INDEX

Days 1 and 2 - Tuesday and Wednesday: Meetings, Ms. Olympia Weigh-In

Days 1 & 2 were hard core bodybuilding meetings.  They are an important part of bodybuilding that most fans know nothing about.  But without these meetings the Olympia Weekend would probably be an unprofessional shambles.  The fact that it is superbly organised and runs so smoothly is primarily due to the hard work and planning skills of Wayne DeMilia and his team of dedicated helpers.

Tuesday night was the traditional team meeting in the DeMilia suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  There are 7 different committees who look after all aspects of the Olympia from Athletes, Expo, Stage, Muscle Beach, Music, Office and so on.  All the many loyal, dedicated people on these committees give of their time and skills each year.  Some of them have been with Wayne for more than 25 years as this whole thing revolves around loyalty, team work and dedication.

This special meeting is like a General’s battle plan as Pro Division Chairman DeMilia briefs his troops so that every last detail will be taken care of for the smooth and punctual running of all aspects of the whole event.

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Wednesday Night's Competitors’ meeting

Traditionally held in the Coral Room, it kicks off at 9 pm with the Fitness Olympia competitors' meeting.  I feel that a slightly larger room is needed as these meetings have become quite a media event.

This is our first look at the athletes, even though most are covered up, some are parading the fruits of their labour or even trying to psych out their opposition.  Others look tired and drained and bored as they go through the motions, listen to instructions from Wayne and Head Judge Jim Manion, before selecting at random their competitor's number from the table.

Then they hand their music CDs to music maestro Jim Petrafesa with final instructions for him and it is all over for the first group of athletes.

We always cover these meetings with 2 cameras as they can be a rich vein of interesting video lode  such as the heated debate about judges and prejudging procedures between Shawn Ray, Wayne DeMilia and Jim Manion a year or so ago.

What makes the room so crowded is all the photographers plus assorted boyfriends and husbands, officials and so on.  The first group to arrive were the fitness competitors.  Susie Currie looked bright and confident, whilst most of the others – particularly the new girls - looked apprehensive.  They were all covered up, so it wasn’t possible to look at them from a physique point of view.

 Next were the competitors in the Ms. Olympia competition.  All eyes were focused on LENDA MURRAY and to a large degree JULIETTE BERGMANN as well.  How would Lenda look in her comeback, how good would Juliette be in her defence of her overall title, and how serious was LAURA CREAVALLE in her comeback?  Several commented on the absence of Lesa Lewis, but the buzz was around Lenda.

First of all it was down to the posing suits and onto the scales to determine which class each woman would compete in.  This was not a serious issue for the taller, heavier competitors such as YAXENI, VICKIE, LENDA and new girl on the block BETTY VIANA.  The heavyweight class was over 135 pounds and lightweights up to 135 pounds.  This primarily meant the weight was being checked for JULIETTE, VALENTINA, FANNIE BARRIOS, SOPHIE DUQUETTE, ANGELA DEBATIN, LAURA CREAVALLE and SUSANNE NIEDERHAUSER as they all made the lower weight limit.

Immediately evident was the incredible condition of Susi Niederhauser of Austria in her first ever Olympia.  She was shredded displaying superb abs.  On the other hand Laura Creavalle looked rather heavy and soft in the legs and looked like she was headed for the heavyweights.  How she placed above Susi was hard to understand, based on condition and shape.  I guess size and maturity and experience scored more highly with the judges.  However I did note that Susi lacked a little upper body thickness and taper and I feel this counted against her in the end.

At this early stage Juliette, Valentina, Lenda and Iris all appeared to be the main contenders.  Yaxeni also looked quietly confident after her fantastic victory at the Ms. International earlier this year.

Number selected, music handed in and it was time for the major beef to enter the room.  By this time it was past 10 pm and things were wearing a little thin at the official’s table as the noise level had risen about 20 decibels.  Wayne DeMilia threatened to clear the room of press if things didn't quieten down.  They did!  This was after KEVIN LEVRONE finally arrived late yet again.  After a brief explanation of procedure for the Mr. Olympia prejudging it was again selection of starting  numbers, music in and time to call it a day.  Most guys looked drained, spaced out and tired.  However those to stand out in my opinion at the meeting were LEE PRIEST who appeared to be very lean and tight, GÜNTER looking superb and confident and RONNIE looking more drawn in the face than usual.  Kevin and Dexter also looked to be tight, dry, lean and relaxed.  Suddenly the room cleared, we packed up the video lights and headed for our store room with our first tape of the 2002 Olympia event safely 'in the can'.

For Sean Gallasch this was his first ever Olympia camerawork but I can promise him many more Olympias to come.  Other new guy on the team was Brett DeHaan of Canada taking stills and also skilled on the video camera and as an interviewer.

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Day 3 - The Press Conference

This was a HUGE day.  With three separate events on the same day it was obviously going to be our longest and hardest days work for the 2002 Olympia.

Getting to the Mandalay Bay Theatre early I set up dead centre in the theatre’s audio box, for the best possible taping position for the Press Conference and the Women's Prejudging to follow.  This year the Press Conference was a little different with no Shawn Ray to stir things up but in the end MILOS SARCEV stepped up to the mike to joust with Wayne DeMilia over non payment to Mr. Olympia competitors placing below 10th.  Things got pretty heated with nothing positive resolved at this time. I think this will be on the agenda again next year!

I would still like to see the competitors introduced in the same consecutive order in which they were seated from left to right but that is just a cameraman's complaint.  Some of the guys spoke extremely well in answering questions, in particular Günter Schlierkamp and Bob Cicherillo.

As usual the Press Conference, shot with two cameras, will make a very interesting video with lots of close-ups of competitors dressed in their best clothes.  No "baggies" or T-shirts at this event which showcases the competitors for all 3 Olympias as sporting celebrities.

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Ms. Olympia / Fitness Olympia Prejudging

This commenced at 1 pm and ran like clockwork, class by class, alternating Fitness with the Ms. Olympia competitors.  Sean was closeup side stage on his camera to catch all the great close-ups of striated legs and glutes, ripped abs etc.

One competitor who never relaxes for a moment and who stood out from the start was JULIETTE  BERGMANN.   She knows how to stand 'relaxed' but is carefully posed for the judges at the same time.  She never lets anything 'hang out' and is a model for all competitors to follow, both men and women. Being also a top level judge she could give seminars to most other competitors, male and female, on how to present themselves during the judging.

VALENTINA CHEPIGA also looked in superb shape and the only small negative I noted was a narrowness in the legs which made her symmetry look slightly off compared to the shorter Juliette.  As Juliette got hardly any call-outs it was obvious that she was getting straight firsts from every judge in rounds 1 & 2.  This was subsequently the case.  Juliette also had a better lat spread and shoulder to waist taper than anyone else.

Another surprise package in the light weights was FANNIE BARRIOS, a perky, ripped, determined physique star from Venezuela, now based in Florida.  I was not surprised to see her finally place 3rd at the end of the event Friday night where she edged out a very impressive SOPHIE DUQUETTE of Canada into fourth place.

SUSANNE NIEDERHAUSER of Austria was in only her second pro show and I guess the lack of experience and lack of thickness from years of training tended to show.  But her symmetry and condition were both outstanding with the best abs in both classes of Ms. Olympia.  She presented a beautiful package which deserved to place higher.

In the heavyweight class it was the incredible V shape of Lenda which first caught the eye.  Then you noted the huge arms and delts coming down to the tiny waist.  That was before you noted the incredible back, sculptured in a way that was light years ahead of all the other women's backs. Then the fluid, graceful posing. A great champion.

IRIS KYLE was shredded and looking even better than last year when she won this class.  It was clear-cut however that Iris could not match Lenda in all areas, although she was a bit sharper.  Just as clear was the edge that Iris held over VICKIE GATES and YAXENI ORIQUEN.

Vickie was definitely “off”  being soft in the legs, abs and glutes, no doubt due in part to the loss of her mother a week before the Olympia.  Yaxeni was not quite as sharp as when she won Ms. International 7 months previously.  But she has wonderful proportions, good muscularity, superb arms and delts and poses and acts like a champion.  It was very close between Yaxeni and Vickie with Vickie extremely lucky to place in front of Yaxeni this time.

DAYANA CADEAU was not her usual hard, ripped self and had trouble keeping her abs under control.  She has looked better and missed her peak for the Olympia.

BETTY VIANA was another Venezuelan and also a competitor in her first Olympia.  She had great size and a large hair style to mach which I found most distracting.  Betty was massive but lacked symmetry and definition and was fortunate to place ahead of BETH ROBERTS.

At the end of round 4 on the Friday night, Lenda took the overall prize of Ms. Olympia in a triumphant comeback. This was her 7^th overall Olympia title with the others being from 1990 to 1995. Now in her 40^th year what a remarkable athlete epitomising shape, size and proportion. She is without doubt one of the most successful and popular female bodybuilders of all time.

Back to the judging, being rounds 1 & 2 for both Women's Olympias on the Thursday.  In the Fitness Olympia I noted a few standouts.  Firstly SUSIE CURRY, Fitness Olympia winner from the last 2 years.  She is a tiny bundle of dynamite with the tightest body, miniscule waist and an explosive routine.  The judging included the 2 minute compulsory routines in black cat suits.  She looked a winner in both rounds with only one rival to truly challenge her.  That was the brilliant  KELLY RYAN.

Kelly was blond this year and in her all time best condition.  Physique wise when compared side by side, Kelly had the better legs.  But Fitness is not judged purely on the muscular aspect as many factors determine the winner.  Kelly also performed a wonderful routine.

Others to impress were JENNY WORTH and ADELA FRIEDMANSKY, both with wonderfully athletic and symmetrical physiques and both with sensational routines.

I was also impressed by the beautiful CHRISTINE BERGERON of Canada and the gorgeous LAURIE VANIMAN.  Most unlucky competitor I felt was STACY SIMONS.  After her great showing at the Arnold Fitness International, she seemed to have just a touch too much size for the judges.  Physique wise she looked fantastic but the judges seem to prefer her leaner.  To me she epitomises the new IFBB Figure Class competitor and I would not be surprised to see her win or place high in this division, along with TIMEA MAJOROVA some time in the future.  Timea was missing from the Fitness Olympia this year due to an injury. She told me she is heading for the new Figure Class in future as her body can no longer take the stress of the fitness routines.

At the end of round 4 on Friday, Susie Curry was again a deserving winner making it 3 in a row.

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Meet the Olympians

After a short meal break, batteries recharged it was back to the Events Centre Corridor for Meet the Olympians.  This is a free function and one of the most popular at the Olympia each year.  It consists of groups of 2 Olympia competitors sitting behind tables on raised platforms so that they could meet their fans, pose for photos with them, and sell their photos, posters, T-shirts, and videos.

The queues were so long waiting to get into this event that they stretched down the corridor.  This function is so popular, they have to constantly monitor the number of people in the area at any one time, and only let more in as others leave.

Using two teams, each consisting of a cameraman, interviewer and still photographer, we covered every athlete and interviewed all those who spoke English.  PACO BAUTISTA really has to lift his game in the area of public relations and self-promotion.  To make is worse for us, we had him booked for a video session poolside on Sunday morning, but unfortunately he had an early morning flight booked back to Spain.

About the only guy we missed for a brief interview followed by a few poses was Ronnie Coleman, who left early.  Ronnie later explained to me why he left.  Last year, he was the last guy to leave, signing photos for late-arriving fans until 10:30 pm.  This and endless other calls on his time for photo sessions, etc. left Ronnie so drained that he almost lost to JAY CUTLER.  So this year, he vowed he would focus entirely on himself.

So we must have interviewed 23 men, 15 Ms. "O" competitors and 15 Fitness "O" competitors. It sure was a draining day!

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Day 4 - Friday: Muscle Beach and Olympia Expo

Sean headed off to Muscle Beach to shoot the Bikini Competition.  This was the first day for both the Olympia Expo and Muscle beach and the brand new Bikini Event.  While this was in progress, I plunged into taping in the Islander Ballroom of the Expo where we had our GMV video booth as usual.

I would like to thank all the GMV customers and bodybuilding fans who stopped by our booth.  Also thanks to bodybuilding stars SUSANNE NIEDERHAUSER and RONAN DOHERTY who sold photos and helped us in many ways at the booth.  Special thanks to ANDY OLSON of Magna Media for his help in many different areas and to Tina, Dick and the team who made it a big success for us.

It was good to see such stars from a few years ago as FRANK ZANE and DAVE DRAPER side by side with present day stars such as JAY CUTLER, SUSIE CURRY, DAVE PALUMBO, DENISE MASINO, ROLAND KICKINGER and dozens more too numerous to mention individually.

Around 4pm, we all headed back to the Event Centre to the backstage pump-up area to lay the carpet for the pump room, set up our lights and set out the dumbells and weights supplied by the IVANKO Barbell Company and the weight benches from FLEX Equipment. 

Ms Olympia / Fitness Olympia Finals

From that point, things proceeded brilliantly for us as we caught all the hardcore pumping and oiling of the Ms. "O" competitors.  We also captured all the stretching, back flips, routine rehearsals etc. from the Fitness "O" women.  It was a feast of feminine muscle backstage with up to 30 women in the general area at one time!  Plus, there were also the women in the two photo booths, or the competitors touching up their tans or makeup.  It was almost as busy as the Las Vegas Strip!

As predicted, it came down to a battle for the overall Ms. Olympia between LENDA MURRAY, after her 4-year lay-off from competition, and last years winner, JULIETTE BERGMANN.  At the end of the night, LENDA once again reigned supreme - for the 7th time.  Although exhausted from victory photos and endless backstage interviews, LENDA was still gracious enough to do an interview for us.  She is quite a lady!

SUSIE CURRY made it 3 in a row in the Fitness "O" - and we caught up with her for the victory interview next day at the Expo.  SHAWN RAY interviewed runner-up KELLY RYAN for us.  It was most pleasing to see a good number of new faces in the FITNESS OLYMPIA and also in the MS OLYMPIA.

Day 5 - Saturday: Expo

On this occasion, Sean and I mostly worked separate halls of the Expo apart from doing 2 camera shoots of MARIO RIEGER and the Martial Arts Display on the Expo Stage.  Mario is the worlds greatest posing display performer - with elements of mime, hand balancing and muscle control in his act.

Brett did a great interview with DENISE MASINO, who showed us the new Bill Dobbins book "Modern Amazons".  Many more star bodybuilders hit poses for our cameras at the Expo as we moved around from booth to booth.  This was the 4th Olympia Expo in Las Vegas and I felt it was easily the best ever!  Next year, we will all be in the brand new, purpose-built Expo Centre at the Mandalay Bay, directly behind Shark Reef.

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Mr Olympia Prejudging

At 11am it was back to the backstage pumproom at the Events Centre, ready to catch all the action of the Olympians as they pumped up for the Prejudging at midday.  As SHAWN RAY was not competing or commentating this year, due to an interesting chain of circumstances, GMV snapped him up.  It worked out superbly and lifted our taping technique in the prejudging pumproom to a whole new level.

As I focused on each guy pumping, oiling and posing in the mirror; Shawn would make some relevant comment about them or their condition. He then chatted with each of them as they pumped, interviewing those who stopped to catch their breath.  Every guy then specially hit poses for my camera, up close and personal.  It was truly fantastic!  You can see it all on video and catch all of Shawn's incisive comments and questions on the "Mr. Olympia Prejudging Video #1", GMV-500.

With 25 guys to work with and many new faces - Sean, Brett and I were very busy on our 3 video cameras as the action came thick and fast throughout the whole of Rounds 1 and 2, whenever the men came backstage.

Obviously, our second Mr. "O" Prejudging Pump Room video (GMV-501) is all the action as captured by Sean and Brett, but more as observers of the action - without the chat and fly on the wall stuff.  In particular, we were looking to publicise the new faces at the 2002 Mr. Olympia.  Included in the field of 25 were 9 first-timers.  The first-timers included:

• TOMMI THORVILDSEN - Norway 
• DON YOUNGBLOOD - USA 
• ART ATWOOD - USA 
• BOB CICHERILLO - USA 
• GEORGE FARAH - USA 
• PACO BAUTISTA - Spain 
• GUSTAVO BADELL - Puerto Rico 
• AHMAD HAIDAR - Lebanon 
• JAROSLAV HORVATH - Slovakia 

It was good to see so many new faces as it added spice and variety.

At the end of the event, the highest-placed newcomer was ART ATWOOD, coming in 12th spot.  He edged AHMAD HAIDAR into 13th place, with BOB CICHERILLO taking 18th. PACO "The Spanish Bull" BAUTISTA had to settle for 20th, although he was ripped and rock hard.  We shot the hell out of Paco in the pump room as he has been the most popular new bodybuilder for GMV customers over the last two years!

The other guy who probably got sick of a GMV camera only feet away from him most of the time was LEE PRIEST.  Not only is Lee a personable, friendly Aussie - this "Little Big Man" (as Wayne DeMilia dubs him) is, in our opinion, the greatest short physique in the history of bodybuilding.  I really felt he would better his previous 6th place finish of a few years ago.  But it was not to be, with a rampant GÜNTER SCHLIERKAMP making a huge leap from last year to finish in 5th spot with Lee again at 6th.

At the end of the extended prejudging, we headed back to the Expo.  There we recorded more interviews and poses with whomever we could grab in the last couple of hours.  Then it was time to break down the booth, get our stuff back to the store room and load up the cameras again for the Mr. Olympia Finals pump room.

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Mr. Olympia Finals

At 6pm, the first guy entered the pump area and as usual it was NASSER EL SONBATY as he hit the bench press for a few sets.  Soon all the others were present.  The tension was high as last minute pumping was interspersed with tans being touched up with the help of JAN TANA, and oiling up occurring just before going out on stage.

KEVIN LEVRONE was the model for a new type of airbrush tan makeup that Jan was promoting - it was just sprayed on.  It reminding me of cars being sprayed in the painting booth after body repairs!

Shawn Ray was not with us in the evening, so it was 100% pumping action for our team, with some short bursts over at the photo booths.  With a TV monitor in the pump area, we could follow all the front of stage action as well.

Some of the guys pump quite a lot.  Guys such as CRAIG TITUS, KEVIN LEVRONE, LEE PRIEST, GEORGE FARAH, DENNIS JAMES and BOB CICHERILLO.  Just a few pump very little and seem to dislike being seen in the pump room until they are forced to be there just prior to appearing onstage.  ERNIE TAYLOR was one of the shy guys this year, as he was the only guy to pump up fully clothed in a track suit, just before going out on stage.  Naturally, all the cameras ignored him as they want to see bulging, rippling muscle and not gym clothing.

I felt Ernie did himself and his many fans a grave disservice.  He missed out on valuable publicity in both still photos and videos.  All bodybuilders need exposure, which means exposure of the physique.  Ernie placed 14th and was the only competitor from the UK.  As he has just released the new video "Taylor Made", I expected he would welcome publicity.

The real drama began when it got to the top 6.  I went front of stage to watch the final posedown and awards, as the pump area had closed by then.  Several guys who missed the top 6 were posing for photos for BOB GARDNER, a photographer for Weider.

Front stage, it was incredible seeing GÜNTER SCHLIERKAMP getting two standing ovations.  The first occurred when he made the top 10 and was presented with his medal.  He received the second ovation when he was awarded 5th place.

As the top 6 were announced, I noted the look of surprise and satisfaction that passed over Günter's face.  Booing broke out when he placed 5th, as the audience seemed to want a new champion.  Sadly, more booing broke out as RONNIE COLEMAN was announced the winner over KEVIN LEVRONE.  It has been a long time since I have seen a Mr. Olympia winner booed.  It was disrespectful.

In the pump area, you have a privileged position enjoyed by very few.  You are only feet away from the guys and can observe them and compare them close up.  All the Olympia reports that are floating around the internet and other media seem to be written from a front of stage perspective, often by people well back from the stage.  

Here are my comments on the top guys from my view, which is very close indeed:

1st - RONNIE COLEMAN

Fantastic back, legs, arms and V shape.  He was lighter this year, but looked flat and still had a belly bloat, although not as pronounced as last year.  This was his 5th Olympia victory and I have witnessed the last four.  I did expect him to have a tight, well-controlled mid section after last years close call with JAY CUTLER.  But it was not to be.  Next year, will he be able to recapture the hard shape and condition of his 1998 and 1999 victories? I feel it will be very hard as Ronnie will then be fairly close to 40.  Time will tell.  I also noted some softness in his lower pecs and lower lats.

2nd - KEVIN LEVRONE

Many fans felt that Kevin was robbed as this is the fourth time in his career that he has rated second place.  I felt it was very close and thought that Kevin may pull off a victory this time.  He was in the fantastic shape, size and condition he achieved in 2000.  But in a close decision, the judges are always going to lean towards the present champion and so it was in 2002.

Kevin was heavier and had brought his legs up again.  His posing, as usual, was an absolute joy to watch.  He is a true master poser and won rounds 3 and 4, but it couldn't win him that elusive Sandow trophy.  I have my doubts as to whether Kevin will ever achieve this title, but I hope that I'm mistaken.

3rd - CHRIS CORMIER

Mr Consistent Chris is always at the top of the tree, winning many Grand Prix every year.  I felt he was down a bit this time and not as sharp as I've seen him nor as tight as he was in early 2002.  He has excellent symmetry and a total package that could win the Olympia crown if he gets the fire to concentrate 110% on the title for a 12 month period.

On this occasion, I felt Chris probably deserved 4th or 5th place.  He must have been pleased with his placing.

4th - DEXTER JACKSON

I have never seen Dexter in less than brilliant condition and "The Blade" was as cut as ever.  I thought it would be a toss up between him and his great rival LEE PRIEST for 4th place, as Lee beat him in the San Francisco Grand Prix 7 months earlier.  But Dexter, with his small joints and wonderful symmetry had a most convincing package on the night.  He was the top placing smaller guy behind the three big guys above him.  It was obvious that Dexter was close to a real breakthrough in beating Chris or Kevin.  This is exactly what happened, as one week later at the English Grand Prix, Dexter tasted Grand Prix victory for the first time.

5th - GÜNTER SCHLIERKAMP

Everyone at this years Olympia will remember the "Günter Experience".  Never have I heard such cheering for a single competitor in all my years of attending Olympias.  Günter has become a crowd favourite over the last few years, even though he has usually been screwed with low placings.

This year it was different.  The crowd roared every time Günter appeared.  His support was greater than Ronnie's and Kevin's added together!  Why the change?  Everyone could see that Günter was in the best shape of his life.  He had 300 pounds of symmetrical, huge, vascular, ripped muscle with no belly bloat to offer.  He'd added shoulder size and width, which made his hips look in better proportion to the rest of his physique.  Plus - he has charisma!

This star quality was evident as he got two standing ovations when he received his 5th place award.  Günter was happy with 5th, but the crowd was not.  Many in the audience felt that he could and should have taken first place.  Personally, I would have placed him around second as he certainly lived up to his nickname of "Rock Hard".  But I doubt he was really 300 pounds and still in such sharp condition with striations everywhere from thighs to glutes and places north.

In three out of five poses, I felt that Günter had the edge on Ronnie.  He certainly looked bigger, which is no mean feat.  Several weeks later, Günter proved that his new shape and condition were no flash in the pan, with a decisive victory over Ronnie at the GNC Show.  Glass and Nichols were the gurus who helped Günter finally reach his true potential this year.  Although he looked even better at the evening finals than at the afternoon judging, the low placings of 13th or 14th he received from five of the judges in Round One sunk his chances of a higher placing than 5th.  By Round Three, he received four 2nd placings, one 3rd and three 4th places.  But one judge rated Günter low (compared to the top 6) all the way through all rounds.

It was a night to remember for Günter.  In the eyes of many he left that giant arena as the winner.  His rapport with his fans is something else!  Combined with his fantastic physique, ever-present smile, charisma and warm personality - I feel Günter is destined to be Mr. Olympia in the very near future.

6th - LEE PRIEST

It is hard to believe that around 10 years ago, Lee was competing in the Amateur World Championship in the under 154 pounds class.  Now he ranks in the top 6 pros in the world, competing at around 220-225 pounds.  How has he made this huge transformation?

If you ask Lee, he will make some cheeky comment as he is too modest to mention the 10 years of struggle, hard and dedicated training, and having to overcome many obstacles from health to height.

Lee was in superb, ripped condition for the Olympia.  I felt he was a little fuller when he beat Chris and Dexter at the San Francisco Grand Prix earlier this year, but this time they reversed the placings and Lee had to settle for 6th.

The fans always get a wonderful posing routine from Lee, with his now signature "Myth" pose, made famous by SERGIO - with arms up over his head.  "The Aussie Giant Killer" probably had the best arms in the Olympia, but his lack of back thickness and detail probably cost him a higher placing on the day.  Lee has never stopped improving, so expect this area of his physique to be much improved in 2003.  He will also win more Grand Prix, proving that San Francisco was no flash in the pan.  Lee and his great rival Dexter Jackson are now even on one Grand Prix victory apiece in 2002.

7th - FLEX WHEELER

This was a comeback year for Flex and he certainly looked smaller, healthy and still possessed of that wonderful shape and symmetry.  But the lack of size cost him dearly and I feel he was fortunate to place as high as he did.

Flex posed well and his many fans were pleased to see him back on stage.  He accepted his seventh place with good grace and displayed a calm and relaxed attitude throughout the event.  I am not sure what plans Flex has for 2003, but it will not be the dominant Flex of the past without greater muscle mass.

8th - MARKUS RÜHL

This recent N.O.C. winner has a very special fan base who love massive beef.  This is exactly what they got from Markus, but not as hard and defined as when he won in New York City back in May.  There was a small problem with belly bloat and a synthol look to the delts.  But he did come in six places higher than his 14th place in the 2001 Mr. Olympia.  The popular and massive German will place higher in Olympias in future as he refines his brutal look and improves his symmetry.  My new nickname for Markus is "The Incredible Bulk"!

9th - ORVILLE BURKE

I liked Orville's new, larger, fuller package presented at the "O" this year.  But the striated, lean and ripped look of 2001 was missing.

Orville looked great in front and rear poses, but side-on and during transitions revealed his evident belly bloat and it surprised me that he finished in front of Dennis James.

10th - DENNIS JAMES

When I saw Dennis at the preliminaries before the Olympia, he looked to be in excellent shape and hard, tight condition.  Even in the prejudging pump room, Dennis looked fantastic when he posed and tensed for my camera.  But the problem was probably when Dennis did not have every inch of his body tensed, he seemed to lose impact.

He was not as "freaky" as he was in his video "Dennis James - This Is The Way To Do It", which was shot between contests.  But Dennis seemed a little flat and depleted on the day.  Perhaps he peaked one week late, as a week later Dennis placed 2nd at the 2002 English Grand Prix in London.  I know that one year Dennis will hit his peak right on the day of the Olympia.  Then you will find this master poser in the top 3.

Now a few random comments on the guys who missed out on the top 10 and, consequently, went home with no prize money:

Once again, CRAIG TITUS took 11th place, just missing out on a cheque.  He was bigger this year, but his weak points were small pecs and a struggle to keep his midsection under control.  His arms were improved and he will crack the top 10 eventually.

As mentioned, the huge ART ATWOOD was the best placed newcomer, but needs experience and refinement to tie together the assortment of large body parts that seem to be scattered all over his body.  He was quite hard at the Olympia and showed huge potential.  He's already won one pro show at this early stage of his pro career.  His 12th place was well deserved.

AHMAD HAIDAR in 13th was a little unlucky.  I felt he was probably sharper at the Arnold Classic and San Francisco Grand Prix earlier this year.  But the day after the Olympia, when he posed for us poolside, he looked harder and more cut than he looked on the Olympia stage.  He still had the best abs in the Mr. Olympia and represents the antithesis of belly bloat!

Ahmad's physique is symmetrical and very appealing, but he needs to be shredded to receive high placings - due to his smaller size.  He is still very much on the way up.

14th place went to a rather subdued ERNIE TAYLOR, who didn't seem to enjoy his Olympia appearance.  Poor Ernie started off on the back foot, reading from his prepared statement at the press conference when a fan queried him over his apparent synthol triceps.  I feel this upset Ernie, making him wary of the press and photographers for the whole show.  If he had chatted with Shawn Ray in the pump room for us, we would have promoted his new video.

KING KAMALI in 17th was a great disappointment.  However, he did have the best and most entertaining routine on the night.  When he came offstage after this routine, I noticed that he was absolutely drained, shattered and spent as he recovered backstage.  It seemed to me that the King had possibly dropped weight too fast in the weeks prior to the Olympia, leaving him flat and lacking his former size.

He did beat his good friend BOB CICHERILLO by one place.  I felt this should have been the other way round.  Bob was most impressive as a newcomer.  Great shape, good symmetry and a good stage presence.

Poor old PACO BAUTISTA received 20th place in this, his first Olympia.  For a man who was freaky, hard and ripped with easily the best legs in the show, this was a very poor reward.  His legs are almost beyond description, being huge yet striated and vascular.  When I saw him at FIBO in 2000 and 2001, I said that this guy from Spain was someone to watch for future greatness.

He has a huge fan base world wide but that did not impress the judges, who marked him down quite severely for his weaknesses.  If he gets his gyno fixed, moves to the USA, improves his spoken English and works on his symmetry - Paco could easily jump 12 or more places next year.

TOMMI THORVILDSON is one of my favourite physique stars as he has such an athletic, vibrant routine and usually comes in shredded with his famous striated glutes.  Check them out in the 2001 English Grand Prix.  But it was not to be at this years Olympia, where Tommi's smoother condition could not win him better than 22nd position.  As he said the next day at his poolside shoot with us, this was his first Olympia and he can only improve and learn from this experience.

Summing Up

A wonderful and extremely exciting Mr. Olympia, with a degree of controversy over the placings of Ronnie, Günter and Kevin.  It was a very large field, lots of new faces, a large and enthusiastic audience and the best pump room ever for GMV.  My thanks to Tom Lincir of IVANKO for supplying the weights and to FLEX Equipment for the benches.  But to the guy who "borrowed" the 2 Olympic bars after we left the holding area, could you please bring them back again at the next Olympia?

Can Ronnie regain his old condition and beat off the younger challengers in 2003? Only time will tell.

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Day 6 - Sunday: Olympia Sunday and Poolside Shoot

This year we missed the Olympia winners seminar to concentrate our whole team on taping and photographing a bunch of champions pool-side at the Mandalay Bay.  One of the pool areas was specially set aside for us and the other pro photographers from 9am to 1pm.  In this 4-hour period, we worked like hell with the following 12 models:

Ahmad and Tommi even did a fun duo posing segment, complete with compulsory poses and then "pose down"!  They looked fantastic.

Yaxeni and Fannie also did solo and duo posing and a pose down.  These two Venezuelans were simply terrific and great fun to work with.

Susanne Niederhauser was a true professional and her session was one you can all look forward to seeing on video in due course.  With her and Ahmad (at different times), we had the two best sets of abs of the Olympia.

All models were in great shape and now we must work out how best to edit all this sensational outdoor footage into various videos.

12 people in four hours with two video cameras was pushing it.  If we had only been allowed more time by the hotel, it would have been less rushed and more relaxing.

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Day 7 - Monday - Gym Workout

Although the team was exhausted, we had one final shoot: the gym workout at Gold's Gym with rising junior star RONAN DOHERTY.  Ronan has been doing extremely well in his division in the popular Muscle Mania events and is destined for big things in the future.  At 19 years old, he displays a very mature and symmetrical physique and his future may be in acting as well as bodybuilding.

After his final posing routine at the end of the workout, it was time to finally pack up the cameras.  This concluded the busiest and most rewarding week of my long career.  As we were leaving, we saw JAY CUTLER in the gym and chatted about the Arnold Classic, which he won this year.  Jay looked to be around 280 pounds and in pretty good condition.  He told us he was training for the 2003 Arnold Classic.  Let's hope he does the 2003 Olympia as well.  I would love to see Gunter, Jay, Ronnie and Kevin battle it out next year!

The next Hard News will cover the English Grand Prix.  

Till then -

Wayne Gallasch
Email: wayne@gmv.com.au