2003 Mr. Olympia - by ~bigshug~
OK, I’d like to start my little competitor by competitor assessment of the O a little differently. Unfortunately, most of the bodybuilding and fitness sites on the internet get a seriously bad rap from most of the pros simply because the members of these online communities talk too much trash about which pros look great and which ones look like crap.

Well, I’m here to tell you that NONE of them looks like crap. Anyone non pro who thinks otherwise is living in some sort of a dream world because, let’s face it, if you were really THAT good it’d be you I was writing about and not them. So, much respect to all of this years competitors. All are winners in their own respects as the O isn’t a show just anyone can enter. No, you must either place in the top 3 at an IFBB sanctioned show OR receive a special invitation. That said, we all have our own opinions about who should and should not have placed here or there and this is mine. Don’t agree? Let us know and maybe you’ll be in next month’s e-zine with your own rebuttal. So, without further adieu here’s the line up of the top five finishers…

Wait. Time out! I think before I start this I need to say – to all you Cutler and Schleirkamp fans – I TOLD YOU SO! Regardless of what you thought of the Coleman of years past, the two aforementioned bodybuilders by comparison are outclassed to put it mildly. Whew! That felt nice. I got really tired this year of all the dreamers who thought a dumptruck in posing trunks would upset the reigning champ. Politics? Nah, this time the true warrior, the true champion brought his “A” game and no one else was even close…

2003 Mr. Olympia Contest Results

1. Ronnie Coleman
2. Jay Cutler
3. Dexter Jackson
4. Dennis James
5. Gunter Schlierkamp
6. Kevin Levrone
7. Darrem Charles
8. Troy Alves
9. Melvin Anthony
10. Ernie Taylor
11. Johnny Jackson
12. Rodney St.Cloud

1st Place – Ronnie Coleman. I almost get goosebumps from this win. From the moment the Texas titan stepped onstage, all the naysayers were quieted and all the Coleman fans were bringing the roof down. 287 pounds of ripped, striated muscle on a 5’11” frame. Ronnie was up almost 40 pounds from last year.

Obviously, he and Chad Nicholls used the GNC show robbery from 2002 to fuel the fire for this year’s Olympia. It worked. I’ve never seen such mass on anyone at contest time. It honestly looked as if someone implanted muscle on top of muscle into Ronnie’s body. Ronnie’s split biceps are quite possibly the best in the sport, and his back…well, no one in the history of bodybuilding is even close to his back. Not Haney. Not Dorian. Not Columbo. There, I said it. To think of any bodybuilder who can still deadlift in the 800’s just weeks from a show proves my point. Ronnie’s back was absolutely awesome. His glutes, not that I was looking of course were striated beyond belief and even the famed GH gut everyone speaks of was either kept under control or maybe – just maybe – his belly from shows past really WAS the result of carbing up too high come show time to avoid coming in too flat. Whatever the case, the man was on and in the condition he displayed he’ll keep winning the O until he decides he has too many Sandows in his collection.

2nd Place – Jay Cutler. Jay has unfortunately become a victim of the “too many shows” sickness. Jay certainly has a top notch physique despite some minor flaws but in my opinion he should have taken more time away from the lesser shows and concentrated mainly on the Olympia…especially since he talked SO much shit about how he wasn’t worried at all about the outcome. Everyone can say what they want about Coleman vs. Cutler but the simple fact is that even when Ronnie’s off, he’s still a better bodybuilder than Jay on his best day. That said, Jay is most impressive from the front. His abs look like they’re plastered to his spine somehow or another and his quads are from another planet altogether…although, they did look somewhat smaller this go ‘round than in the past. Once again, most likely the result of too many shows and not enough prep time for the O. Jay’s weakness is his back. His lower back lacks detail and even this time his normally sharp hamstrings were a bit smooth looking. In any case, he was still good enough to come in as the second best bodybuilder in the world…not too shabby, huh?

3rd Place – Dexter Jackson. Dexter should’ve beaten Jay. Dexter DID beat Jay at the GNC show of strength just a few weeks later, but that’s another story altogether. Regardless of what anyone says about Dex’s size, he’s in shape and razor sharp every time he competes. This year, he’d put on ten extra pounds of muscle and it blew everyone away. It should’ve blown Jay out of second place, too. Dexter had no weak points. No smoothness. No water retention here and there. Nothing. Everything Dexter had been criticized for in the past had been brought up to par. I’m still scratching my head as to why he keeps getting looked over but at the very least he edged out everyone else for third place AND he kicked the crap out of Cutler for a hundred grand check a few weeks later. Dex is, in some respects, finally getting what’s due to him and if the others aren’t careful they may find themselves getting beaten a bit more frequently by him in the not too distant future.

4th place – Dennis James. All I can say is – IT’S ABOUT TIME! Dennis has the amazing ability to look absolutely incredible a week or so out from a contest and then lose significant amounts of muscle from then up to the show. Particularly in his lower pecs, Dennis seems to have trouble holding onto the muscle mass until the fateful day. Not this time. Whatever Chad Nicholls and he put together for this show worked in terms of training and diet and the Menace was finally able to put it all into place for a kick ass showing. Dennis is another one to watch for as he’s beaten top pros like Cormier in the past and if he can keep his momentum going he and Dexter could signal a changing of the guard of sorts in terms of who’s placing highest in competitions.

5th Place – Gunter Schlierkamp. I’m going to start this one by saying that Gunter is with out question, one of the friendliest bodybuilders on the planet. Totally approachable and very appreciative of his fans to say the least. That said, he should never have beaten Ronnie at the GNC last year and he should not be placing so high at the Olympia. I’m thinking Gunter started believing some of his own hype in thinking he could really beat Mr. O at his own show, and while fifth place should have taken some wind out of his sails he still placed higher than he should have. Gunter is a very big man and very tall which unfortunately works to his disadvantage. Despite all the improvements he’s made in his back and upper body, he still needs bigger arms all around and a thicker chest to come to par with his outstanding leg development. His waist is way too wide to have it any differently. Gunter was awarded this position based on the momentum he gained by placing so high last year and then somehow beating Ronnie at the GNC. Gunter coming in any lighter than 300 pounds is never going to award him top honors as Ronnie was almost there and he’s a few inches shorter!

Well, there you have the top five placings. There were some notable disappointments in the show of course. The first was Kevin’s gift. “What gift?” you say. The sixth place gift he was given that ensures he won’t have to work to get another Olympia berth next year. Kevin’s mind is obviously not into bodybuilding anymore but rather on his band and his music. Shame really, as he’s a much better bodybuilder than he is a singer…and he’s not a bad singer, either. This whole thing of his with training only 4 months out and putting on forty pounds of muscle in that time is not allowing him to show at his fullest potential. Look at his pictures circa the mid nineties. Back when he was winning Arnold Classics. Kevin’s physique was awesome despite his structural flaws… but his overall size and conditioning overshadowed all that. Now it seems as if he’s left his legs somewhere else and borrowed a pair from a treetop nest to take him to the Olympia. Not gonna work, Kevin. Get your head straight and win this show like you’ve said you were going to.

The next very disappointing showing was from Lee Priest. Another guy who’s mind’s not into bodybuilding. Lee, either race your cars or lift some weights. All this talk about giving prize money away only works if you actually WIN some money, capiche? Now, if he even wants to enter the O next year he’ll have to diet and train for another show and hope for a top placing. My take? He may take this opportunity to retire. Lee came in to this show a good 6 weeks off and with a haircut so ridiculous I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Hey Lee, NASCAR tattoos aren’t cool on anyone, OK? I liked it better when you had the Superman thing going on. You look more like a comic book character when you’re in shape than you do Jeff Gordon.

HUGE props go to competitors who came in injured. Although Kevin's legs weren't with him this year, his triceps were which is an amazing accomplishment since he had torn them during pulldowns about 2 months prior. Gunter, too, somehow contracted a staph infection in his leg but managed to still show up heavier than he did last year and finally Art Atwood also had a freak accident that injured his quad during a guest appearance. The injury apparantly made it difficult for him to hit some of the mandatories but he still toughed it out.....this is a real group of warriors to say the least!

All things considered, this was a great contest. Even without Titus, Ruhl, Kamali and others the competition still served up a great show. One that quieted some critics and also allowed a few competitors to really be noticed without some of the veteran faces in there. Many congratulations to all who competed and I can’t wait to see what kind of show’s in line for 2004 with so many using the O as the only show they’ll prepare for. Should shape up to be quite a battle for second place……yep, Ronnie will win again next year if he doesn’t retire and it won’t be because of politics or anything similar. You heard it here first, folks…

bigshug - Copyright 2003 BeyondMass.com