With a new venue, a new date and a new owner, the Mr. Olympia contest for the much-maligned year of 2020 is one of change in a year of firsts. Thanks to the chaos and tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will now be hosted at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas the weekend of December 18th, but smart money says that the changes end there. With the announcement of “The Gift” Phil Heath coming out of semi-retirement to compete, this contest comes down to Heath and two other athletes, the current champion Brandon Curry and former Mr. Olympia, Dexter “The Blade” Jackson.
As of this writing, the list of athletes looks very deep and on paper this could be the most competitive Olympia in recent years. Last year controversy struck when then-champion “Flexatron” Shawn Rhoden was hit with sexual assault allegations and not allowed to compete, and that cleared a lot of room for Curry to come in and win both nights, earning the Sandow. Rhoden won’t be competing this year and that’s probably a good thing for all involved, as Flexatron out-placed Curry and Jackson in 2018 and, of course, out-placed everyone in 2019. Rhoden has the height and presence on stage to go toe-to-toe with bigger athletes the definition and clarity to keep up with the likes of Dexter Jackson and Cedric McMillan. This year, he will be at home, so that leaves the competition up the judges to decide what they are looking for this year.
Curry has been on social media this year showing that his package will probably be bigger than what we saw last year, which was already quite a bit bigger than what we saw then. The Blade is the most solid bet in the history of bodybuilding, with this being his last Olympia he might wind up being the one athlete to beat Father Time, but the inclusion of Phil Heath throws a monkey wrench into what could be smooth sailing for the champ. Heath has no weak points, and he has seven Sandows to show for it, but where The Gift has fallen short on rare occasions has been when his conditioning was off. Curry and Jackson aren’t known for coming in out of shape, so an in-shape Curry could be a slam dunk, unless he finds himself in comparisons with an in-shape Heath and Jackson.
And that’s where the Champ’s danger lies-he doesn’t have to show up the field, he just can’t afford to look mediocre when standing between The Blade and The Gift. Last year Hadi Choopan came out of nowhere to take third and William Bonac was runner-up, both men were packing some serious mass and the judges rewarded them for it. With Jackson rounding out the top four, the resident mass monster Roelly Winklaar had to settle for fifth place. Curry brought the best conditioning of his career to the show and out-classed Bonac and Choopan who were both able to hang with him in the size department, but it is unlikely that he would out-condition an in-shape Dexter Jackson and, as Bob Cicherillo would say, “nobody can out-pretty Phil.”
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| 2019 Mr Olympia Brandon Curry |
Curry has to match the package he brought last year to keep the title-he can’t have an off night. If Phil comes in even looking like he did in 2019, it could be lights out for a lineup that traditionally has a sharp divide between mass and definition. Winklaar, who has been a perennial dark horse choice, can’t seem to get the total package where the judges want it to be, but he puts on pound after pound of muscle every year. While he looks like a freak of nature, he hasn’t won the big one yet. The same for Cedric McMillan who has put on some good size as of late, but his strength lies in symmetry and presentation and he can’t go pound for pound with Winklaar or perhaps the emerging mass monster Hadi Choopan.
Phil Heath’s success has come from playing the angles in bodybuilding, literally, in learning how to showcase just enough mass to be bigger than average but not “too much” while still being razor-sharp almost every time out. Just on the other side of that is Dexter Jackson who would be on the small side these days, but hasn’t been out of shape a day in his life. If both of those hall of famers arrive in Sin City in shape, it will be a long weekend for the defending champ as he could risk being exposed and perhaps even lose ground to Bonac or Choopan in the process.
This year’s show promises to be a rare beacon of light in an otherwise miserable year. Fans worldwide can hope all the athletes stay healthy and safe and show up to do battle, because no matter the outcome, we will likely never see Phil Heath or Dexter Jackson on the stage together again. Will Curry cement his greatness with a second Sandow or will the two hall of famers go out in a blaze of glory and set the stage for a new champion in 2021? Only time (and the judges) will tell!
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