Reported Ocotber 20, 2002
Coleman Holds On For Fifth Mr. O Win
In sharp contrast from the year before, Ronnie Coleman jumped out to a big lead, then held off a strong challenge from Kevin Levrone to record his fifth consecutive Mr. Olympia victory on Saturday, October 19 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A year ago Jay Cutler almost knocked off the champ, holding a six-point edge over Coleman after the prejudging. Coleman came back at the Finals to win the ensuing two rounds and prevent the major upset. This time around, with Cutler passing on the show, Coleman, 38, was comfortably ahead of Levrone after the judging, only to see the latter come back to capture rounds three and four at night and give Coleman a push before The Big Nasty eventually prevailed with a nine-point margin of victory.
Coleman, who carried about 252 pounds on his 5'11” frame, will carry another $110,000 into his bank account as a result of his victory, and a brand new Cadillac Escalade SUV, courtesy of Pinnacle, into his garage at his Arlington, Texas home as well.
Chris Cormier, considered by most as the main threat to snap Coleman's victory string, was a bit off his top form, and had to settle for third. Dexter “Action” Jackson, eighth a year ago, moved up all the way to fourth, one placing ahead of Gunter Schlierkamp, the biggest, literally and figuratively, surprise of the event. Schlierkamp, at 6'1” and 300 pounds the largest competitor in the 25-man line-up, received a special invite from Joe Weider to compete and showed up in tremendous condition, getting a standing ovation from the fans after his posing routine.
Conversely, Lee Priest, at 5'4” and 200 pounds among the smaller contestants in the field, landed in the sixth slot for the third time in his career, a notch ahead of Flex Wheeler, who was back on stage after a one-year hiatus. Markus Ruhl finished eighth, while two repeat performers from last year's top 10, slipped a bit on 02. Orville Burke, who was sixth last year, fell to ninth, while Dennis James, the seventh place finisher in 01, rounded out the top 10.
To get a pictorial view of the event, check out the contest pictures on the website; an in-depth report will appear in the February, 2003 issue of Ironman.
2002 Mr. Olympia Results
1) Ronnie Coleman
2) Kevin Levrone
3) Chris Cormier
4) Dexter Jackson
5) Gunter Schlierkamp
6) Lee Priest
7) Ken “Flex” Wheeler
8) Markus Ruhl
9) Orville Burke
10) Dennis James
11) Craig Titus
12) Art Atwood
13) Ahmad Haidar
14) Ernie Taylor
15) Nasser El Sonbaty
Tied for 16th: Gustavo Badell, Paco Bautista, Darrem Charles, Bob Cicherillo, George Farah, Claude Groulx, Jaroslav Horvath, King Kamali, Tommi Thorvildsen, Don Youngblood
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