual physiques that they see, rather than just thinking the bodybuilder that they like the most should win. I can say that when I judge the line ups during prejudging I can usually get pretty close or spot on where the placings actually happen. If you aren't getting close and you are blaming it on "politics" then chances are it's not politics, you just suck at analysing and comparing qualities of physiques. So to those people I would suggest to start learning about what things you should be looking for when comparing physiques in a line up. As much as it is subjective there are actually clear details that you should look for.
Additionally if it is "politics" that determines placings at the Olympia then I would ask this question. Why did Nicole Wilkins place second in figure to a relatively unknown newcomer? Nicole is amongst the most well known and popular figure competitors and is a four time Olympia champion. So if it were all about politics surely she would have won. But hold on, she didn't win. You can't have a double standard where it's all politics for men's bodybuilding but it's somehow not politics for figure at the same show.
2. Dexter should have won
No. There was never a point where Dexter was going to win this show. He did deserve to be in the top two this year. However since him and Phil were both equal in terms of condition, structure, symmetry, proportion etc it really just left muscle mass and Phil has more muscle mass than Dexter. There is no thing that I can see that would have justified Dexter placing first ahead of Phil at this show. So no, Dexter should not have won the Olympia.
3. Dennis or Shawn should have won
As I mentioned previously. Both have weak points. Phil and Dexter do not have any (at least not any glaringly obvious ones that I can see).
4. Phil Heath has a huge gut
Last year Phil was a bit bloated and specifically watery through his abs (very unusual and atypical of the guts you usually see on pro bodybuilders). Anyhow he specifically addressed it this year and didn't show any signs of a gut. In fact he drew deliberate attention to his mid section multiple times during prejudging as if to say "that's right, no gut!".
The thing I find most ironic about this kind of commentary is that it is usually expressed by Kai Greene fans and Kai Greene has a chronic, huge gut that is present every single year. So again a double standard where a gut is apparently ok for Kai to have (or ignored) but when Phil shows up once with a bloated stomach people never let him forget it.
Kai sporting that nice trim waistline
I think the thing that people need to understand here is firstly we don't really know what Phil Heath is like or what Kai Greene is like in reality (in terms of personality). All we see is a limited view of them via social media and via the various bodybuilding media outlets. Secondly a bodybuilder's attitude isn't really relevant for a competition that is all about the person who has the best physique. That's right, it is called BODY-building for a reason!
That's it for this week. If you agree, disagree or have anything to add let me know in the comments.
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- Evan
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