I agree with Shawn. He still could have kept going, there was no decline in his physique when he retired, he just turned 36
Wonder what was the reasoning? I don’t think anyone saw it coming or maybe they did
That's actually a great question, and worth answering. Based on the way he reviewed the 2001 Mr. Olympia contest, it seemed that he was frustrated that the bodybuilding judging wasn't budging away from the concept of absolute quantity of muscle mass still being an important judging criteria. I think he realized that would be no way whatsoever for him to win the Mr. Olympia contest short of putting on 20-lb of pure muscle while maintaining his proportions perfectly.
Something either genetically impossible for him...or extremely difficult without the use of a much more dangerous level of steroids/PEDs.
I'm only guessing that based on Shawn's complaints going back literally a decade [possibly more] where he complained about out-of-shape monsters beating him. Admittedly, Lee Haney was never as lean as Shawn, Dorian Yates was never as aesthetic/proportional as Shawn, and Ronnie - while being the hardest case for Shawn to point to weaknesses on the champion that he [Shawn] beat - was still off in both 2000 and 2001, and I could see why Shawn would be frustrated by that.
Not to mention, Jay Cutler failed the eventual LASIX test but then successfully sued [or threatened to sue] the IFBB because the lab that tested for LASIX was not IOC-approved, and Kevin Levrone had either registered for the contest after the final allowable registration date in the year or straight up did not pay his pro card fee that year [I think the first one], and Shawn probably felt he deserved to be 2nd that year rather than 4th as a result.
IMO, rightfully so - both Jay and Kev should have been disqualified...Nasser was disqualified in 1996 for failing the LASIX test, and the lab was not IOC-approved at the time. It's just that Nasser didn't think to threaten to sue the IFBB, so his disqualification stuck.
Here is what Shawn Ray personally said about his 2001 Mr. Olympia performance, which may lend some insight to this topic:
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=379272.msg5391048#msg5391048^ It's easier to link to that thread than to dig up the primary source on Getbig's main site [if Ron still has it up]. Here is Shawn's 2001 review of his own physique:
4th~Ray~ 211lbs. 2lbs lighter than last year. I worked mostly on back, shoulders and reducing my thighs. I felt a little flat at prejudging, missed my warm up call by about 5 mins. By night show filled out nicely added some H2O and felt I hit my peak better. From my stand point I thought I had Kevin whom eventually beat me by 4pts. What would I change? Nothing, I am pleased with my look and happy with my condition 3rd or 4th is what? Apples & Oranges, right Ronnie?
