Saturday Sharing:
My Thoughts on Mr. Olympia
Phil Heath was crowned 3 time Mr. Olympia at the end of September. I have heard so much in the way of conspiracy theories and all of them make me laugh.
Mr. Olympia is the Super Bowl of bodybuilding. With that said, the winner has to be the best of the best. The most elite bodybuilder in the world. As I sat and watched the pre-judging I was impressed with several people: Dennis Wolf, Shawn Rhoden, Kai Greene. However, when Phil Heath stepped on stage I knew it was over. He was by far the best physique on the stage.
In my mind the battle was for second place. Phil Heath ran away with the first place spot and the judges clearly agreed with me. They actually had him go back in line when doing the call outs because it was clear to them that nobody else challenged him for the top spot.
I know that lots of Kai Greene fans believe he was robbed, but Kai made a mistake by coming in so big this year. He was much closer last year. Had he come in fully conditioned like last year with some improvements this might have been a different story.
Dennis Wolf looked amazing. He was just a little off when compared to Kai Greene. To me the order of the Top 3 was clear from pre-judging onward.
I am sorry for those of you who think there was a conspiracy. This was classic bodybuilding judging at its finest. I am here to say that Phil Heath deserved his third Sandow.
Troy Alves made his first foray into the 212 division and came away with a first place finish. This is the second time Alves has won a title at the Europa in Orlando. In 2009 Alves won the Men's Open 
Patricia Mello successfully defended the title she won a year ago and won for the third time in her Women’s Physique career. It was the second straight win for the 5’11 Brazilian, who was coming off a win at last week’s Pro Grand Prix. Mikaila Soto placed second, the third time she has finished as the runner-up in the last year. Amanda Dunbar placed third in her debut in the division.
Courtney King took first place and it was the first win of her very short career. She is the IFBB's youngest competitor at the age of 19. She turned pro at the 2012 NPC USAs. She has now placed first and second in her first two IFBB shows.Ashley Kaltwasser – the 2012 NPC Team Universe Overall winner – placed second, her highest finish in three IFBB competitions. Aly Veneno finished in third for the second straight contest. Veneno also placed 3rd at the Battle on the Beach.
Anderson, who earned his IFBB pro card by winning the Overall at last year’s NPC Masters Nationals, improved drastically from his 7th-place finish at last week’s Pro Grand Prix. That placing was Anderson’s first outside of the top five in four professional contests. Sadik Hadzovic finished as the runner-up, the third time he has finished in the No. 2 spot as a pro. Hadzovic has now placed in the top five in all five of his MPD competitions. Dean Fazzolari placed third, his highest finish in three pro contests.
Cedric looks amazing. He has size and definition. His conditioning was excellent. He has a very nice symmetry that aids in this victory for him. He obviously trained quite hard for this show. His delts are amazing, having nice peaks and a rounded look to them. His biceps are tremendous. His quads have nice separation and look massive.
Johnnie Jackson took second place behind Cedric McMillan. Johnnie is one of the strongest bodybuilders alive, having competed in many powerlifting meets. Johnnie's body is very asthetically pleasing to me. He looks big but balanced. He has awesome quads. He exudes that look of power.
Ed Nunn came in sharp. He always has decent size, but this time he was extremely defined. Third is a great showing for him. It will give him momentum going into other shows this year. Ed is one of those up and coming bodybuilders who we will hear a lot about in the coming years. Mark my words on that.