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The sport grew as a mainstream physical pursuit, but pro bodybuilding didn't experience the same growth spurt. Sure, there were more pro bodybuilders and prize money had increased spectacularly, but the landscape was uncertain. Contests came and went, promoters went bust and athletes went unpaid. Contest calendars lurched forward on a year-to-year basis. There was no plan. Professional bodybuilding had no professional feel.

Although billions of dollars were spent each year on nutritional supplements and gym memberships, the 2003 Mr. Olympia competition failed to sell out its 5,000-seat venue at Mandalay Bay Events Center. In nearly 40 years, the base of true "hardcore" bodybuilding fans remained virtually unchanged in size. The scenario was akin to that of a red giant star--a rapidly expanding mass that eventually implodes due to a lack of core energy sustaining it.

So last May, when AMI CEO David Pecker decided to purchase half-ownership rights to the Mr. Olympia contest from the IFBB, it was with the knowledge that something had to be done to energize bodybuilding's core. He realized almost immediately that like a red giant, the contest, and professional competitive bodybuilding itself, was on the edge of collapse. Without proper handling, it too could end up forming a black hole of its own.

OKTOBERFEST| Co-emcee Triple H draws his microphone away from Gunter Schlierkamp's face and lets fifth-placed Markus Ruhl step up to the challenge made by his fellow German. The rear double-biceps pose was designed to show off development of back, shoulder and arm muscles primarily, as well as lower-limb muscles secondarily. A loud buzzer--the kind heard at the end of a basketball game--indicates that the bodybuilders should enter into the five-second pose.

Simultaneously, the men turn to face the 12-foot letters spelling OLYMPIA behind them. They each shoot one foot back, pressing its ball into the stage, and each man cranks himself into a picture-perfect rear double-biceps pose. At the sound of the second buzzer, the two giants (Schlierkamp is billed at 6'1" and 295 pounds in contest shape, Ruhl at 5'11" and 280) relax and turn back to face the audience. A moment of dead silence hangs over the large room until a shout of "Ruuuuuuhl!" echoes off the Events Center walls, triggering an avalanche of screams from 5,000 backseat judges. Then all eyes turn to the huge screen above the stage to see which competitor would earn the red dot indicating a Challenge Round win.

When the dot flashes beneath Ruhl's name, the theater erupts into a cacophony of hoots, whistles, cheers and boos, backed by the ubiquitous "Ruuuuuuhl!" sound made by fans of the German's preternatural size. Ever-smiling Schlierkamp shakes his head over the ignominy of having lost a pose that he called for. He does not gain the two points that would leapfrog him from sixth place to fifth. Ruhl, in winning the challenge, catapults from fifth to a tie for third with Dexter Jackson, if only temporarily.

In a flash, Triple H is back in Schlierkamp's face, requesting another pose from the man who boldly claimed victory only two days prior at the Olympia press conference. Triumphant, Ruhl saunters back to his challenge pod, one of six platforms flanking the rear of the stage, and Puerto Rico's Gustavo Badell is on his way down from his own pod en route to the evening's next challenge.

With each new challenge, the audience becomes ever more involved. Schlierkamp goes through his challenges. The other five athletes follow suit, calling for poses of their own choosing to be compared against their rivals, in ascending order of their placings as determined by the previous three rounds of judging. Ruhl follows Schlierkamp. Then Badell. Dexter Jackson, with the third-lowest score at that point (the lower the score the better), goes fourth. Next, it is Jay Cutler's turn and, finally, that of six-time winner and defending champ Ronnie Coleman, who weighed an awesome 296 pounds.

RONNIE: BACK TO FRONT| Coleman begins tearing through the would-be heirs to the Olympia throne the way he tears through barbecued chicken breasts at the Black-eyed Pea restaurant in his hometown of Arlington, Texas. "I'll make it easy on him," he jokes into the microphone as he challenges Schlierkamp to one of his stronger poses, the front lat spread. Coleman beats the big man at his own game, collects two points and moves on. He takes a stab at double jeopardy by challenging Ruhl at his best pose--most muscular. The buzzer sounds, both men crouch down, then another buzzer signals them to relax. Another Coleman win. Another two points.

Against Badell, Coleman calls for a rear double-biceps shot. He apparently sees what the audience and judges see.

Badell came out of relative obscurity earlier in the year to nab high placings at a few shows, displacing some perennial favorites in the process. His physique has few weaknesses, as well as enough size and detail to match up beneficially during almost any pose. Almost.

"Back double biceps," exhorts Coleman. This is unquestionably his best pose. He has what is widely recognized as bodybuilding history's greatest back. When he raises his arms and flexes, sinewy snakes pulsate and writhe under his paper-thin skin before settling into place across their broad tableau. A slight smile stretches Badell's face as he registers the bad news. No one beats Coleman in this pose. Two points for Ronnie.

If Ronnie Coleman is the king of backs, Dexter Jackson is a prince. Although 65 pounds lighter than Big Ron, Jackson has developed a back that is just as complete, if not as overpoweringly massive. Rear double biceps would probably work against Jackson, but it's not a guaranteed two points, as it was against Badell. Fortunately for Coleman, he's got both size and detail in his back, a rare one-two combination that seems to separate him from everyone else. Against Jackson, Coleman calls for a "rear-lat lights-out spread." As good as the Blade's back is, Coleman's size is too overpowering. Two more points for Big Ron.

By this time, Ronnie Coleman has amassed 22 points, while Jay Cutler has 21, due to his clean sweep during his own challenges. The aggregate scores glow on the screen above the stage for all to see. An announcement is made that this, the final pose of the evening, would determine Mr. Olympia 2004. It would either be Cutler edging by at 23 to 22 or Coleman winning it 24 to 21.

Of course, everyone figured Big Ron had it in the bag. The Challenge Round rules state that competitors are allowed to call the same shot twice. Coleman had only called his killer pose, rear double biceps, once, and it now had Cutler's name written all over it. In previous years, Coleman could have also called upon the rear lat spread to do in his perennial rival. In 2004, though, Cutler underwent a massive expansion, and the overall mass, if not the detail, of his back had reached a point where it equaled Coleman's.

"What's it gonna be, Big Man?" Triple H inquires. "Rear-lat lights-out game-over spread," the reigning champ asserts. Many in attendance immediately realize the tactical error Coleman had made. Could he win the pose? He could. Was it a guaranteed "game over?" Not by a long shot.

At the buzzer, Cutler spreads his lats nearly instantaneously. They flare like the proverbial cobra's hood, casting a dark shadow across the stage. Coleman is slow off the draw. Buzz! Five seconds are up and the man-mountain is still in the midst of unraveling his meaty wings. He hasn't quite hit the pose fully, hasn't straightened out of the forward lean bodybuilders employ to exaggerate the illusion of growth that comes with a rear lat spread. When he finally "sits down" into the shot, it is majestic. But that isn't until a split second after the buzzer sounds. Do the judges see enough of his back in the allotted time to secure him a seventh consecutive title?

CALL TO ACTION| When the task of organizing and promoting the 2004 Mr. Olympia contest was handed by David Pecker to Vince Scalisi and Peter McGough (editors-in-chief of MUSCLE & FITNESS and FLEX, respectively), they grabbed it and took off at full speed. With less than five months to go before its October 30 date, they could afford to do no less.

Scalisi and McGough quickly joined forces with NPC Chairman and newly appointed IFBB Pro Division Vice Chairman Jim Manion. The three had their hands full, but saw in the Olympia a chance to revitalize the sport they all loved. Each was also uniquely qualified for the task.

Brought into the fold from outside the Weider organization was David Zelon, a Hollywood producer, bodybuilding fan and former promoter: he had staged the 1988 Mr. Olympia, the 1991 Ms. Olympia and several USA Championships in the early '90s. He would direct and stage-manage the production of the event. Another recruit who would prove invaluable was Robin Chang, formerly an athlete agent, who knew the bodybuilding landscape and show production inside out. Looking back, McGough says, "The remarkable thing was the harmony in the team. We didn't have one bust-up or angry exchange--and it was a team made up of strong personalities. We disagreed many times, but always reached a common ground, without any verbal fireworks."

From their very first meeting, the Olympia team determined that substantial changes needed to be made to the contest's format. It had remained virtually unchanged for 39 years, and even the most devout fans among the group had to admit that the sport's premier event could get boring at times.

The athletes weren't to blame. They did what they could to entertain within the competition's tight parameters--energizing the crowd with dramatic posing routines and mixing it up during the posedown. But the structure of the contest itself--of all bodybuilding contests--was so dry that even the greatest of posers couldn't sustain audience interest for 2 1/2 hours.

The fans weren't to blame. Bodybuilding fans, at least the kind who attend bodybuilding contests, were as loyal a base as any in sport. They open up their hearts and their pockets at these events, often arriving early and staying late, all for the chance to pat one of their heroes on the back or grab a photo op.

The weak link in the Olympia equation was the show itself. If followed a format that had been in place for decades and one that was created not to entertain, but to fill time.

JUDGMENT TIME| In reality, the judging of a bodybuilding competition is a fairly simple process. The idea is to compare bodybuilders against one another and determine whose physique most closely meets the judges' ideal, whose is second closest and so on, down the line. To do this, a system of rounds was developed in which the competitors would display themselves both relaxed and in a variety of poses.

The first two rounds would be judged during a daytime session, called prejudging. This consisted of a Symmetry Round (designed for focus on proportion and shape) and a Muscularity Round (for judging muscular size and hardness). At night, the contestants would perform an approximately three-minute routine to music, then the top six finalists would engage in a brief free-for-all posedown before the final decision was handed down.

Olympia contestants were certainly given enough chances to display the fruits of their labor, but they never had the opportunity to make decisions that would determine their own fate. They weren't called upon to think, to strategize, to do the very thing other sportsmen--from baseball players to gridiron warriors--found integral to a winning formula. To put it bluntly, professional bodybuilders were akin to pawns in the judges' hands, made to shift around the stage upon verbal command. Scalisi, McGough, Manion and company agreed that, above all, this needed to be changed. With the competitors becoming active participants in the action, the organizers reasoned that the fans would become more involved in the drama unfolding before them. More drama equals more entertainment.

So it was that on Sunday, July 11, 2004, a group of 10 Weider and IFBB representatives gathered in the garage of Weider's Woodland Hills, California, office to hash out the first iteration of the Challenge Round. The beauty of a round in which the athletes would challenge each other to specific poses to win points was twofold. The additional entertainment value of witnessing the athletes as they decided their own fate was obvious. It also supplied 30 packets of suspense, each initiated while the contestant decides upon a pose and consummated when the judges' vote flashes upon the scoreboard.

Of course, the scoreboard would be an integral part of the formula. "What other sport is there," David Zelon would rhetorically ask at Olympia meetings, "where the audience is completely clueless as to the score until the very last second? It would be like going to a Lakers game and not learning the outcome until the final buzzer." An electronic scoreboard, controlled by remote keypads operated by the judges, would eliminate the sense of mounting doubt that doubled as suspense at many contests and replace it with the real deal.

Finally, as part of the revamping, the most-muscular pose was added to the list of the seven existing mandatory poses.

By August 2004, all of the procedural changes to the Mr. Olympia contest had been hammered out: the Challenge Round and its scoring system, the electronic scoreboard and the revised list of mandatory poses. In only three months, the Olympia team had reconfigured the contest into a dynamic event filled with the dramatic flourishes of a baseball game. All that was left to do was promote the heck out of it in the magazines, online, on TV and even in Manhattan's Times Square, then hope that the fans would respond to their efforts.

THE MONEY SHOT| By the time Big Ron overtook Iron Jay with his self-titled rearlat lights-out game-over spread and eked out his seventh consecutive Mr. Olympia win, the capacity crowd had worked itself up to a fever pitch. Screams emanated from every corner of the cavernous theater. "Jaaaaayyyy!" shouted some. "Ain't nothin' but a peanut!" yelled others (using a phrase Coleman often employs before a heavy lift). Still others continued to shout the names of those whom they felt weren't given their due by the judges, from Dexter Jackson to Darrem Charles to Victor Martinez, with the mantra "Ruuuuuuhl!" continuously filling in the gaps.

But mostly there was the sound of applause, and not the polite kind that accompanies the final curtain of a middle-school recital. It was the staccato of 5,000 pairs of hands releasing all of the potential energy built up over a half-hour of mano a mano action by the six greatest bodybuilders in the world. It was loud and it was boisterous, and there may just have been enough of it to fill a black hole. Maybe enough, even, to warrant a bigger venue in the future.

EPILOGUE| At press time, it appears that the 2004 Olympia Weekend will go down as the most successful to date, breaking records for ticket sales, sponsorship income, expo attendance and pay-per-view subscriptions. The early consensus is that the changes made to the Mr. Olympia format, if not universally celebrated, constituted a giant step in the right direction. Fans and athletes alike seem to recognize that an earnest attempt was made to inject new life into an aging event. The volume of discussions on Internet bodybuilding forums concerning the Challenge Round and scoreboard indicate a level of interest in the contest previously demonstrated only by its competitors. Such success will undoubtedly encourage its designers to further improve upon the Olympia formula, in time for its 40th anniversary celebration. This time, however, instead of having five months in which to work, its planners will get a full year.

Before Scalisi, McGough and Manion head back to that garage in Woodland Hills and before Coleman, Cutler, Badell and Jackson step into the gym to resume their offseason training programs, everyone should take a load off, kick back and enjoy an ice-cold Olympia beer in honor of Joe Weider, Larry Scott and the contest named after a brew.

MUSCLETECH PRESENTS 2004 JOE WEIDER'S MR. OLYMPIA

October 30, 2004
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino; Las Vegas, Nevada

COMPETITOR COUNTRY PRIZE MONEY

 1 Ronnie Coleman* United States $120,000
 2 Jay Cutler* United States 75,000
 3 Gustavo Badell* Puerto Rico 50,000
 4 Dexter Jackson* United States 40,000
 5 Markus Ruhl* Germany 30,000
 6 Gunter Schlierkamp* Germany 25,000
 7 Chris Cormier United States 15,000
 8 Dennis James United States 14,000
 9 Victor Martinez United States 12,000
10 Darrem Charles Trinidad and Tobago 10,000
11 Pavol Jablonicky Czech Republic 1,000
12 Kris Dim United States 1,000
13 Ahmad Haidar Lebanon 1,000
14 Johnnie Jackson United States 1,000
15 Troy Alves United States 1,000
16 Craig Richardson United States 1,000
17 Mustafa Mohammad Jordan 1,000
18 Richard Jones United States 1,000
19 Claude Groulx Canada 1,000

* Qualifies for 2005 Mr. Olympia contest.

To catch the Olympia action at home on your own VHS or DVD, visit .com.

RELATED ARTICLE

At 296 pounds, Ronnie Coleman was bigger than ever, and the whole Olympia brand went through a similar expansion in 2004 as verified by the star power that attended the event. Pictured on the far right (clockwise from bottom) are Sylvester Stallone; Tom Arnold; Triple H and Arnold Schwarzenegger congratulating Mr. O; and perhaps the most graphic illustration that the Olympia has gone big-time--the 120' X 30' Times Square billboard announcing the event.

RELATED ARTICLE: THE CHALLENGE ROUND

The top six finalists challenged each other to specific poses, with each pose being worth two points to the winner. Here's how it played out.

 STARTING FINAL FINAL
 POINTS POINTS PLACING

Schlierkamp 1 1 6th
Ruhl 2 10 5th
Badell 3 13 3rd
Jackson 4 12 4th
Cutler 5 21 2nd
Coleman 6 24 1st

RELATED ARTICLE: BODY CHECK

A quick guide to the 2004 Mr. Olympia physiques

1ST RONNIE COLEMAN

5'11", 296 POUNDS

Ronnie was nine pounds bigger than he was last year, and that package swept to a clear victory. However, he wasn't as sharp as last year, particularly in the lower back and, from the side, his pecs looked flatish. On the other hand, his thighs, always huge, were more cut than we've ever seen them. Cognizant of the scrutiny his abs would face in the Challenge Round, the champ was as tight in that area as he has been in years--and he deserves credit for making that area less problematic than was thought to be the case going into the contest. However, that didn't stop a boofest from breaking out when Dexter Jackson challenged him to an abs-and-thighs pose and lost. My personal preference is for the drier, lighter and more cut Coleman who won the 2001 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic. Still, the name of the game is winning, and the champ keeps doing just that. Coleman has to be congratulated for his buoyant demeanor and good humor throughout the whole Olympia Weekend. The seven-time Mr. Olympia carries the crown with a pride we can all be proud of.

2ND JAY CUTLER

5'9", 273 POUNDS

After experimenting with a more streamlined look at the 2004 Arnold, Cutler went for size in his quest to topple Coleman. Particularly outstanding was his improved rear double biceps, which had gathered width and thickness and showed more detail in his upper back. In that pose, with his delts looking crazy, his teres major muscles hung there like a couple of midget rock climbers. He was not beaten for width, but his lower back still lacked the definition to be competitive with Coleman, although his abs and thighs and all-around condition were their trademark good selves. Overall, in the current climate, Cutler's rise to the Olympia crown seems to hang more on Coleman being off than perhaps Cutler just being on, which he invariably is.

3RD GUSTAVO BADELL

5'8", 244 POUNDS

It was instantly clear that Badell, with Dexter Jackson a close second, was the hardest and driest in the contest. Kick in sinew-splitting fullness, proportionate muscles and presto! Badell's emergence is the real story of the 2004 Mr. Olympia. From head to toe, he was competitive for a top spot. Highlights were arms, chest and hams with standout poses being side chest (full length, a view that captures separated hamstrings) and back double biceps. After a long and uneventful pro career (his debut was ninth in the 1998 German Grand Prix) and his only previous Olympia appearance earning him 24th in 2002, hard-as-nails Badell finally nailed it and became the feel-good story of this Olympia.

4TH DEXTER JACKSON

5'6 1/2", 228 POUNDS

As cut and dry and full as he's ever been. His dryness markedly stood out in a lineup where excess moisture was abundant. The strikes against him were high lats and calves, and a lack of width (especially in the front lat spread), but his overall package was the best of the day. His serratus should have carried a "dangerous weapon" warning. After the 2003 contest, I commented that if the bodybuilding criteria I understand were followed, Jackson may have deserved to win. In 2004, ditto. That being said, he was the casualty of the Challenge Round, dropping from third to fourth, although how he lost out on abs and thighs in that round to Coleman is a bigger mystery than where Markus Ruhl's neck disappears to during a most-muscular.

5TH MARKUS RUHL

5'10", 280 POUNDS

With his sheer size and smiling countenance, Ruhl is the ultimate crowd pleaser. At this contest, he was in his best-ever condition without losing his signature fullness. His midsection has improved and become tighter. He is slowly etching in detail to his back. His massive front lat spread is a stage clearer, his thighs are full and cut and his most-muscular--complete with beaming grin--is a showstopper. I believe that Ruhl beat Coleman in the most-muscular Challenge Round duels, although the judges saw it differently. The giant German was ecstatic with fifth place (his highest Olympia placing yet) and his next contest will be the Arnold Classic.

6TH GUNTER SCHLIERKAMP

6'2", 295 POUNDS

At 295 pounds, Schlierkamp is an imposing sight as he walks out onstage, but the fact that he was not in his Coleman-defeating shape of 2002 was abundantly clear once he started hitting the compulsories. His chest was softish compared to his best, and he just didn't fill the space or show the detail that he had two years ago in the back double-biceps pose. The athletes who placed sixth through ninth all missed their peaks and were separated by only a few points after the prejudging. Schlierkamp nudged the others for sixth, but that he was not at his best was proved when he lost all of his challenges.

7TH CHRIS CORMIER

5'11", 250 POUNDS

Cormier was 10 pounds lighter than his second-place 2003 Arnold Classic form, but he wasn't in the razor-sharp condition needed to fully punctuate his outstanding shape. Even his midsection was not the shrink-wrapped entity we've come to expect due to a slight film of water, and the same was true for his usually showstopping back and thigh shots.

8TH DENNIS JAMES

5'8", 260 POUNDS

Until his breakout fourth-place 2003 Mr. O performance, James had long carried the rep of a bodybuilder who looked great in the gym during the lead-in to a show, but then unravels on contest day. In 2004, history repeated itself. He made everyone goggle-eyed with the density and sheer volume of quality muscle he carried around Venice, California, where he spent the month prior to the contest, only to be clearly out of contention to repeat fourth place when the opening bell sounded. He looked a little watery and flat, particularly in his biceps, and not being in the condition he wanted to be seemed to affect his confidence. Being the warrior that he is, eighth place was a bitter pill for James to swallow, but he'll persevere--he always has.

9TH VICTOR MARTINEZ

5'9", 245 POUNDS

In winning the GNC Show of Strength three weeks prior to the O, Martinez had weighed a less-than-tight (for him) 245 pounds. The word was that he deliberately had not peaked for the Show of Strength and would come to the O as much as 10 pounds lighter, sharper, better and on a par with his 2003 Night Of Champions form. The truth is he didn't, and although his back is just about as good as it gets and his shape is something you find in your genes--not the gym--he was never competitive for the top-six spot most pundits (and me, as well) had tipped him for. In the weeks before the event, Martinez had endured some business tribulations and he must still be penciled in as one destined for higher things.

10TH DARREM CHARLES

5'8 1/2", 225 POUNDS

Charles had hoped to build on his seventh place of 2003, but it seems he was harshly judged for being just a tad less sharp than he was earlier in the year. His placing seemed all the more severe when viewed against the scenario of Cormier, James and Martinez (who all placed ahead of him) being more off. Of course, his posing routine was the best of the day. Ever the showman, Charles even turned the execution of the eight mandatories into an exhibition of skillful transitions and cemented his rep as one of bodybuilding's class acts.

11TH PAVOL JABLONICKY

5'8", 235 POUNDS

Although hard, the stone man has been harder, but his much-maligned execution of the mandatory poses--particularly front biceps--has improved. This was his highest 0 placing in six attempts. At age 43, he was the oldest in the 2004 lineup.

12TH KRIS DIM

5'6", 206 POUNDS

In his Olympia debut, Dim was the lightest man in the contest, and a leg injury obviously caused him to lose mass in that area. That shortfall, given the spectacular dimensions of his upper body, dramatically upset his overall balance. His abs are still sharp and deep. Although disappointed here, Dim will inflict pro damage with his legs back up to snuff.

13TH AHMAD HAIDAR

5'7", 222 POUNDS

First impression was reduced thigh mass. Since he wasn't as full as we've previously seen him, he never really caught the judges' eyes despite exhibiting good condition and, of course, his deeply chiseled abs.

14TH JOHNNIE JACKSON

5'8", 225 POUNDS

Looked a bit shallow in his legs and not in the condition he was at the 2004 Toronto Pro contest where he qualified for the Olympia. Still, as befits his powerlifting credentials, his pecs are huge and he has started to mimic Kevin Levrone's long wind-up as prep to hitting the side-chest shot.

15TH TROY ALVES

5'8", 230 POUNDS

A week before, he looked sensational at a Chris Lund photo shoot, but he was flat and overdepleted on contest day, and he paid a high price. As a result of his flatness, his old nemesis hams and glutes were soft, and despite pluses of a narrow waist, big arms and a superlative V taper, this was a disappointing showing for the man who finished eighth in 2003.

16TH CRAIG RICHARDSON

5'7", 212 POUNDS

The possessor of powerful thigh, ham and calf development, this Olympia rookie was in appropriate condition from head to toe and just needs to put on more upper-body mass to make greater headway at this level.

17TH MUSTAFA MOHAMMAD

5'8 1/2", 255 POUNDS

Photos taken at a guest spot two weeks prior to the Olympia showed Mohammad way off, so he had improved remarkably by Olympia time. However, it is difficult not to connect that improvement with him being rushed to a hospital after the event. He was feeling ill throughout the contest, and his posing, normally among the best in any show, did not have its usual power and panache.

18TH RICHARD JONES

5'7", 209 POUNDS

Spectacular in winning the 2003 NPC USA overall, Jones needs more thickness throughout and more sweep to his thighs. An enigmatic physique in that when he walks onstage, one wonders what all the fuss is about. Then he hits certain poses (for example, side triceps, vacuum, any back shot--but particularly the wind-ups to those poses) and he's transformed. To prove the point, despite being 18th, his posing routine was one of the best received of the evening.

19TH CLAUDE GROULX

5'7", 226 POUNDS

Two years ago in this contest, Groulx was tight and full, but since then--despite capturing the Masters Olympia crown--he has been unable to repeat that form.

For hundreds of pics of the 2004 Mr. Olympia contest, visit .com/news/60.

BY PETER MCGOUGH

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

2004 MR. OLYMPIA REPORT BY SHAWN PERINE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN HORTION AND CHRIS LUND