Ronnie Coleman came to the show 20 pounds heavier than he did at the 2002 Mr. Olympia two weeks earlier, and looked great. He was hard, and is preparing for the New Orleans Show of Strength contest next week where the grand prize is $100,000. If Ronnie comes in the shape that we all think he will, no one will beat him at that show either. Ronnie has great conditioning. Ronnie came much heavier to this show because at the Mr. Olympia, he was trying to please the judges by coming under 250. Here, he looked bigger and fuller.
Chris Cormier improved from last week's British Grand Prix, and was in much better conditioning. He definitely will look to place in the top 3 next week at New Orleans.
Dexter Jackson looked great, and was in perfect shape. Many people in the audience thought he should have been in 2nd place, as he is a symmetrical bodybuilder with a great physique. It was very close between Dexter and Chris.
Dennis James came in good conditioning, however, you could see that the tour had taken some toll on him since last weeks British Grand Prix. But he did give a great show during the evening, and the audience enjoyed it.
Claude Groulx was hard, and probably in the best shape of his life, better than the Mr. Olympia. Where has he during the O, as he took 5th place here, and showed he can perform and be compared with the big guys of the sport.
Jaroslav Horvath was in good condition, but looked extremely tired. After months of preparation and dieting, the time comes for Jaroslav to rest. He could have been harder and have more separation, but his symmetrical looked very good. He has a small waist and a good physique, and he needed to be just a little harder and leaner.
Eduard van Amsterdam was in the shape of his life, hard , big and he just missed the top 6. If he can work on his chest and on the back (to get it wider), he could have a great future. Tommi Thorvildson looked nice but missed the hard lines and he was in the same shape and condition as the Olympia. Paco Bautista did not look as good as he did at the Mr. Olympia. He was out of shape, but still very freaky.
Markus Ruhl did come to the event, but did not compete, due to the fact that he contracted food poisoning after the British Grand Prix, and did not recover in time for the contest preparation. He did, however, take his shirt off for all of his cheering fans in the audience.
For some reason, both Flex Wheeler and Art Atwood did not show up at the contest, even though they were supposed to be there, and the IFBB may perhaps fine them because of the failure to appear.
Ronnie Coleman did say that he will come back next year to this show, in fact, he gave his word. Time shall see.
Word from our friends in Holland was that several bodybuilder had a great time visiting several 'coffee' ships, and trying the different 'flavors'.
Special thanks to Marco Verhoek, Sport & Fitness Publishing BV, for the pictures, and notes. His site is at www.sportenfitness.nl
