IRONMAN 2001 REPORT

The 2001 Ironman was as competitive as ever. This year, because I�m well-known (and equally well-liked, I hope) in the sport, I got to go backstage and spend time with some of the biggest bodybuilders in the business; so not only am I going to bring you the usual competition report, but this time I can also let you in on what I witnessed firsthand; you�re going to find out what some of the top guys are really like behind closed doors (or curtains, I should say). Running from first place through fifteenth, I am going to give you my comments on each competitor in turn. And since, as many of you know, I am pretty tight with a lot of the top guys in our sport, I shall try to be as honest as possible.

1st - Chris Cormier. What can you say about the Real Deal? He�s a freak, that�s what. He is also the most misunderstood man in the sport. I spent a fair amount of time with Chris backstage and I was amazed at how casual he was. When the competitors were called to go out on stage, I personally witnessed Chris talking on his cell phone right up to the very last second, calmly ending the call and handing the phone to his friend Royce, just before stepping out into the blinding lights and oppressive noise of the bodybuilding stage. When I later asked Chris about getting nervous backstage, he said: �I have been competing practically every year since I was seventeen (he�s now thirty-three). He also said that in the early days of his competitive career, he did get nervous, but not anymore.
So how did Chris look? Awesome. He weighed in at a genuine
260lbs. Now, take this from a bodybuilder (me) who�s taken second at the last two World Championships running: almost every bodybuilder out there lies about their weight. But Chris honestly weighed in at 260lbs, and was in near-perfect condition. He did nothing special for this show; all he did was cut back his water a little and basically walk out on stage. Chris trained with Craig Titus to get ready for the show. Craig always laughs at how easily Chris gets into condition; you see, if you saw Chris in the gym just three weeks out from a competition, you�d swear he�d never make it in time; but he always does. Chris was tight all over, his back was awesome - big, thick and full - and his legs had amazing separation everywhere; his quads are, as Craig himself put it, �unbelievable�. No one has the shape and separation that Chris possesses.

2nd - Melvin Anthony. Big things were expected from the marvelous one, and he did not disappoint here tonight. He�d definitely improved his size from his seventh place at the NOC last year; and Melvin has beautiful shape; he, like Flex (who could pass as his brother, they�re so similar), is one of the lucky few to have been blessed with exceptional genetics. Melvin was a clear second place on the judges score card tonight. I�ve seen him a little dryer, but with his pleasing shape and added mass he was a very popular choice behind Chris Cormier. And as frightening as it may sound, he can be better by about fifteen per cent. If he comes in dryer and about 4lbs lighter, he will be so much more impressive. And I simply must not forget to mention Melvin posing routine; it is awesome - period.

3rd - King Kamali. He talked the talk and he sure as hell backed it up at the Ironman by walking the walk. King was the hardest guy in the show; he was shredded, tight everywhere, and yet he was not as good as he could have been. He came in, for him, a little flat, which I�m sure was his plan for his pro debut - he needed to make a statement here tonight, and he made it. Expect to see a bigger and fuller King Kamali at the Arnold Classic. When you diet down so hard and come in a little flat you tend to lose a little roundness to your muscles. With an added 5lbs of water inside King�s muscles I think you will see the real King Kamali. I had never met King in my life prior to the Ironman, but I can tell you he is a great guy. I asked him how it felt to have come into this show with so much pressure and to have done what he predicted he would. King smiled at me and said, �I feel great; I believed in myself and was so tired of hearing these people say I couldn�t - that really drove me.� I don�t think King will be hearing too many more comments about him not being good enough. He is a true professional: every detail was taken care of, his color was the best I�ve seen, his Terminator routine brought the house down, and his stage presence is right up there with Lee Labrada�s. As you can tell, I was pretty impressed with the King.

4th - J.D. Dawodu. J.D. really worked hard for this show; he came in a lot tighter than he did last year, especially his waist, which really helped his balance here tonight. Though quite short in height, J.D. has a ton of muscle on his frame, which sits pretty well on him. If he can pack on another eight pounds or so and keep his waist as it currently looks, he will be a real threat in any future pro show.

5th - Craig Titus. What can I say about my boy Craig, other than: �Yeah baby.� CT was the biggest guy in the show, and in awesome condition. CT�s words last year at this very competition were: �Next year I will be in the top five,� and guess what, he was. I don�t think that people realize that Craig has only been out of prison for two years; and in that time he�s improved so much it�s almost depressing. Craig is 5�8� and he weighed 247lbs, and that was while he was still carbing up. Did he really weigh 247lbs? Yes, he did; and I can vouch for that. Craig was right on the money; he has near to the best legs I have ever seen. When we were backstage, he put a quarter inside the deep cuts in his upper thigh and held it there. Craig had really wanted to improve his back, and the results were evident for all to see; it was as thick as an oak tree, and believe it or not, he�d managed to make it even wider. Craig works like a dog in the gym, and he fully deserves all the rewards he receives for his hard labor. He�s recently signed a Weider contract, so expect to see a few new covers featuring the monster Craig Titus. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think Craig will be the biggest guy in the sport within two years.

6th - Garret Downing. What a showing; Garret was in his best ever condition. I know Garret a little and the man is hard-core; not many people know that Garret works a fifty hour week at his job, then hits the gym for a minimum of an extra twenty. And he�s recently become engaged to����; and let me tell you she is one of the reasons that Garret is such a class bodybuilder. A while ago Garret�s legs were his main weak point, but he has really brought them up so that now they are only slightly behind his upper body, which is very big and full. In fact, I think Garrett�s chest is one of the fullest in the sport. Garret�s showing has confirmed what he has known all along - that he is one hell of a bodybuilder, on his way up the rankings. Craig Titus, who competed against Garrett in 1996, said even way back then that he knew he would one day see Garrett on the professional stage alongside him, and it looks like he was absolutely right. I am really happy for Garrett and ����. Enjoy the rewards, guys.

7th - Lee Priest. This man deserves a trophy just for managing to step onto the stage; during his crucial pre-contest phase, he was struck down by a severe virus which kept Australia�s best bodybuilder in hospital for nearly three weeks, and yet he still competed and took a creditable seventh place in a very tough line-up. Lee was nowhere near his best, but even Lee looking �bad� still makes for a top pro any day of the week. The main area in which Lee seemed to have lost some muscle was his back; when Lee is big, full and hard, he has no weaknesses at all, but today his back was just not what it usually would have been. But this is just a minor setback for Lee because, as anyone who knows anything about Lee will tell you, he has the tenacity of a terrier; he�ll be back at the Mr. O in his best shape ever and will place in the top six again or better.

8th - Jason Arntz. The man is here to stay. Although Jason was not at his best for this show, he is always going to be a threat for one of the top spots in any competition he enters; he has not finished outside the top nine in his last three pro shows. I asked him if he has reached the stage where he considers himself a top pro; his answer: �I do feel a little more established in the pro ranks, but I still consider myself pretty new on the pro scene.� Jason is one of the few guys who never weigh themselves; he lets the mirror be the judge of his condition, and it seems to be working.

9th - John Sherman. John has been away from competition for a while. I don�t feel he�s tapped into his true potential as a pro yet; hopefully, with a few more years of solid training behind him, John will be a strong threat in any show he enters. John was pretty tight all over; he is a short guy, but he doesn�t lose his shape as many of the shorter guys tend to do when they put on some serious muscle.

10th - Rodney St. Cloud. Dubbed Mr. Genetics a few years ago in Musclemag, he lived up to that title tonight. He certainly has a nice flow and shape to his body. In another couple of years, with some more hard training and consistent competition experience, I think you will see a very much improved St. Cloud.

These are the placings in the remaining top spots:
11th - Charles Kemp
12th - Marko Savoliman
13th - Rudy Solimon
14th - Dennis Francis
15th - Christian Lobarede

It was a very entertaining show with a lot of obvious trash talking on stage between the competitors; at one stage King Kamali was having a go at just about every other competitor, until my boy Craig Titus took over, getting into it with an amusing war of words with Melvin Anthony. But I think the ultimate winner in the battle of wits was Chris Cormier; after having been compared to Melvyn Anthony and King Kamali and then politely asked to leave center stage by the judges, he just looked at his two bodybuilding rivals and said: �The show�s over, boys.� And it was.
Of course, in a competition report we generally talk about the winners, and rightly so - they deserve the exposure and the plaudits; but the Ironman 2000 was also a big show for those who didn�t make the top fifteen. Hans Hopstaken, for example, made his pro debut at the age of 45, and was competitive enough to get a callout; in a line up of twenty-six guys that�s not a bad effort. Hans won the very first show I ever entered: The Sunshine Coast Contest in Queensland, Australia. Back then Hans was a god to me, and he�s still someone I look up to greatly. He achieved one of his major goals tonight. Well done, mate.
We also witnessed the return of Ali Malla to the IFBB stage; at fifty-two years young, he was in the best shape of his life. But the sport has moved ahead a great deal since Ali last stepped on stage, and he was a little disappointed not to have been given a callout for a comparison. Nevertheless, he did himself proud tonight. I look forward to seeing the changes in all the guys in two weeks time, when they will all be at their peak for the Arnold classic. Well that�s it for the Ironman 2001 report.