The 2001 IFBB Master's Olympia was an exciting contest, won by Vince Taylor, but Vince was almost upstaged by Don Youngblood. Here is a report by one of the competitors, Hans Hopstaken.
The big question is, Was Don Youngblood better in the first two rounds, as the score indicated?" Obviously, I can only give you my opinion. An opinion that did not have the direct view [ frontal] that the judges did. An opinion however that is based on thirty years of bodybuilding, twenty seven or so in competition... over eighty amateur
comps, and four pro shows under my belt. I also judged as an I F B B
judge at regional, state, and national level in Australia for ten
years.[ there is no, N P C over there, the I F B B does both pro and
amateur]. I pride myself on being objective, and strive for a
perspective of the truth that is based on the rules of logic, not emotion.
A long winded way to tell you that i believe i'm well qualified
to offer such an opinion based on what i could see. In the past
competitive years, the perception of what each round is supposed to mean
has evolved. The original reason each round had a different criteria,
was to eventually, over three or four rounds "ALL" factors of the
physique could be balanced out, to achieve what at the time is
considered the closest to the ideal. In my opinion no round is more
misinterpreted than the first " symmetry" round". In the dictionary,
symmetry is the imaginary drawing of a line down the middle of a shape
to see if both sides are of equal size and shape. In bodybuilding,
symmetry has added to that definition what we call balance, how
harmonious does the shape [" flow",..as sculptors call
it ]. It also considers proportions, and appeal of the actual shape of
the muscle. I believe the first round of the masters "O" was based a
little too much on initial impact [ e.g.; striking muscularity]
Don Youngblood was fantastic, he was really good. He was called
out first [ i believe that "unless" the reigning champ looks off, it has
been a traditional sign of respect to give him first call out, in the
middle,.. the guy won it four times allready,...insignificant point?
perhaps?] Vince on one side and John Hnydashack on the other.
Essentially the breakdown looked to me like this. Don was very
hard and defined, he had plenty of size, he was dry, he looked great. He
did have weak points symmetrically,... * no glute development * flat,
though very defined hamstrings, reasonable upper abs, but lose skin in
the lower ab, and back. From the side his upper back had a postural
problem [ upper spine curvature], Don worked hard to not show this, but
perhaps trying too hard gave the appearance of awkwardness. There was
also the unfortunate fact that he wasn't able to pose well enough to
show this incredible body off. I have e-mail Don, and congratulated
him on his success. I MEAN NO DISRESPECT, I THOUGHT HE WAS FANTASTIC,
AND WILLINGLY ADMITTED HIS SUPERIORITY OVER ME. [ although, as the
accompioning photo backstage shows, i believe i deserved at least a
comparison with him.]
Vince was not as hard as Don, he wasn't way off, but he was a
little off. But the shape, symmetry, muscle bellies, taper, structural
harmony, and ability to show his body in the best way possible, was
better than all of us. If the criteria of round one was observed, in my
mind Vince was ALL FIRSTS ! !. Don created a huge impact, the guy's side
chest, [ especially torso], and most muscular are incredible, but isn't
that round two?
Regarding Round Two:
After we did our solo seven compulsories in numerical order [ an additional viewing that the I F B B has in it's judging system, presumably to make for more accurate callouts once the
athletes gather in a numerical group on stage ]. The comparisons of round two were about to begin. It was basically a carbon copy of the symmetry round in so far as to the order of the comparisons. The focus was on Vince, Don, and John. In this round it would have been more
difficult to separate Don Youngblood from Vine Taylor. They both had such different physiques, Don was hard, cut, dry, and pretty full in the upper body, he had good overall size, 241 lbs at 5 ' 10" , i believe. No athlete is weighed at any pro show, so it is not hard to be skeptical sometimes of claimed bodyweights. In my opinion Don looked that weight.
He had fantastic delts, wide shoulder structure, great traps and arms, good chest. Very cut legs, maybe not proportionally as big as his upper body, but the advantage of small knee joints made his legs look good. Bad points? lower abs, no glutes, not as good a poser as his physique warrants, loose skin on lower back and lower abs. Good lats, and good
back thickness. Some curvature of the upper spine [ but that was covered
in round one ].
Vince has it all muscle wise, huge arms, small joints, every muscle is full and round. A very small waist, and big full lats make for an impressive taper. The thing about Vince this
year was that he had really brought his thighs up, Bigger, and improved sweep [ outer and inner ]. Always able to show his body to it's best advantage due to posing skill that is as good as anyone in the pro ranks. Weak points, he wasn't hard, particularly next to Don. It is difficult to describe Vince's level of condition, he obviously wasn't fat, and he was separated, but he did have a softer slightly water retained look about him. Not wanting to be a coward here, i sure would have liked to see them from the front, with lots of comparisons. The judges made Don a pretty clear winner, i'm not sure i would agree with that. We are always told, consider the whole body. Almost every muscle in Vinces body, was
superior in size and shape to anyone on stage The exception was Don's delts. Don was not as well put together, but as hard as a rock, and as dry as a stone. This one really did come down to preference, except for one observation. As i looked at the group [ admittedly from the side, but i spent a lot of time back stage with them as well], i do have to say that Vince does seem to be a step above the rest of us even at less than absolute peak condition. If asked for an opinion, i probably have gone with Vince.
The three of them, John with the threesome, were compared often, occasionally Robby Would be Put in, and i thought he was a lot closer to John, and deserved more comparisons with him.
John was often factored in with Vince And Don, the judges must have viewed him as a possible for second or maybe even first as well. John did look very good, the legendary abs were there, big arms, and very good conditioning. His legs were very separated and cut, but not big or much sweep. His back was fairly wide when he posed it, and also in good condition, but looked lacking in thickness. Hamstrings were very cut but not much sweep, calves were good, chest was really underdeveloped. John had obviously done his homework, but this is twelve years later, and the criteria is a little different. Not an unfair placing, but one or two down, would not have been inconceivable. What do i say about Robby, he
just keeps on going, he looked good. I Felt it was very close between
Robby and John.
It seemed to me that the competition in round two was held in two stages. The comparisons for top four, and then the contest from fifth down. At no time did any of the top four ever
compare with anyone from fifth down. The callouts to find fifth, sixth etc. were many and varied, with quite a contrasting difference to almost the same athletes as last year. It was good to see lee Apperson get noticed, and move up. I felt in round two, and in the final tally that Airvis Visockis may have been overlooked. I thought he looked better
than the eleventh he finally placed.
I had hoped for a few comparisons with the top Four, but i guess it is always hard to judge yourself objectively. I'm not saying that my placement was right or wrong, just that it didn't seem a clear enough cut off point for no overlap comparisons to occur.
There were mixed feelings about the prejudging, and we all wanted to believe that round three would be a chance to show the judges we deserved a notch up.
It has just occurred to me that during round one and two, i have given what i perceive to be an objective opinion/observation of both the event's strong and weak points. As well as that of the contestants. I've said nothing about the opinion of my own physique,
deeming it improper to do so, but after rereading what i wrote, i'd better let the guys know i'm painfully aware of my own shortcomings as well. So i want to show i can take it as well as dish it out.
Let me first say i have the utmost respect for my peers, my comments were observations, from my perspective [ i could be right or wrong on any point] Felt that my physique was better overall than last years. Last year 231 lbs at 5' 10", this year 240 lbs. On the positive legs were improved in hardness, size, separation. The most improved were my hamstrings, in
both side sweep and cuts. I've managed to harden up my glutes, and they have gotten smaller [ which they needed]. My calves did not change at all, in fact they looked worse because the legs had. I might point out that my legs still don't have the hadness or separation like a Don youngblood, they had improved, that does not necessarily mean they were good. Back was wider + thicker, traps were up, but i don't feel it was as thin skinned as last year, Chest had not changed, Delts were bigger, but not as fibrous as last year, abs were not as good as last year, and waist was marginally bigger [ this may or may not have been offset by
back growth]
The price for extra muscle via heavier compound movements was a slightly bigger waist. Arms were bigger, and about the same definition as last year. Forearms had improved. I felt that posing in the first round was better, but the other rounds about the same.
Overall, i felt i presented a better package than last year, even though i admit not everything was better. I know one thing for certain, that is if i want to be in the final five next year i'd better find a way to make significant improvement if guys like Don creep out of the woodwork.
