Game Over for the Nuthuggers. Ronnie wins!
Joe Weider - IFBB Co-Founder"Many experts, including reigning Mr.Olympia, Jay Cutler, believe that at his best Ronnie has the greatest physique of all-time. When looking at pictures of Ronnie from the 1998 Mr.Olympia, I find it hard to argue with that."
Team Flex – http://www.flexonline.com/training/49"We've said before that the 245 pounds or so physique with which [Ronnie Coleman] won the 2001 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic is the best ever - unbeatable."
Lonnie Teper - MD, December 2005"I've always said that it's too hard to compare athletes of different eras (then he names a few Mr. Olympias including Dorian). Still, it's hard to imagine that anybody who's ever stepped on a bodybuilding stage could have beaten Coleman. So I reserve the right to change my mind on this one. No offense to the rest of the champs - you were/are all truly amazing physique athletes - but Coleman has really taken it to the next level, as all magnificent conquerors do."
Raymond Cassar – Muscletime Editor and Photographer"There is no one alive that can beat Ronnie Coleman when he is at his best - No One! (and his best for me was when he won the 2001 Arnold Classic)"
http://www.muscletime.com/news/contest-results/2007-mr-olympia-analysisPeter McGough - Flex, August 2005"Ronnie sporting that [01 ASC] look would, in my opinion, be unbeatable."
Peter McGough - Flex, April 2002"[Ronnie Coleman] bounced back to win the 2001 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic with a physique that may have been the best ever seen."
Shawn Perine Ironage Dec 11, 2004"As much as I love Haney and my IA champs, I think Ronnie circa '98 or at the 2001 Arnold is pretty much untouchable."
Shawn Perine - Flex, July 2007 p. 207"After all, he's still, even at 43 yrs old, eight-time Mr. O Ronnie freakin' Coleman. Which is to say, arguably the best bodybuilder who has ever lived."
Greg Merritt - Flex, July 2007 p. 212"Coleman is only two years older than the new Mr. O (hypothetical article saying if Toney Freeman won), but time stops for no man, including the greatest bodybuilder who ever lived."
Flex Wheeler - MD, February 2004"I'll go on record as saying Ronnie is truly the biggest, hardest, most shredded Mr. Olympia in history. No disrespect to anybody at all, but I'd to identify Ronnie Coleman as the greatest Mr. Olympia of all time."
Jean Pierre Fux - Personal Website"The current Mr. Olympia (Ronnie Coleman). In top shape, probably the best physique that ever stepped on stage."
Paul Dillet - MD, February 2004"Understand that if Ronnie walked away tomorrow, I do not think anyone can measure up to the standards he has set. Just like Sergio Oliva, an awesome bodybuilder way ahead of his time, and like Flex Wheeler, who had an absolutely perfect, beautiful physique. No one will match Serigo or Flex and now Ronnie."
Steve Blechman - MD, Febrary 2004"Ronnie perseveres and proves continually that, at his best, he is unbeatable."
Mike Matarazzo – Flex, January 1999"I think this creature from another planet, Ronnie Coleman, is going to be number one for a while. I think that, in the shape he was in, he would have beaten Dorian Yates. Ronnie has every single attribute it takes to be the greatest bodybuilder who ever lived. "
Dexter Jackson - Flex, January 2004"As to Ronnie, that dude is by far the best bodybuilder on earth, he is in a class by himself, and no one will be able to touch him for years to come."
John Hansen, 2x Mr. Natural Universe and Mr. Natural Olympia - Personal Website"It would be safe to say that [Ronnie Coleman] presented a physique that has never been seen by the bodybuilding world ever before. Competing at an incredibly massive 287 pounds, Ronnie destroyed the competition with a physique that could not possibly be equaled."
Ryan Mackie - A Fan Perspective: My 2003 Olympia Experience (Hosted on Bodybuilding.com)"Everyone could see that at 287 pounds this was Ronnie's night and that he was back on top of his game and furthermore bodybuilding had just seen the bar of excellence raised even further. Just like Dorian Yates did in 1993 when he set a new standard, Ronnie has now taken it even further leaving all his competitors wonder what they have to do to now catch Ronnie Coleman, let alone beat him."
Branch Warren – Flex, October 2006"I have a lot of respect for Ronnie. He’s probably the greatest bodybuilder there’s ever been."
Dorian Yates – PBW Radio Interview"The judges would probably choose Ronnie [over me]."
Greg Meritt – http://www.metroflexgymtraining.com/testimonials.html"From the greatest bodybuilder of all-time, Ronnie Coleman, to gregarious owner Brian Dobson to the kid who joined yesterday, everyone is trying to push themselves further than ever before, and it’s the energy of this shared commitment that makes Metroflex great."
Milos Sarcev - European Flex, April 2004"I will never forget (October 25th 2003) the moment when Ronnie first stepped on the stage, because it seemed that all sense of time had stopped for a moment. Everyone was in a state of complete shock, and an eerie silence was broken only by the whispers of sheer disbelief! No human EVER looked like that! EVER!"
"Reportedly, he weighed in around 290 pounds at a height of 5' 11", and it is my guess that he was actually below 3% body fat! His conditioning was simply superb, and his muscle mass absolutely unmatched… I realized then and there that Ronnie Coleman was simply unbeatable!"
"Chris Lund who I consider to be a great expert in our sport of bodybuilding, told me that Ronnie is simply the best bodybuilder he has ever seen, or photographed, and he has seen everybody, during the last 35 years."
"Ronnie Coleman is absolutely phenomenal, and I really mean that. I would also agree with all the experts who believe that he is the best bodybuilder of all time. However, I don't think he has the most aesthetic body of all time, but having said that, he certainly is the best (for IFBB pro judges) in bodybuilding."
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=237938.0Hollis Liebman - Former Fitness Editor and IFBB Official"The era of the big man would commence with Lee Haney (1984-1991), whose formidable torso would dominate the lineup for 8 straight years and was then elevated by Dorian Yates (1992-1997), whose back and overall conditioning upped the ante yet again until an alien named Ronnie Coleman (1998-2005), in all likelihood the greatest bodybuilder of all time, would redefine the sport bringing a near 300 pound contest ready physique to the stage."
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=238675.0
