Mr. Olympia 2018 - the king is defeated! Long live the new king! Phil Heath did not defend his eighth victory at Mr. Olympia 2018. Shawn Rhoden won!

Author: František Randáček

17.09.2018

8 minut čtení

Sensational, unbelievable, incomprehensible, unreal, ... That, and more, is what this year's Mr. Olympia contest is currently being called! And why? Because seven-time Mr. Olympia winner Phil Heath has fallen! And that's what the following lines are all about.

This year's edition of Mr. Olympia, which has been held since 1965, was the fifty-fourth, and was marked by Phil Heath's eighth triumph.
Yes, most bodybuilding fans were convinced that Phil Heath would be the one to once again dominate the stage of the biggest show in the world of professional bodybuilding, equaling the legends that are Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman with eight Mr. Olympia titles!

However, the semi-final itself indicated that Phil is not so sure, and the throne is literally being shaken!

According to the pre-contest predictions, his most formidable opponent should have been the monstrous Egyptian Mamdouh Elssbiay, who came second last year. However, this year he came really monstrous, but without any separation and details. It was so clear that he was definitely not going to make the top 5, let alone threaten Heath!

Much better off was Roelly Winklaar, who also showed impressive volumes here, complete with his proverbial "WOOW" effect, while offering full, hard and dense musculature that lacked neither separation, detail nor vascularity! He was thus a hot candidate for a top three finish! However, he wasn't the one to dethrone Phil either.

Many were then very pleasantly surprised by the life-like racing of Shawn Rhoden! He was the one who became the best candidate for Phil Heath's scalp as soon as he entered the podium and struck his first few poses!
Excellent symmetry, well put together physique, full and dense muscles full of details, confident performance, all these were the assets of this American!

The competition was also great for William Bonac, who showed very good form on stage, fighting with the aforementioned Winklaar for third place!

On the other hand, the competition did not go well for the legendary Dexter Jackson. The 2008 Mr Olympia title holder was competing here for the 19th time and almost every time he managed to break into the top six. But now he remains outside the gates of the Top 6, and with that comes one big question mark - will Dexter ever compete again? In his own words, which he once stated, his career should end the moment he is no longer among the best of the best, i.e. in the TOP 6!

Of course, we must not forget our representative in this spectacular competition, who is Lukáš Osladil. Although he is one of the most subtle fighters on the podium, he once again proved that he is rightfully here! Great movement on stage, excellent posing, great side and back stances, incredible final readiness. This is simply Lukáš Osladil!

Footage of the semi-final fights:

As for the final bout, it was an evenly matched battle for the win between the duo of Shawn Rhoden and Phil Heath.
Shawn clearly dominated the front stances, while Phil dominated the back stances! Either one of them could have dominated the competition, and there would always be reasons why it should or shouldn't have been so!
But one thing is for sure - right now it was obvious that Phil Heath was not invincible!

It was a very close contest to see if the Mr. Olympia contest would still have only thirteen winners, or if the king would fall, and a brand new, fourteenth king would take over the contest.

Although the latter seemed highly unlikely, given the much-touted politics of the competition, the opposite became a reality! The winner of the 54th annual Mr. Olympia contest was Shawn Rhoden!

Excellent aesthetics, a narrow waist, great arms, breathtaking frontal and lateral stances, all made him the champion! Even in the back stance he improved, although this is where he lost the most to Phil!

Phil Heath, whose goal was to win his eighth title in a row, had to settle for second place. Satisfaction was not on his side of course, and neither was it on the spectators who literally booed Shawn!

What's next for Phil? This is a very difficult question at the moment, and there is certainly no clear answer. What is clear is that Phil's goal of ten straight triumphs is now in the past!
But will he ever compete again? Will he try to regain the title? Or will he end his career quietly, like Jay Cutler? Let's wait for the answers to these questions.

A massive Roelly Winklaar managed to take a great third place, and he didn't hide his excitement at his lifetime achievement! He also received an excellent tribute from the fans in the hall when he was named the first ever Fans' Champion!

Last year's third-placed William Bonac finally fell one place short this year, unable to offer such an outstanding final finish.

Fifth place was earned by Brandon Curry for his lifetime of form. He too was delighted with his placing. After all, breaking into the Top 5 was his goal this year!

Mamdou Elssbiay was in much better form than he was in the semi-finals, with his 140 kilograms in the final battles. However, last year's runner-up had to settle for sixth place despite this fact. This means that if he wants to present himself on this stage next year, he will have to qualify for the upcoming edition!

The oldest man in the starting field , Dexter Jackson, made it "all the way" to seventh place in his nineteenth appearance at Mr. Olympia.
He said after the competition that the preparation did not go quite as he had hoped, especially with regard to the health problems of his coach George Farah, who is battling cancer. Dexter believes that if Farah had been present, he himself would have been in a much better mood and therefore in much better shape. He might well have moved up a notch.
And it is for this reason that he still has no intention of giving up the swimsuit competition, and would like to be on the Mr. Olympia stage next year. If he doesn't place well then, he'll quit competing.

As for our Lukáš Osladil, he unfortunately did not manage to break into the top ten, and just like last year, he came in twelfth place. He left behind Charles Griffen, Iain Vallier, Michael Lockett, Josh Wade, Juan Morel, Luis Rodriguez and Sergio Oliva Jr.

Footage of the final fights:

Results:

1. Shawn Rhoden - qualified for Mr Olympia 2019
2. Phil Heath- qualified for Mr Olympia 2019
3.Roelly Winklaar- qualified for Mr Olympia 2019
4. William Bonac - qualified for Mr Olympia 2019
5.Brandon Curry- qualified for Mr Olympia 2019
6. Mamdouh Elssbiay
7. Dexter Jackson
8. Nathan De Asha
9. Cedric Mcmillan

10. Steve Kuclo
11. Alexis Rivera Rolon
12. Lukas Osladil
13. Charles Griffen
14. Iain Valliere
15. Michael Lockett
16. Josh Wade
16. Juan Morel
16. Luis Rodriguez
16. Sergio Oliva Jr.

SHAWN RHODEN