THE "NO BULL ONLINE" HARCORE BODYBUILDING AND STEROID MAG

NO BULL 32
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B.B's Last Stand  

 

Coleman takes the day - again!   I almost didn't make the Olympia this year. After just getting married and coming home from our honeymoon I was basically skint! So firstly I want to say a huge thanks to Mick Hart for helping to make it possible. I also want to thank fellow No Bull members Gene Clinton and son 'Lil Gene Clinton (picture below) for your kind hospitality whilst I was in the US. Finally I want to thank my wife Michelle for her support in me making the trip by myself. This year was the 38th Mr Olympia and was again held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, which now looks to be the new permanent home of future Olympia weekends. This being my second trip out to see the Olympia I have to say that the standard of competition was far better than last year. Total prize money for this years Mr O was $381,000 with the winner also receiving a Cadillac Escalade SUV donated by Pinnacle Bodyonix. For the first time ever the show was broadcast live on Pay per View at $24. Apparently they took a big risk in doing this as last year when they piloted the web broadcasting of the show only 923 people worldwide actually subscribed to it. Triple H presented the live broadcast. I actually met him when I was training in Gold's there and he was a really pleasant guy. Apparently this paid off as Joe Weider announced at the evening show that there were at least 10,000 people watching via pay per view and the web. Another addition to this years show was the conjunction of Joe Weider's Martial Arts weekend. Being from a martial arts background myself the weekend was a double treat for me. There were some phenomenal displays during the expo and the show intermissions by athletes of all styles from traditional to UFC. They also hosted the first ever trial run of a bikini contest. Obviously trying to attract more male fans to the show, but hey, it works and the sport definitely needs more fans if it is to continue. The Expo was really good this year with over 125 different companies being represented. Next year it is planned to be held in the Mandalay Bay's brand new conference centre, which is currently being built and has been predicted to be the biggest Expo for anything, anywhere. That's how big the bodybuilding and fitness industry is in the USA. Kevin Levarone During the Press Conference a few questions were raised regarding the future of the shows. Firstly about the Ms Olympia prize money being so low. Wayne DeMilia stated that the Ms & Fitness Olympia shows do not raise enough money to pay for themselves and that they only continued to run though funding from the Mr show. Next year there are plans to run a new show called the Pro Figure division. It is supposed to be like fitness but without the acrobatics and dance routines. They have no idea on prize money or even if there will be any at all, so it is basically a test run to see if it can bring the money in and hopefully help support the other women's categories. Another point raised was that of the competitors placed below the top 10 not receiving any prize money at all. Wayne DeMilia said that Shaun Ray had organised for former Mr Olympia's to present cheques to the other athletes from donations but it never happened because nobody paid up other than Dennis James. I got to hear Shaun Ray's side of the story later on too but that's another story… He also stated that by not everyone receiving a prize it keeps the competitors hungrier to win and that they do get their flights, hotels and limo paid for plus the opportunity to sell their merchandise and photos at the expo. Milos Sarcev kept up the issue complaining how 15 men will have worked for no pay cheque. When Wayne told him to sit down, as this wasn't the place, Milos retorted that the press conference was exactly the place to discuss it as what seemed like the entire audience booed Wayne. Last year it was stated that the judges would be there to also be asked questions. When asked where they were we were told they were at the front but had no room to fit them on stage also. By this time it was nearing the end and no mention had been made that they were there so no questions got asked of them. Gunter Schlierkamp Sadly this year two of the competitors suffered tragic personal losses prior to the show. Vicky Gates' mum passed away a week before the show. Vicky stated "She wouldn't quit her battle and neither will I so I am dedicating my show to her". Dareem Charles' mother was murdered in Brooklyn two weeks prior to the show. Dareem speaks a little about it in the Road to Olympia video. It is amazing the dedication of the athletes to train through such a difficult time and shows what true champions they really are. The main talk running up to the show had to be about Jay Cutler "will he or won't he?" He qualified for the show but then decided he wouldn't enter. Many had suspected it was to allow Ronnie to "bow out gracefully" or that he would make a surprise last minute entrance. Well he didn't compete and when I saw him at the expo, although he looked massive, was nowhere near competition shape. When Ronnie was asked at the press conference if he could see himself being a future Masters winner he laughed and said "you tryin' to retire me already?" he plans to keep hold of his Mr title for at least a couple more years yet. Juliette Bergman Fitness Olympia Lisa Reed in her first appearance, Stacy Hilton also in a superb first appearance, Tanji Johnson first appearance, Anna Lovell first appearance, Sharon Meteraud, Christine Bergenon, Stacy Simons (incredible routine), Tracey Greenwood, Alexandra Koielak, Laurie Vaniman. 5th place Jenny Hendershot 4th place Adela Freidmanski 3rd place Jenny Worth 2nd place Kelly Ryan 1st place Susie Curry Ms. Olympia - Lightweight Susanne Niederhauser - good symmetry, athletic lines but a little smooth especially around the glutes, also hit the same poses too many times. Angela Debatin - superb quad separation and ham development, excellent balance particularly in her back detail. Laura Crevalle - smaller and not her former self. Her waist was tight and back looked good but she was a little smooth. Sophie Duchette - her back was absolutely shredded but lower body looked smooth. Excellent routine to "Bad to the bone". 3rd place Fanny Barrios - at 5'1 ½" she was the shortest women in Ms class. Really good condition and excellent back. 2nd place Valentina Chepiega - went with classical ballet style routine. She was absolutely shredded and had superb striations across her triceps and quads. 1st place Juliette Bergman - Last years overall Ms Olympia. She looked even better this year; the total package with no faults at all. Cut, balanced with superb muscle shape and detail. Ms. Heavyweights Yaxeni Oriquen - great traps, big ripped back, very muscular. Dayana Cadeau - moved up to heavyweight class this year. Good quad separation but a bit smooth, especially her back Beth Roberts - Striated right down her quads, good delts but needs more size in the triceps. Nancy Lewis - shredded, good hams. Very muscular, wide lat spread, striated pecs, good leg separation. Perhaps marked down through lack of femininity, as she should have placed higher seeing as it is a bodybuilding show. Betty Viana - not well prepared for show, looked smooth and not much size when compared to the other girls. 3rd place Vicky Gates - Her balance in delts is unbelievable. A little smoother than I've seen her but considering the traumatic time she was going through she looked good. She was unable to finish her routine as her emotions took over after a vocal in the posing track, which said, "this is for you mum". To get as far as she did took guts and the whole crowd was behind her. 2nd place Iris Kyle - very deep cuts in back and legs, great symmetry. Lenda Murray 1st place Lenda Murray - Started off with the Terminator routine then speeded things up for a fantastic routine. Again faultless symmetry, her 'V' is absolutely amazing. She was totally back on form after her time off and was shredded, big, yet still looking feminine. Overall Ms O winner The battle for overall had to be the tightest I have ever seen. Both girls looked incredible and stood together it must have been a tough call for the judges. I thought that the only thing Bergman had on Murray was lower, bigger calves, whereas Lenda had a better V taper at the waist. In the end it was Lenda Murray who was crowned victorious and it was my opinion that she deserved it, just! Mr Olympia The evening show was once again opened with the US National Anthem sang by ex Mr Olympia Chris Dikerson. There were a few words from Wayne DeMilia, Joe and Ben Weider before the show commenced. Mr Olympia Don Youngblood - made his debut appearance after qualifying through winning the Masters Olympia where he beat the then current champ Vince Taylor. Taylor has since decided to give up on the master's show as he was attempting to equal Lee Haney's record of 8 Sandows in a row. Don was in excellent condition for the Olympia. Very vascular and superb striations in his delts. His back was shredded with huge traps and big mid traps. He came out to heavy rock then switched to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean and back to rock again. An excellent poser but you could tell he was hiding his front abs a lot as he posed as they genetically have no deep cuts and look flat. Absolutely incredible for a man of 47 though. Tommi Thorveldsen - This years youngest competitor at 27 in his first appearance. He looked improved but needs more size to his upper body to compete with the big boys. Legs looked big but overall he needed to be dryer and harder. Did his trademark backflip in his routine which always gets the fans going. He came out to a mix of dance including the dance remix of "Braveheart" theme then went into a rap mix. It was a very good and entertaining routine to watch. Chris Cormier Jaroslav Horvath - Another first timer to the Olympia stage. Had great symmetry and very small waist but needs bigger arms, especially triceps. Deep ridges in his abs, which were very symmetrical. In terms of size though he looked a bit outclassed when in the lineup. He used a slow soul track and did some nice classical posing but looked a bit under tanned as well. Gustavo Badell - one of the smaller guys but a great symmetrical shape, excellent 'V' taper and quite dry. Abs and thigh pose looked great. His rear triceps looked really good as did his delts. Didn't get many call outs at pre judging. Again a first time competitor. One thing that was noticeable was that his skin was in quite bad condition with loads of spots. He also wore these awful blue velvet trunks. Posed slowly to powerful classical music. King Kamail - His chest looked a lot bigger and he seems to have added a lot of size generally but his condition was way off compared to last year. His back looked massively wide but his triceps looked too small in comparison to his other improvements. Despite being in less than great shape he still managed to entertain the crowd with again a thoroughly entertaining routine. Most would agree it was the best posing routine of the night and he still had the crowd in a frenzy. George Farrah - made his first appearance after a remarkable recovery from being shot three times in his younger days. I was really impressed with this guys outer quads, the outer just sticks right out overshadowing the knee. Our own Paul Scarborough's are quite a similar shape if readers saw his pics in a previous No Bull. He just needs a little overall size now, particularly in his rear triceps. Posed to James Brown's "Get on up" then into Biggie Smalls. Very good poser. Flex Wheeler Darrem Charles - Although not his usual self due to his tragic family loss he was truly inspirational to the fans to even be up there. He still looked good with nice triceps and a superb delt/triceps tie in. Great striations in the quads and he looked a lot better in the evening show. He just appeared to have lost size but was still in shape. He posed classically in memory of his mother to a slow track then stepped up the pace with Eminem's "Lose yourself" with a little body popping and a moonwalk. Francisco Bautista - Very hard, impressive quads and a freaky slit in his triceps. He did appear to have gyno though. This was his first appearance after qualifying in his first ever IFBB show, the Night of the Champions. He was a little smooth at pre judging but looked far better in the evening coming out bone dry and striated to KLF tracks. Great calves. Bob Chicherillo - Looked quite good with a tight midsection and a tiny waist, which is really good for a guy that is 6 ft tall. He was a little smoother in the evening but had excellent triceps. Beautiful posing to a classical track and a very good first Olympia appearance. Claude Groulx - Good hams and calves, very balanced delts with superb detail. Bis looked a bit swollen. He did a pose where he bowed forward with his arms out to the sides making his delts and traps look fantastic. The symmetry and balance in them is perfect. His routine was quite fast, perhaps a little too fast and his music mixed and changed a lot with snippets from many hip hop and soul tracks. 15th place Nasser El Sonbaty - His waist looked smaller and quite cut. Arms were huge but looked smooth and lacking definition. His back looked a bit narrow but he did have overall better symmetry than last year. Rear delts still looked overly big and pointy but definitely more natural looking than last year. His calves looked particularly good with amazing splits and separation. He stuck with what he is best at though with a slow and powerful routine to a remix of the music from The Omen. 14th place Ernie Taylor - turned up in what I thought was the best shape of his life. The first half of prejudging he didn't get many call outs but as soon as he did get called out he seemed to be up there for loads of comparison calls. His condition was superb, legs much bigger than before and waist was tiny. I thought he should have placed in the top ten. The question about his triceps was raised at the press conference and he stated that they are real, just genetically gifted. He mentioned that he had tendon surgery through wear and tear and is due for some more so had not even been training them to try and bring the rest of his physique up to match. Although they are still disproportionately too big I think he has done a good job in balancing things these last couple of years and if he continues to do so will be a serious threat to those currently at the top. Posing routine was good and he kept a smile on his face all day so looked like he was enjoying it. As usual he did his splits at the end. I guess the judges may have marked him down regardless but at the end of the day I doubt there are many pro bodybuilders at all that haven't enhanced some bodyparts any way they can; so regardless of what they think, it is wrong to point the finger at any one person. Ernie, I thought you did us Brits proud mate. Hope to see you kicking ass next year! Art Atwood 13th place Ahmad Haidar - tight and very classic lines. I have seen this guy shredded and when he is, his midsection is unbeatable. He was quite close to his best and still looked good but I have seen him better. I just hope he doesn't start adding too much more mass in coming years to match the bigger lads, as his balance is currently excellent. Possibly could use a little more leg and calf size. His posing routine was good and he hit loads and loads of different poses. 12th place Art Atwood - For his first appearance in the Olympia I thought he was excellent. All of his muscles seemed big particularly his traps and neck which were monstrous. Somehow though it just didn't seem to all tie in together properly. Loads of lines across his well separated quads, superb rear double biceps pose with great lower back. Freaky hams and glutes but something was missing in terms of balance. He had a very slightly distended gut and when stood front on looked a little thick waisted. I believe with a bit of fine tuning and balancing things out that Atwood will be a big name in the future, bear in mind he's only 28. 11th place Craig Titus - was much improved since I last saw him. He seems to have improved all over really with the exception of chest, which looked about the same as last year. His quads looked much wider, especially the teardrop with really deep splits. Condition was much better, very hard and dry. His routine was much improved and you could tell he'd borrowed a few moves and worked hard on it. Loads of music changes but mostly hip hop with added sound effects. 10th place Dennis James - Bigger than last year, particularly in the chest. Hams looked great as usual. He did look quite smooth though particularly in the legs and his lats appeared higher somehow. Abs still appeared very deeply chiselled though and triceps were massive but he seemed to have lost some arm detail too. Again in his pre contest pics he looked far better so the long flight from Thailand must have taken it's toll on him again, unless he just peaked too early. His routine was good and he moves very well from pose to pose. Started slow then switched into a hip hop mix including some Dr Dre. Received prize money of $10,000. 9th place Orville Burke - His back seemed even bigger which threw his symmetry off. He tended to overly show it during his routine although the routine was OK. He wasn't quite as sharp as last year either and his belly was a slightly distended. He won prize money of $12,000. Craig Titus 8th place Markus Ruhl - Huge as usual. His gut still looked a bit distended but he had loads of detail in his intercostals area and a perfect Christmas tree on his lower back. His waist was slightly smaller or at least it gave that illusion and his balance was a lot better. Calves seemed improved and they were massive to start with. Delts still ridiculously huge with bigger thighs and a higher peak in his biceps. Came out as usual to a Rammstein track the switched to Nelly's "Hot in here". The crowd loved him for his sheer size and he got a huge reaction. I was glad to see him crack the top ten after being robbed last year. This year he took home $13,000. 7th place Flex Wheeler - The comeback that many fans had been waiting for after Flex took some time out to rediscover himself and his beliefs. He had superb symmetry and balance, a physique, which I have admired for many years. His front was a little smooth (front quads and abs) but back showed superb detail; really deep lines. Biceps peak looked really good and he still had his flexibility, dropping into the splits again. Flex apparently competed without the use of any drugs this year. Shaun Ray, Lee Priest, Vince Taylor and Lenda Murray also said it was true; being friends of his. His routine was great and he came out to Whitney Houston's Bodyguard. Just the bit that says "If I should stay then I'd only be in your way" Then dropped into an edited version of Eminem's "Guess who's back" only it said "Flex is back" and LL Cool J's "Don't call it a comeback" amongst other tracks. He then did a bit of a piss take of Coleman by whipping off the trunks at the end to reveal a second pair in stars and stripes (exactly how Ronnie did it in 2001). He took away prize money of $15,000. The Final Six As usual the posedown consisted of the top six men. It was a great posedown to watch and this year they stayed on stage as opposed to going off into the crowd. It was entertaining that they did that last year but very difficult for the fans to see them all, as well as the cameras. Considering it was live on pay per view this year I am guessing they were requested to stay on stage. The 1st place Cadillac Escalade was also driven out on stage and the keys were handed to the winner. 6th place Lee Priest - winning $25,000. He looked great and was definitely the most ripped man of the day. I have never seen him so dry and vascular. Arms and forearms were phenomenal as usual although his chest looked like he could add a little more thickness. Definitely the best condition I've ever seen him in. He posed to a slow song hitting some classical poses and the crowd went wild. In the posedown he hit a front double bicep right in front of Schlierkamp also hitting one and they held it for the crowd for a laugh. The height difference of 9" seemed like 2ft and was really funny for the spectators. 5th place Gunter Schlierkamp - was definitely in the best shape of his life. He was massive, absolutely shredded and seemed to have brought his waist down some. It also seemed to tie in better. The striations across his chest in most muscular pose were just incredible and his quads were really well separated and defined. Heaviest and tallest man on stage at 300lb, 6'1". He posed slowly to a rock track hitting powerful poses at just the right times and the crowd loved it. When the top ten competitors were handed out the medals he received a standing ovation from the crowds. Many believed he should have placed in the top three and a few booed when he got 5th but as he walked off stage he grabbed the microphone and said, "Don't worry, I'm happy. I just want to let you all know that you made my day and that means more to me than the placing". He received $30,000. Dexter Jackson 4th place Dexter Jackson - was in superb condition. As usual his symmetry was spot on. Great routine with lots of ab shots which were incredible. Got the crowd roaring posing to Tony Music's "I came to Party - your girl looking at me" Not one of the bigger guys but he was on form and has the ideal shape. I was surprised he placed so highly though. He took home $40,000. 3rd place Chris Cormier - Sporting a new shaved head look was much improved on last year in terms of muscle mass but was still slightly smooth, particularly in the upper body. His legs did look very striated though especially the hams. Came out to a boxing type announcement and posed to a hip hop mixture, ending after his famous abs ripple. Personally I didn't think he should have placed as highly this year, maybe the judges have a thing for the ass shake he always does on stage. He made $50,000 plus the Bronze Sandow and medal. 2nd place Kevin Levrone - looked far better than last year. I guess spending more time on bodybuilding and less on trying to be a rock star paid off. Kevin also suffered from a hernia this year so to recover and come back in such good shape is amazing. His legs, which I thought were lagging last year, were again top form. Kevin also has a physique, which I have admired for many years, with his tiny waist, superb balance and classical athletic lines. He really got the crowd going in both pre judging and the evening show. Posing routine was slow and classical to a new rock track called "What is the truth". He looked much sharper in the evening show than in pre judging so a lot of the crowd thought he had been robbed, having not seen how much better Ronnie looked in the morning. He really is entertaining and outstanding to watch. He won $75,000 plus the silver Sandow and medal. Lee Priest 1st place and Mr Olympia Ronnie Coleman - At prejudging it was obvious to all why Ronnie is number one. He looked absolutely incredible. His waist looked smaller as if he'd had some ribs removed and he had cross striations and freaky lines in his lower back that I have never seen before. It was like someone had carved them in. Every pose was faultless and literally made you gasp in total amazement. His lats just seemed to jump up as he flexed them and were the widest perfect manta ray I've ever seen on the lat spread. He was really dry and had further striations all down his triceps. By the evening show I just don't know what happened. Maybe he figured he'd already won so ate a few pizza's but his condition, although as good as last year was not anywhere near what he had in the morning. Most people only ever see the evening show and by then I would agree that Levrone did have the edge whereas condition was concerned so there were a lot of boos at the decision. However, Coleman absolutely walked the morning rounds and I am so glad to have been there to witness what must have been the most perfectly developed physique in the best condition, ever. His evening routine was good and he came out to DMX saying "You will not take this away from me!" then into a Hip Hop mix with some James Brown. Ronnie Coleman He also demonstrated his flexibility at the end by dropping into the side splits (almost - his back leg was bent a bit but still impressive for a guy that size nevertheless). He still had a lot of detail in the evening, it was just that his distended gut seemed to have returned and there was water over his abs, thighs and lower back compared to the marvel I saw in the morning. Ronnie took home the prize of $110,000, the SUV, the gold Sandow and medal. Jay Cutler may have rocked Ronnie a little last year but if he can repeat this years performance and hold it through to the evening show I think he can stay at the top as long as he wants to. There are some interesting new hopefuls on the rise too and we have yet to see how improved the young Cutler will return after his year off the O so I ain't gonna speak too soon. Next year promises to be another fantastic show with the many additions and hopefully a bit more money in the pot for further improvements from the pay per view success. I certainly hope that I can make it again. Darren Sherlock.