Cutler Makes History

The Story of Mr. Olympia!

He wanted this one - bad। Last year, when Jay Cutler lost the Sandow to Dexter Jackson, it seemed that the rumors of his inability to dial it in for the big show - Cutler barely eked out a victory over Victor Martinez in 2007 - might be true after all। Twice now, he had failed to peak on the one night when a champion is expected to bring no less than his best. Increasing the odds of Cutler never regaining the top spot was the long list of former Mr. Olympia's who lost the Sandow and failed to win it back. Until now.

Maybe it took losing what he already to push Cutler even further than even he thought possible, because on Saturday, September 26 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cutler beat the odds - again - to become Joe Weider's 2009 Mr। Olympia, the first man in the history of the sport to reclaim the title.

Big, hard and dry with the sickest front quads in the show, Cutler brought his best physique since winning the Olympia in 2006 (maybe even surpassing his 2001 Olympia form, where he finished runner-up to Ronnie Coleman) with superior size and crisp detail from every angle। They say shows are won from the back and it was certainly the case here as he sported striated glutes and a tight lower back, that, coupled with his width and thickness, shut the lights on the competition. Now tying Sergio Oliva and Frank Zane as a three-time Mr. Olympia, Cutler has succeeded where so many others have failed.

The biggest surprise of the show was fan favorite Branch Warren in second। Warren was bigger than ever with the same level of grainy hardness he displayed earlier in the year at the Arnold Classic.

Third place went to Jackson, who's supreme condition, perfect symmetry, shape and proportion, was not enough to put him in the company of two-time Mr। Olympia's Larry Scott, Franco Columbu and Cutler.

Kai Greene, who improved the longer he stayed onstage at last night's prejudging, finished fourth in his Olympia debut। If he can continue to make improvements and show up with this customary detail and striations, there's no place to go but up.

In fifth place, in what must surely have been a disappointment, was "The Gift," Phil Heath। Heath, who suffered a stomach virus hours before Friday night's prejudging (at one point, EMT's were called in) dropped about eight pounds before taking the stage last night, but managed to show up much fuller and tighter for the finals tonight. Despite this minor speed bump, the promise in this young athlete remains limitless and there's no question that he will fulfill his potential.

Sixth place went to Victor Martinez and spots seven through ten in the deepest Mr। Olympia lineup ever went to Ronny Rockel, Toney Freeman, Hidetada Yamagishi and Moe El Moussawi, respectivel।


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FINAL RESULTS

1. Jay Cutler
2. Branch Warren
3. Dexter Jackson
4. Kai Greene
5. Phil Heath
6. Victor Martinez
7. Ronny Rockel
8. Toney Freeman
9. Hidetada Yamagishi
10. Moe El Moussawi
11. Melvin Anthony (tie)
11. Silvio Samuel (tie)
13. Gustavo Badell
14. Dennis James
15. Markus Ruhl
16. Troy Alves
17. Darrem Charles
18. Martin Kjellstrom
19. Bill Wilmore
20. Dennis Wolf
21. Joel Stubbs
22. Michael Kefalianos
23. Ahmad Haidar

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Dexter Jackson topples Jay Cutler to win the Mr. Olympia

Late Saturday night, with the placings of the 17 other competitors participating in the 2008 Mr. Olympia already decided, the two men still awaiting their fate walked to center stage of The Orleans Arena. One who had been there many times before, and one who until this year never imagined he would. And in the end, after 10 years and 47 contests, Dexter Jackson finally rose to the top of the sport by toppling two-time and reigning champion Jay Cutler on the way to the biggest win of his career.

"I was praying," Jackson said. "I was undecided on if I would actually win tonight. I knew I deserved to win but I didn't think I would. This sport is full of surprises. I'm just in shock right now. I've been dreaming about this moment since I started bodybuilding. I never thought it would happen."

The win was the fourth of the year for the 39-year-old Jackson who, unbelievably, continues to get better with age. Jackson began the year by winning the third Arnold Classic of his career in his best-ever form, and the improvement he displayed after years of consistently good (and sometimes great) performances elevated him to a new level and marked him as a legitimate threat to challenge Cutler in Las Vegas.

And although the 235-pound Jackson gave up roughly 30 pounds to Cutler at the Friday prejudging, Jackson's superior conditioning and aesthetics were rewarded over Cutler's sheer size. On the final scorecards, the two were separated by seven points.

Cutler entered the Olympia threatening to match the level he reached at the Olympia in 2001, when he lost a controversial decision to Ronnie Coleman. By all accounts leading up to the show, he was on track to match that performance. But he took the stage at the Friday prejudging inexplicably flat, and carrying enough water to leave the door open for someone to step in and steal his crown. Feeling the heat, Cutler took his preparation to a new level, dropping 10 pounds before taking the stage on Saturday night. And while he looked vastly improved from Friday, Jackson's lead was too much to overcome.

"I feel a little sad but I have to be happy for Dexter because I know what it's like to win," Cutler said. "He didn't believe he could win when we were standing there. You win some you lose some. He looked better than me last night and I obviously had too much ground to cover tonight. It makes the Olympia a little more interesting, we've had those years where its the same guys winning all the time, it just sucks that I have to be the guy who gets defeated so quickly. But that's what makes me who I am."

Although the Jackson-Cutler matchup grabbed the headlines, it was not the only story line that developed over the two-day contest. Nearly each of the top eight hit the mark, making it one of the most competitive Olympias in recent memory. And, standing at the forefront of that pack was Olympia rookie Phil Heath. Heath, who pushed Jackson at the Arnold in March, took his physique to the next level in Las Vegas and established himself - for now - as the best of the new breed. The 28-year-old Heath finished third - the highest finish for an Olympia rookie since 29-year-old Dorian Yates placed second to Lee Haney in 1991. Heath also came out on top in the much anticipated first matchup versus 29-year-old Dennis Wolf and gained the upper hand in a rivalry that will define the sport for years to come.

Wolf, who entered the contest being mentioned by some as the main threat to Cutler's three-peat, did not make the impact he was expected to. Despite finishing fourth, the German lacked both the conditioning and - incredibly - the overwhelming size he displayed when bursting onto the scene with his fifth-place finish a year ago.

Toney Freeman's fifth-place finish was greeted with the loudest boos from the audience. Freeman managed to at least match his conditioning and size from the 2007 Ironman, widely regarded as his best-ever showing.

Melvin Anthony made the final posedown for the third consecutive year, placing sixth for the second straight Olympia.

Mr. Olympia Final Results

1. Dexter Jackson

2. Jay Cutler

3. Phil Heath

4. Dennis Wolf

5. Toney Freeman

6. Melvin Anthony

7. Silvio Samuel

8. Dennis James

9. Mo Elmoussawi

10. Gustavo Badell

11. Darrem Charles

12. Johnnie Jackson

13. Craig Richardson

14. Ronny Rockel

15. David Henry

16. Kevin English

17T. Fouad Abiad

17T. Sergey Shelestov

17T. Leo Ingram

Gates wins the Figure O

A new champion has ascended to the top of the pro Figure ranks, as Jennifer Gates quarter-turned her way to the 2008 Figure Olympia title.The surprise win elevated Gates into some elite company, as only the third woman to win the Figure O in the contest's six-year history, along with Jenny Lynn (2006-2007) and Davana Medina (2003-2005).The 31-year-old mother of two from Indiana overcame a loaded field, including runner-up Gina Aliotti (who wears the 2008 Figure International crown), and Zivile Raudoniene of Lithuania, the 2007 and '08 New York Pro Figure champion, as well as 2006-2007 Figure International victor Mary Elizabeth Lado of Metarie, Louisiana, who was fifth here. Meanwhile, Lynn, the two-time defending champ who has competed in every Figure Olympia since its inception, fell to fourth.

2008 Figure Olympia Final Results

1. Gina Aliotti

2. Jennifer Gates

3. Zivile Raudoniene

4. Jenny Lynn

5. Mary Elizabeth Lado

6. Sonia Adcock

7. Kristal Richardson

8. Amy Fry

9. Nicole Wilkins

10. Heather Mae French

11. Lenay Hernandez

12. Juie Ann Kulla

13. Huong Arcinas

14. Jessica Paxson-Putnam

15. Jelena Abbou

16. Teresa Anthony

17. Jane Awad

18-tie. Paola Almerico, Darlina Brown, Bernadette Galvan, Hazal Nelson, Felicia Romero, Chastity Slone, Brenda Marie Smith, Kristi Tauti, Laticia Wilder

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2007 Olympia Weekend Mens Finals Double Down!

The 2007 Mr. Olympia came down to the final round, as Victor Martinez pushed Jay Cutler to the limit before coming up a point short.

Cutler, who admitted he was a little off on Friday night, charged back at the Saturday finals, becoming a multi-Olympia winner on the same night when perhaps the sports greatest champion, Ronnie Coleman, made his final bow on the O stage, finishing fourth and getting two standing ovations from the sold out Orleans Arena crowd.

In third place was Dexter Jackson, the 2005 and 2006 Arnold Classic champ who earlier this year lost that title to Martinez. It was a validation for The Blade that he is still a force to be reckoned with, as he beat out Coleman, a hard-charging Dennis Wolf in fifth, and Marvelous Melvin Anthony in sixth.

Perhaps no one made a bigger stride in this contest than Wolf. The German was a huge crowd favorite, and showed every ounce of his future Mr. Olympia potential. The crowd booed at his placing (viewing it as too low), and he also won the Bodybuilding.com Fan's Choice award with 32% of the votes cast (Martinez was second at 27%).

For blow-by-blow coverage, check out the Flex forums under Gossip, where we posted prejudging commentary by Editor-in-Chief Peter McGough, Chris Cormier and Flex Staff Writer Allan Donnelly, as well as finals reports as the decisions went down.

2007 MR. OLYMPIA

Top 10

1) Jay Cutler

2) Victor Martinez

3) Dexter Jackson

4) Ronnie Coleman

5) Dennis Wolf

6) Melvin Anthony

7) Silvio Samuel

8) Gustavo Badell

9) Johnnie Jackson

10) David Henry

For More Picture Galleries of 2007 Mr. & Ms. Olympia. Click Here!

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Victor Martinez wins the 2007 Arnold Classic title

2007 Arnold ClassicCompetitor List and Gallery Links
1) TONEY FREEMAN
2) BRANCH WARREN
3) RONNIE ROCKELL
4) PHIL HEATH
5) DEXTER JACKSON
6) MARKUS RUHL
7) GUSTAVO BADELL
8) SILVIO SAMUEL
9) HIDETADA YAMAGISHI
10) SERGEY SHELESTOV
11) DAVID HENRY
12) LUKE WOOD
13) VICTOR MARTINEZ
14) MARCUS HALEY
15) VINCE TAYLOR
16) MARK DUGDALE

Victor Martinez finally broke through to win one of the sports top titles, defeating two-time defending champ Dexter Jackson at the 19th annual Arnold Classic, held at Veteran's Memorial in Columbus, Ohio March 3.

Much like last year's contest, when the top four of Dexter Jackson, Branch Warren, Victor Martinez and Gustavo Badell could have been interchanged without a lot of controversy because there was no clear-cut standout, the 2007 Arnold Classic featured a top five that all had strengths and weaknesses. Victor Martinez wasn't quite as dialed in as during the 2006 Mr. Olympia prejudging when he was a solid third behind Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman; Dexter Jackson wasn't as sharp as we've come to expect from "The Blade"; Toney Freeman was much tighter than his victory a week before at the Sacramento Pro, but lacked some depth in his back and detail in his glutes; Phil Heath, while the most striated and aesthetic bodybuilder on stage, still needs more front-to-back thickness in his upper body before he becomes a bona fide threat to take an Arnold or Olympia title; and Gustavo Badell, who wasn't even a part of the first callout of the day but gamely battled back by the end of prejudging to crash the top-five party.

In the final analysis, it would seem Martinez's amazing structure won out the day, helping him to a straight-firsts victory even while not quite in top condition. There are very few bodybuilders in the world who could pull off such a feat, but the Dominican Dominator is definitely one of them, and solidifies his position as a top threat to Cutler and Coleman's one-two lockdown at the Olympia.

While people will debate the Jackson versus Martinez decision, other interesting stories emerged from the top six. Freeman, for one, who at 40 is finally getting his due in the pro ranks by winning his last two contests and taking third at the Arnold. Also, Heath, who proved he could hang with the big boys and should have been no lower than fourth but got nudged into fifth by a hard-charging Badell; and Samuel, with his flaring rounded muscle bellies and a compact midsection (which he does lose control of sometimes, but that's not an uncorrectable flaw) who was all in all excellent.

Arnold Classic Final Results:Columbus, OhioMarch 3, 2007
1) Victor Martinez
2) Dexter Jackson
3) Toney Freeman
4) Gustavo Badell
5) Phil Heath
6) Silvio Samuel
7) Branch Warren
8) Ronny Rockel
9) Markus Ruhl
10) Vince Taylor
11) Mark Dugdale
12) Marcus Haley
13) Hidetada Yamagishi
14) David Henry
15) Sergey Shelestov
16) Luke Wood

Most Muscular Award: Victor MartinezBest Posing Routine ($10,000): Marcus Haley

LIST OF PREJUDGING CALLOUTSFirst callout: Toney Freeman, Phil Heath, Dexter Jackson, Victor Martinez

Second callout: Branch Warren, Ronny Rockel, Gustavo Badell, Silvio Samuel

Third callout: Markus Ruhl, Hidetada Yamagishi, Marcus Haley, Mark Dugdale, Vince Taylor

Fourth callout: Branch Warren, Silvio Samuel, Ronny Rockel, Markus Ruhl


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COLEMAN DENIES LATEST INTERNET POST

In the months after the 2006 Mr. Olympia contest, there have been differing opinions concerning how eight-time champ Ronnie Coleman has reacted to the loss. Now, in a recent development, controversial comments attributed to Coleman surrounding his Olympia defeat at the hands of Jay Cutler have been released online.

The comments were posted at ProSource.net under Coleman’s screen name. Here are the posts in their entirety:

Post number one:
“Trust me dude, I am fully aware of all the haters out there and the things they say...Well I'm just gone piss them off more when I come back next year and kick jays butt....Those people will use just about any excuse to make themselves feel better about their boy jay...Well I'm gonna show them that this 43 year old is on a different standard than what they're on...My genetics are far superior to theirs and their boy jay too, aint no need to brag about it though, I got 8 titlese to jays 1 that says it all...Thanks for the support brother, Love you for it…”

Post number two:
“Just a bunch of rumors dude, first the judges have to have some reason to give jay first so they use this...It was all over the internet before the show so they just decided to run with it...Once they did, all the magazines just figured, what the hell, that sounds good to us...Mostly they all kinda wanted jay to win deep down in their hearts...Its just human nature with most people anyway just to cheer for the underdog and being white sure helped jay a lot too.....
Rather than get involved in the hysteria, we went to the man himself to get the truth.

Here’s what he had to say:

COLEMAN: Sounds like one of my pissed off fans. I’ve gotten probably around two to three-thousand emails sort of like that. Sounds like one of them just got on there and posted some stuff. That’s all that is.

FLEX: These were on ProSource.net Ronnie, where you have been known to post in the past. One more time, are you saying you didn’t post these comments on ProSource?

COLEMAN: No I didn’t post those. I post on there though, but I didn’t post those two. Sound like somebody just trying to stir up some controversy.

FLEX: If you didn’t post these, I will address the second one. Do you think that Jay being white had anything to do with him winning this Olympia?

COLEMAN: No, no. I don’t think nothing like that. Like I said it’s probably just that somebody that’s pissed off about me not winning. Because I’ve gotten a couple thousand of those.

FLEX: Lets talk about the rumors surrounding the lat and triceps tears. I know you’ve addressed them before, but they’re here again. Are there any truth to those rumors.

COLEMAN: No, aint no truth to none of those rumors. I don’t have a tricep tear or a lat tear. I heard somebody say a biceps tear also. I don’t have any tear. I get asked that a lot too. I always tell people no, just rumors.

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Sean Toh : Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year To All My Friends

Hello Friends,

This is just a quick note to say thank you for your Christmas greetings and wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Christmas too.

I hope that over the holidays you are able to take time to think about and appreciate those for whom you work so hard throughout the year. You, your family, friends and the larger community are the REAL gifts in our lives. Their comfort, support and encouragement fuels our continuing desire to both succeed and share the gift in kind.

In that spirit, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me part of your extended circle. For that,I am truly blessed.

With your support homeless and hungry people are being housed, fed and cared for this year; and together we can make an even bigger difference in the world in 2007 and beyond.

From my home to yours... I wish you peace, harmony and all the joy of the holiday Season and all the best of success in the New Year.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy reading!

Yours Sincerely
Sean Toh

SARCEV SIDESWIPED BY ESPN.COM

Milos Sarcev is itching to get back onto a bodybuilding stage to duke it out with fellow iron pumpers, and he’s more than ready to do battle (verbally) with a certain keyboard puncher.

In an ESPN.com article titled “Bodybuilders, Vegas and Victor Conte . . . oh my!” published October 4, 2006, reporter Mike Fish chronicles his walk through the 2006 Olympia Expo. Keeping with the status quo of mainstream sports writers who cover bodybuilding, he adopts a haughty and morally righteous tone as he describes the expo attendees and their motives.

“It’s late now,” he writes, “and the friends bound by steroids and a desire to turn a buck amble out of a convention hall that for this weekend is a shrine to the lucrative supplement industry.”

Fish devotes a portion of the article to a conversation he had with Sarcev, in which the former and future competitor asserts that steroids are not worthy of the kind of demonization government officials seem to think they warrant.

“The government is feeding the media wrong information, that anabolic steroids are destructive drugs,” Sarcev told Fish. “Anabolic is a word; it means ‘constructive.’ Not ‘destructive.’”

Sarcev doesn’t contend he was misquoted in the piece, but he does bristle over Fish’s labeling of him as a “self-described steroid expert” and is disappointed Fish didn’t make good on his word to let him see the story before sending it for publication. “I had him sign a piece of paper that said he would show it to me for my approval,” Sarcev says. “But I never saw the story until it came out [online].”

Fish follows Sarcev’s statements with a prejudiced caveat that immediately reveals the reporter’s bias: “Many in the medical community, of course, take issue with Sarcev’s characterization of the benevolence of steroids. . . ” he writes. Although it may be sound journalism to state that some in the medical community may question the safety of steroid use by healthy individuals, adding the phrase “of course” turns the piece into an editorial — one man’s pointed views on a multifaceted subject. It is just another example of the hit-and-run approach of the mainstream media as they take yet another slanted swipe at the sport.

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JAY MAKES IT 3 AND 0

Jay Cutler completed the gauntlet, winning three shows in Europe over the course of three days, relegating eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman to second each time.

The victories cement Cutler's status as the world's new number-one bodybuilder, proving his stunning Mr. Olympia victory September 30 was no fluke.

On Sunday, October 8, Cutler added the Dutch Grand Prix title to the Austrian and Romanian Grand Prix trophies he won on Friday and Saturday,respectively. Over the three days, both Coleman and Cutler improved their condition, damaged with the long flights over from the U.S. earlier in the week - now, with the contest season over, both can head back to their respective camps and plan their attack for next year. Cutler plans to defend his O title, while at this point, it seems Coleman is planning to return as well. Retirement rumors swirled before this year's O - but Coleman vehemently denied them in the weeks leading up to the Olympia, and hasn't indicated otherwise since.

Meanwhile, third place in Austria went to a very deserving Ronny Rockel, who now has punched his ticket to the 2007 Olympia.

DUTCH GRAND PRIX RESULTS

1. Jay Cutler
2. Ronnie Coleman
3. Ronny Rockel
4. Hidetada Yamagishi
5. Eddie Abbew
6. Lee Powell
7. Jaroslav Horvath
8. Meset Itli
9. Alexander Fedorov
10. Trevor Crouch
11. Tommi Thorvildsen
12. Alison Maria
13. Aimam Faour
14. Armando Alcazar
15. Oleg Makfhantsez

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Cutler Dethrones Ronnie At 2006 Olympia

September 30, 2006 is a day that will live in bodybuilding lore forever. A capacity crowd at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas bore witness to history, but it was not the history many had expected. Ronnie Coleman, going for his record-breaking ninth Sandow trophy, instead lost to four-time runner-up Jay Cutler, and by a convincing margin by bodybuilding standards, 22 to 38 (lowest score wins). In fact, Cutler won all four rounds of the show.

Although Coleman was losing after yesterday's prejudging, the champ did not go down without a fight. In arguably the best posing routine ever seen on an Olympia stage, Coleman had world-famous boxing announcer Bruce Buffer step out on stage to announce him - Ronnie then came down through the crowd to a raucous ovation. After ducking backstage, a few moments later he reappeared in a Moses costume, long white beard and all.

But in the end, a slightly better physique beat the better showman on this night, as Cutler's extra 10 pounds of size and sharp improvements finally put him over the top.

Here is the top 15:
1) Jay Cutler
2) Ronnie Coleman
3) Victor Martinez
4) Dexter Jackson
5) Melvin Anthony
6) Gustavo Badell
7) Toney Freeman
8) Markus Ruhl
9) Dennis James
10) Gunter Schlierkamp
11) Vince Taylor
12) Branch Warren
13) Johnnie Jackson
14) Darrem Charles
15) Troy Alves


Men's Prejudging Comparisons Gallery
Men's Individual Compulsories Gallery


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Sean Toh