Looks like Phil Heath and Shawn Rhoden have confirmed that they will be competing at the delayed Olympia in December.
Do you guys think Curry can retain the Sandow with these 2 coming back?
Also, Dexter Jackson has said this will be his last O. Odds on his placing?
Shawn too? :o
From one of the Olympia promoters Insta posts it looked that way (he is back from his ban from the previous allegations).
I never knew much about Shawn and had stopped following the sport a lot during much of Heath’s reign, but there will be 4 of the 15 Mr. O’s on stage this winter which should make for an awesome show.
I was never the biggest fan of Phil, chalking up his wins solely as being the best guy on stage, and the entire lineup not being comparable to what the previous Olympia winners had faced. With each outing though, his conditioning seemed to get worse and worse, and Rhoden, even though in small steps, continued to improve without destroying his lines. So, when Rhoden one, he was certainly deserving.
Curry, in my opinion, has always been an amazingly complete bodybuilder, but never one I truly expected to win the top Spot at the Super Bowl of bodybuilding. Without actually seeing them all lined up side-by-side, just running off the top of my head I could see Rodan edging out both Curry and Phil.
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I do like Curry’a physique in general. Rhoden just comes off too small to me (small frame)
Isn’t Flex Lewis moving up to the open division this year too?
Also, I hope Rolly gets bumped out of the Final call out this year. His physique is just off to me. He has big arms but nothing else impressive in my mind.
If he control his gut, I think Phil will win
I think Phil had, and excelled at, a very particular look that was what they were looking for at the time. A very round, balloony kind of look. Compared to a guy like Branch who has that hard, grainy, blocky look.
It was very aesthetic. And for real the dude had the goods in terms of mass and proportions too. Like Phil or not I do think he deserved those sandows
Transport him back 10-20 years and he might not place as high. I don’t think that’s necessarily because of “better” competition, but just different eras and judging preferences.
Take out the outliers Ronnie and Dorian and he holds up very well. He could beat Jay I think, who I never really liked aesthetically.
2009 he just blew the doors off the place. I remember being at my brothers place for a pool party, and hiding inside his kitchen so I could watch the Olympia live feed on his laptop. As soon as Jay walked out you could tell, it was his show, and he knew it.
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Noooo please no more Ninja Turtle Heath!
I’m all for Rhoden, way more aesthetic.
I will take Rhoden over heath, but I think Curry has a great shot again. Past Os have shown favoritism to the reigning champ.
Bonac looked great earlier in the year too.
I reckon Phil will show up with a massive gut, as usual, which will knock him out of the running. That’ll leave Shawn and Brandon to battle it out - I’ve always thought they have relatively similar physiques, so it’ll come down to who nails their prep and looks best on the day. So yeah, Brandon has a good chance.
Ofc you have guys like Flex Lewis there too who might throw a wrench in the works, but I honestly have no idea how that would play out. The show’s going to be interesting that’s for sure.
He just needs to get one of Roelly’s girdles and he’ll be good. lol
That show was the only time I was ever like “holy shit” with Jay because he really came in crazy that year.
Still not a huge fan of the look, but there’s no denying the achievement there.
If Bonac, Roelly, Hadi, Deasha, Big Ramy cant compete because of travel restrictions, i believe both Flex Lewis and Hunter Labrada will be in the top 6. Steve Kuclo with his extra wide frame can even crack top 3 after Heath and Curry. By the way i think Rhoden wont be allowed to compete until his trial is over and he is found innocent.
Thats what I thought, but it seems to be (indirectly?) confirmed that he’s going to be competing.
I don’t think the IFBB is willing to put themselves in the legal position of barring someone not actually convicted of any crimes from earning income related to their livelihood. I’m no attorney, but I suppose I could ask Rick Collins if anyone is truly curious about the legal stance (I was just chatting with him last week, so I doubt he’d mind).
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Dexter beating him the year before probably lit a fire to not get beat twice. Remember, even after two wins he was sick of losing to Ronnie all those years.
A court doesn’t find someone guilty or innocent. It is guilty or not guilty. Not guilty is not the same as innocent. as a juror, I can think someone is not guilty of a crime, but not be convinced they are innocent.
It would be interesting to know - so far it’s really just speculation.
