Rockel has brought an incredible proportioned physique to the stage but had been stuck below the top three. His diminutive stature was the obvious reason why he would hear his name called after the likes of Branch Warren, Jay Cutler, Dennis Wolf and Phil Heath but that is something out of his control.

Rockel stuck to his game plan and it was a general consensus within the industry that he finally received his due. Now the question arises is how he can springboard the victory into a better placing in September at the Orleans Arena.

The line-up will be tough, as usual, but even more so now that Warren can come in flexing his first Arnold win. After finishing second and third, respectively, at the 2009 and 2010 Olympias, ‘Quadrasaurus’ is more than just a mere threat to Cutler’s reign. Speaking of the two-time defending champion, he will need to be knocked out to be dethroned and that doesn’t seem likely. Cutler learned from his mistakes in 2008 when Dexter Jackson swiped the Sandow from him and he has been in top condition ever since.

Last year, Heath took the stage looking amazing but still couldn’t defeat his close friend Cutler. ‘The Gift’ bowed out of the Arnold to concentrate on the Olympia and will need every advantage just to be the runner-up again. The ‘Big Bad Wolf’ has been on a tear since the last O and will be a tough out and Kai Greene will slip under the radar after a poor showing in Las Vegas. That may play right into his hands and ‘The Predator’ cannot be overlooked as a possible top six finisher.

So even though ‘The Rock’ can come into bodybuilding’s most prestigious show on a high note, he will have to peak again just to stand pat.

2011 IFBB Mr. Europe rand Prix Results:

1 – Ronny Rockel

2 – Roelly Winklaar

3 – Flex Lewis

4 – Robert Priotrkowitz

5 – Toney Freeman

6 – Essa Obiad

7 – Sergey Shelestov

8 – Thomas Bengali

9 – Alvin Small

10 – Marcos Chacon

Johnnie Jackson, who placed seventh in Ohio, finished as Wolf’s runner-up in the Land Down Under and home town favorite Michael Kefalianos took third. Ben Pakulski barely made the top 10 at the Arnold and finished fourth here. The rest of the placings were as follows: Grigori Atoyan (5), Adorthus Cherry (6), Darryn Onekawa (7), Luke Timms (8), Varinder Singh (9) and Daniel Hill (10).

This was a very important victory for Wolf, who competed for the third time in the young calendar year. He will certainly be a factor t the Mr. Olympia again this September and has improved in each show since the FLEX Pro, where he placed third.

The judges had this one nailed, with Centopani leading the way with 12 points and ‘The Blade’ 18. Abiad (34) barely held off Wolf (36), with Ben Pakulski and Ben White rounding out the top six.

For Centopani, he added this first place trophy to his 2009 New York Pro championship and now seems destined for great things in the sport of bodybuilding. He has timed everything right in his career and does not burn himself out with multiple contests. He picks and chooses his battles and it has apparently worked out well for the Connecticut native.

At 41, Jackson does not appear to be losing much and has been the antithesis of Centopani, competing in four or more shows a year throughout his illustrious career. He had three top six finishes a year ago (fourth at the Arnold Classic, second at the Australian Pro Grand Prix and fourth at the Mr. Olympia) and is on track to match or better that.

Abiad was last seen on the stage back at the 2009 Europa Super Show, where he finished fourth. The Canadian has yet to make a name for himself as a pro but this high placing may be just the type of springboard he needed. Abiad’s physique appeared wide and conditioned on his 6’2″ frame.

Written off after not placing at the 2009 Olympia, Wolf took fifth in Las Vegas last year and remained a force to be reckoned with in California. He may have to compete more than he would have liked to so he can qualify for the O, and next month at the Arnold may be his ticket out west. If not, perhaps the New York Pro may be his destination again.

Even in his most successful campaign (2008), he entered and won five contests – the Arnold, Australian, New Zealand and Russian Grand Prix, as well as the Mr. Olympia. “You just have to know how to pace yourself,” Jackson said two days out of the ’08 O about competing in three shows before the most important one. “It’s not going to affect me in any way. I’ll still be 110 percent on that stage.” All of that dieting may have taken a lot out of him and ‘The Blade’ decided to compete in only one show the following year.

Jackson finished a disappointing third last September in Las Vegas and his reaction upon hearing his name called with two more competitors standing beside him left no mystery as to what he thought of the judge’s decision. Although many defending champions get the benefit of the doubt to at least finish as the runner-up, it’s hard to argue with Branch Warren taking second and Jay Cutler winning the Sandow.

There have been many names thrown around as possible winners of the Arnold. Of course, Kai Greene is the favorite as the reigning title holder and should be. He is a special bodybuilder who finished fourth at his maiden Olympia. He had peaked in March and it was too much for him to come in six months later in top condition again. Then there is Warren, who won the Most Muscular Award at the last Arnold.

Others to keep an eye on are Phil Heath, Hidetada Yamagishi and Toney Freeman.

Jackson is looking to get his fourth Arnold Classic victory (2205, 2006, 2008) and has a good chance to come in to do just that. He still has many folks in his corner and can rebound easily from having the Olympia title taken from him after just one year. If he can win in Columbus, people will be once again putting him in the category of the all-time greats. But if he finishes out of the top three, the chatter that he has seen his best days will become commonplace.

Photo by Francesco Pillari

Taking nothing away from the three that finished ahead of him, Samuel had to look at them and feel as if he may have missed a golden opportunity to win his second show of the year. Evan Centopani won his first pro show right out of the gate, Dennis James was the runner-up in Manhattan and finished two places behind Samuel at the Arnold Classic in March and Markus Ruhl had not competed in two years. 

If Samuel came in shape, he very well could have won this show. As it was, he was lucky to finish ahead of Hidetada Yamagashi and may have only on reputation. 

It doesn’t get any easier come September with a stacked line-up at the Mr. Olympia. Samuel, 34, needs to do better than last year’s seventh place finish but will find it hard. Yes, he has had a good year with the early win, a fifth place at the Arnold and a runner-up position at the Australia Pro Grand Prix, but that’s what makes his New York Pro result even more frustrating. 

Samuel has shown that he can hang with the big boys and  a force to be reckoned with in the ‘second tier’ shows. His next few times on the stage will go a long way in determining his legacy.

Other contestants who made the trek with Kai from Ohio to the ‘Land Down Under’ were Silvio Samuel and Toney Freeman, who finished in second and third place, respectively.

According to early reports out of Melbourne, the crowd in was fully behind Kai, especially when he performed his unique posing routine that he made an instant classic at the Arnold. He was called an “easy winner.”

A special part of the annual show in Australia is when the contestants walk into the crowd following the posedown, giving them a close-up view of the men they just cheered on. No doubt that Greene had more flashes going off in his face than anyone else present.

On a side note, Michael Kafalianos finished in fourth place in his professional debut and has qualified for the Mr. Olympia.

That came on Saturday night in Los Angeles at the 2009 20^th Annual Ironman Pro show, in which he took home first place. Moe Elmoussawi and Ronny Rockel followed him.

The victory was the third of Samuel’s professional career, with his previously winning the 2007 Europa Super Show and the 2008 Houston Pro Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Contest.

Samuel worked with Flex Wheeler on his posing routine and trained with Charles Glass to prepare for an important show for him. Another student of Glass was Japan’s Hidetada Yamagishi, who finished strongly in fourth place following a long layoff from competition.

Silvio plans on competing in the upcoming Arnold Classic and Australian Pro Grand Prix.

Heading into the Mr. Olympia contest, the fan favorite to take the title away from Jay Cutler was none other than Dennis Wolf. The 5’11″ German had been spoken of as the most likely of the competitors to make the biggest jump from his fifth place finish in 2007.

While he did come in looking as if he trained intensely for the show, he did have enough flaws that his fourth place finish was questioned. Tony Freeman finished in fifth and appeared to be in much better condition than Wolf.

Wolf lacked in a few areas, including his hamstrings and calves. His obliques were not where they should have been, either. From some angles, he appeared to have ‘love handles.’ Definitely not a trait that you want on stage striving for the Sandow.

In comparison, eventual winner Dexter Jackson looked shredded in that area, with striations giving him good definition. Wolf may have even appeared to have taken a step back from last year in some aspects.

The question now arises if Wolf is overrated. Since turning pro in 2006, he finished in seventh at the Europa Supershow, fifth at the Montreal Pro Championships, third in the Grand Prix Spain, didn’t place at his first Olympia in 2006 (16th), finished third at the 2007 New York Pro, first at the 2007 Keystone Pro Classic and the aforementioned fifth in Vegas that same year. Not exactly criteria that would make you a favorite to win the highest level award in the world.

Wolf felt confident heading into his latest show. “I improved myself, all my body parts,” he said two days prior to the Olympia. “I did my homework and we’ll see what happens.” He also felt that concentrating on one contest for the year was beneficial. “I got some rest for my body,” he added. “I had a good offseason, good dieting and preparation. Everything went good.”

While moving up one place is still an accomplishment, Wolf had to be slightly disappointed that he could not crack the top three, especially since Cutler was unseated and his title was ripe for the taking.

Wolf had stated that he intends on adding 10 pounds for the 2009 Olympia. Especially since he already has so much size, he should concentrate on improving what he has before adding more.

Las Vegas, NV – On Thursday night, Dexter Jackson took the high road when asked where he would finish in the Mr. Olympia competition. “No predictions,” the humble one said. But surely he had to have an opinion inside, one that was very high. Who could blame him after winning three contests in the calendar year.

Winning the Arnold Classic, Australian Pro and New Zealand Grand Prix were incredible accomplishments, but paled in comparison to latest triumph by the Blade. On Saturday night in at the Orleans Arena, Dexter Jackson was named the new Mr. Olympia.

It came down to two men, both who stood on the stage awaiting the announcement from host Bob Cicherillo. As his name was read, Jackson was visibly emotional and went down to one knee and bowed his head. By the time he was able to arise, tears of joy were flowing down his face while the crowd erupted even louder.

It is hard to disagree with the judges’ decision. Jackson was well proportioned and appeared to be in better condition than Cutler. This is an amazing feat when you factor in that Jackson had to prepare and diet for four shows since March.

Jackson, 38, has been competing since 1992 and this was his 13th first place finish in his career. His first Mr. Olympia contest was in 1999, where he finished in ninth place. In 2000, he finished in the same spot but moved up one position a year later. In 2002, he broke into the top six, finishing in fourth, and then third 12 months later.

In 2004, Jackson fell back one slot and did not attend the Mr. O in ’05. He then finished in fourth and third, respectively, in 2006 and 2007.

Patience is a virtue, and showing it paid off for Jackson, who will sleep with the Sandow tonight.