Oh yes! In a few months, the biggest bodybuilding event in the world will be happening in Las Vegas!! And just like previous years, I just can't wait to see the results and the amazing bodies gracing the biggest stage in competitive bodybuilding! FYI to the people new to the sport, the Mr Olympia is like the FIFA World Cup of bodybuilding. Since the first Mr Olympia in 1965, only 12 men have been crowned Mr Olympia. Who will it be this time? Here's my predictions of the top ten for this year's Mr Olympia!
Let's start from ten to one. Don't skip everything and scroll straight down!
#10 Hidetada Yamagishi
Konichiwa from Japan! Hidetada is really busy this year. On his blog (yes, he blogs too), he wrote that he's planning to compete in every show in the US this year. Out of those competitions, he has won one of them (the Europa Show of Champions) and placed second in another two. And the reason why I placed him in 10th place instead of ahead of Toney Freeman and Ronnie Rockel is just because of that - he'll be so busy competing this year to completely focus on the Olympia. Then again, he has placed ahead of Toney twice (and Toney placed ahead of him once) this year. So, it'll be between them for 9th or 10th place.
#9 Toney Freeman
In the three competitions that Toney has taken part in so far in 2010, he placed 3rd, 4th and 5th. If he doesn't compete as often as Hide, he might be able to concentrate on the Mr Olympia. And if you're asking why I placed him behind Ronny Rockel even though Toney defeated Ronny at the Arnold Classic this year - it's because of age. Ronny has only competed in the Arnold Classic this year and he's 38. Toney is probably at the final years of his career at 44.
#8 Ronny Rockel
Ronny Rockel has competed only once so far this year where he placed 6th at the Arnold Classic. Taking time off competing will really help him place well at the Mr Olympia. And if he does repeat or improve on his rock-hard conditioning that he brought in for last year's Mr Olympia, he may place 7th or 8th place in this year's rendition of the event. Yes, 7th or 8th even with fantastic conditioning. I doubt that he will be able to break in the top six, because this year's top competitors are just the best that ever graced the Olympia stage.
#7 Roelly Winklaar
Roelly stepped on the big stage last year and blew everyone away. From someone who is unheard of and just turned pro, he is now one of the top dogs in the game. Recently, he defeated Toney, Hidetada and Dennis Wolf on stage. And at the Aussie Pro, he managed to clinch 3rd place, placing only behind Kai Greene and Dexter Jackson. His muscle bellies are rounded, arms are crazy huge and he has barely any eyes and lots of wrinkles on his face when he smiles, just like yours truly. :D It'll be between him and Ronny Rockel for 7th place, if both of them come in ripped.
#6 Dexter Jackson
Yes, I'm predicting that the one-time Mr Olympia will actually place this low this year. Not that Dexter got any worse. It's just that the young guns are chasing up quick and so is Dexter's age. Although Dexter is the most consistent and shredded on stage, Dexter lacks the crazy mass that the other top competitors have. Dexter is 41 this year and his placings on stage are beginning to fall. Looks like Dexter has passed his peak.
#5 Victor Martinez
Victor was able to place 6th last year at the Olympia despite having a knee surgery in 2008. Plus, he has to train through the pain of the tragic loss of his sister in 2009. And not too long ago, I remembered Victor had to prepare for a Mr Olympia after the passing of his mother. Seems like a very unlucky guy, huh? Victor has taken the whole year off competitions and this will help a lot. If his stars are in line this time, he'll be able to place higher than 5th. After all, Big Vic already has the size and total package. Just that his legs were obviously lagging last year. Once they are up to par (which they should be about now), he'll be able to threaten Jay for the title, just like in 2007.
#4 Branch Warren
Unless he's able to surprise the whole bodybuilding world again like he did last year, I doubt that Branch will be able to place higher than fourth. And to prove my point, Branch actually showed up at the Arnold Classic this year in a better condition that he did at last year's Mr Olympia yet he lost to Phil Heath and Kai Greene. And at the Olympia last year, Kai was off his best condition and Phil got a diarrhoea right before the event (I can soooo relate to this. Click here if you don't know what I'm talking about). If Kai and Phil come in at 100% this time, Branch will have a hard time defending his previous year's placing.
#3 Phil Heath
I'm a big fan of Phil because of his charisma, confidence and dynamism. Phil Heath is known to have made huge gains over a short period of time few years ago and he is still progressing! He's young at only 31 this year (which is considered young at bodybuilding's most prestigious event) and someday perhaps, he'll become Mr Olympia. But for now, Kai is making gains much faster than anyone in the pro circuit.
To prove my point, here is a photo of Phil and Kai at the 2006 Colorado Pro. Phil won the event, Kai got FOURTEENTH place. Kai was nowhere near Phil's development.
Remember, from then until now, Phil made tremendous progress. Just look at him now and then.
Even so, Kai developed faster! Just look at Kai then and now! And looks like Kai did not cut his hair since then too.
#2 Kai Greene
I had a tough decision whether to put Kai in first or second place. Kai is on a roll now that he won the Arnold Classic for the second time and defeated all the top bodybuilders (save Jay Cutler) in the process. Now there's just the big wolf on top of the mountain that Kai has to defeat. And Kai does have a chance of snatching Jay's throne away from him. Kai is a mental warrior! This guy is focused! Click here to watch his training video. I'm a big fan of Kai too. I was once so focused on Kai Greene's training video that my girlfriend yelled at me, "Fuck Kai Greene! Talk to meeeee!". :D
That being said, I'm surprised that Kai even has time for a girlfriend. However, she's Dayana Cadeau, a female bodybuilder, so I guess she understands his needs and ambitions. Anyway, all the best to Kai. With his crazily striated quads, huge back, paper fan-like obliques and creative posing routines, he may just be Mr Olympia this year.
#1 Jay Cutler
And now we have the wolf on top of the mountain, trying hard to fend off the pack of wolves trying to knock him off. Ok, enough of the metaphors. Jay has taken time off any other competitions to concentrate on the Mr Olympia (which seems to be the tactic of most previous Mr Olympias after winning the title at least once) and in my opinion, that will make a huge difference in his Mr Olympia preparation. Competition is superbly intense now that if Jay repeats his mistake like in 2008 (coming in less-than-stellar condition), he will fall. If he repeats his 2009 condition, he'll probably defend his title.
Possible Surprises
This is the list of some people who could possibly make it into the top ten.
Dennis Wolf
After his fall from 4th place to out of the top 15 at the Olympia, Dennis Wolf went from top news to old news in a day, which is quite sad for him and his fans. But if Dennis Wolf could learn from his lesson and dial in his condition this time, he might be in the top ten.
Melvin Anthony
Melvin is someone who was very very familiar with top ten placings at the Olympia, having been in there for five out of seven times but just missed it by a spot last year because of the rise in competitiveness. This year so far, he has defeated two guys who I predict to be in the top ten - Toney and Hide. So, let's see if he makes back home aka top ten.
Ronnie Coleman
WHAT?! Ronnie Coleman making a comeback?? Possibly. Last year, Ronnie announced that he would be making a comeback at the 2010 Mr Olympia now that his lat injury has healed. However, this might be a publicity stunt for his sponsor, BSN, and might not be true. But if he does make a comeback, boy oh boy it will be great to see the once most dominant Mr Olympia on stage again!
So who do you think will win the Mr Olympia this year? Vote in the poll at the right panel!
Note: All photos were taken from Bodybuilding.com, the most complete bodybuilding website in the world.
Let's start from ten to one. Don't skip everything and scroll straight down!
#10 Hidetada Yamagishi
Konichiwa from Japan! Hidetada is really busy this year. On his blog (yes, he blogs too), he wrote that he's planning to compete in every show in the US this year. Out of those competitions, he has won one of them (the Europa Show of Champions) and placed second in another two. And the reason why I placed him in 10th place instead of ahead of Toney Freeman and Ronnie Rockel is just because of that - he'll be so busy competing this year to completely focus on the Olympia. Then again, he has placed ahead of Toney twice (and Toney placed ahead of him once) this year. So, it'll be between them for 9th or 10th place.#9 Toney Freeman
In the three competitions that Toney has taken part in so far in 2010, he placed 3rd, 4th and 5th. If he doesn't compete as often as Hide, he might be able to concentrate on the Mr Olympia. And if you're asking why I placed him behind Ronny Rockel even though Toney defeated Ronny at the Arnold Classic this year - it's because of age. Ronny has only competed in the Arnold Classic this year and he's 38. Toney is probably at the final years of his career at 44.#8 Ronny Rockel
Ronny Rockel has competed only once so far this year where he placed 6th at the Arnold Classic. Taking time off competing will really help him place well at the Mr Olympia. And if he does repeat or improve on his rock-hard conditioning that he brought in for last year's Mr Olympia, he may place 7th or 8th place in this year's rendition of the event. Yes, 7th or 8th even with fantastic conditioning. I doubt that he will be able to break in the top six, because this year's top competitors are just the best that ever graced the Olympia stage.#7 Roelly Winklaar
Roelly stepped on the big stage last year and blew everyone away. From someone who is unheard of and just turned pro, he is now one of the top dogs in the game. Recently, he defeated Toney, Hidetada and Dennis Wolf on stage. And at the Aussie Pro, he managed to clinch 3rd place, placing only behind Kai Greene and Dexter Jackson. His muscle bellies are rounded, arms are crazy huge and he has barely any eyes and lots of wrinkles on his face when he smiles, just like yours truly. :D It'll be between him and Ronny Rockel for 7th place, if both of them come in ripped.#6 Dexter Jackson
Yes, I'm predicting that the one-time Mr Olympia will actually place this low this year. Not that Dexter got any worse. It's just that the young guns are chasing up quick and so is Dexter's age. Although Dexter is the most consistent and shredded on stage, Dexter lacks the crazy mass that the other top competitors have. Dexter is 41 this year and his placings on stage are beginning to fall. Looks like Dexter has passed his peak.#5 Victor Martinez
Victor was able to place 6th last year at the Olympia despite having a knee surgery in 2008. Plus, he has to train through the pain of the tragic loss of his sister in 2009. And not too long ago, I remembered Victor had to prepare for a Mr Olympia after the passing of his mother. Seems like a very unlucky guy, huh? Victor has taken the whole year off competitions and this will help a lot. If his stars are in line this time, he'll be able to place higher than 5th. After all, Big Vic already has the size and total package. Just that his legs were obviously lagging last year. Once they are up to par (which they should be about now), he'll be able to threaten Jay for the title, just like in 2007.#4 Branch Warren
Unless he's able to surprise the whole bodybuilding world again like he did last year, I doubt that Branch will be able to place higher than fourth. And to prove my point, Branch actually showed up at the Arnold Classic this year in a better condition that he did at last year's Mr Olympia yet he lost to Phil Heath and Kai Greene. And at the Olympia last year, Kai was off his best condition and Phil got a diarrhoea right before the event (I can soooo relate to this. Click here if you don't know what I'm talking about). If Kai and Phil come in at 100% this time, Branch will have a hard time defending his previous year's placing.#3 Phil Heath
I'm a big fan of Phil because of his charisma, confidence and dynamism. Phil Heath is known to have made huge gains over a short period of time few years ago and he is still progressing! He's young at only 31 this year (which is considered young at bodybuilding's most prestigious event) and someday perhaps, he'll become Mr Olympia. But for now, Kai is making gains much faster than anyone in the pro circuit.To prove my point, here is a photo of Phil and Kai at the 2006 Colorado Pro. Phil won the event, Kai got FOURTEENTH place. Kai was nowhere near Phil's development.
Remember, from then until now, Phil made tremendous progress. Just look at him now and then.
Even so, Kai developed faster! Just look at Kai then and now! And looks like Kai did not cut his hair since then too.
#2 Kai Greene
I had a tough decision whether to put Kai in first or second place. Kai is on a roll now that he won the Arnold Classic for the second time and defeated all the top bodybuilders (save Jay Cutler) in the process. Now there's just the big wolf on top of the mountain that Kai has to defeat. And Kai does have a chance of snatching Jay's throne away from him. Kai is a mental warrior! This guy is focused! Click here to watch his training video. I'm a big fan of Kai too. I was once so focused on Kai Greene's training video that my girlfriend yelled at me, "Fuck Kai Greene! Talk to meeeee!". :D
That being said, I'm surprised that Kai even has time for a girlfriend. However, she's Dayana Cadeau, a female bodybuilder, so I guess she understands his needs and ambitions. Anyway, all the best to Kai. With his crazily striated quads, huge back, paper fan-like obliques and creative posing routines, he may just be Mr Olympia this year.
#1 Jay Cutler
And now we have the wolf on top of the mountain, trying hard to fend off the pack of wolves trying to knock him off. Ok, enough of the metaphors. Jay has taken time off any other competitions to concentrate on the Mr Olympia (which seems to be the tactic of most previous Mr Olympias after winning the title at least once) and in my opinion, that will make a huge difference in his Mr Olympia preparation. Competition is superbly intense now that if Jay repeats his mistake like in 2008 (coming in less-than-stellar condition), he will fall. If he repeats his 2009 condition, he'll probably defend his title.
Possible Surprises
This is the list of some people who could possibly make it into the top ten.
Dennis Wolf
After his fall from 4th place to out of the top 15 at the Olympia, Dennis Wolf went from top news to old news in a day, which is quite sad for him and his fans. But if Dennis Wolf could learn from his lesson and dial in his condition this time, he might be in the top ten.
Melvin Anthony
Melvin is someone who was very very familiar with top ten placings at the Olympia, having been in there for five out of seven times but just missed it by a spot last year because of the rise in competitiveness. This year so far, he has defeated two guys who I predict to be in the top ten - Toney and Hide. So, let's see if he makes back home aka top ten.
Ronnie Coleman
WHAT?! Ronnie Coleman making a comeback?? Possibly. Last year, Ronnie announced that he would be making a comeback at the 2010 Mr Olympia now that his lat injury has healed. However, this might be a publicity stunt for his sponsor, BSN, and might not be true. But if he does make a comeback, boy oh boy it will be great to see the once most dominant Mr Olympia on stage again!
So who do you think will win the Mr Olympia this year? Vote in the poll at the right panel!
Note: All photos were taken from Bodybuilding.com, the most complete bodybuilding website in the world.
