by Christian Duque
So this article is a rewrite. I had a 3-page beauty that was ready to go about 4 or 5 days ago and it was based on the fact that I believed that Bob cost Phil the 2025 Masters Olympia by way of an interview that he did on Muscle Discord on September 4th, 2024. In that interview Bob totally trashed Phil, accused him of being anti-federation, and tore him down personally. He dropped some of the biggest names in the industry and he did so in an interview that was not at all flattering to Clahar. That was my article then; however, so much more has happened that I scrapped the previous article and am writing this one instead. Even though the Masters O seldom gets a second look, the 2025 may go down in history as somewhat of a novelty for some, and a robbery for others.
Now even though Bob has already long clarified the point that he is in fact not the Athlete’s Rep and that the Athlete’s Rep is largely ceremonial, for that particular interview he wasn’t singing that tune. In fact, one of his biggest grievances with Phil was the fact that Phil did not use him as an intermediary between himself and the federation. After all, that was the fiction that was sold to us for well over 20 years. And that is that Bob was the voice between the troubled masses and the powers that be in Pittsburgh. It was as if he had a seat at the big table and as if the bigwigs consulted with him prior to implementing new rules and policy. I can assure you that no one in Pittsburgh consults with Bob before implementing any changes. It just doesn’t happen and the idea that it would, is laughable.
Even still, Cicherillo went out of his way to pull the wool over the eyes of the bodybuilding community. Bob takes credit for the introduction of new divisions, he takes credit for getting the athletes health insurance, and he even takes credit for getting Lee Priest’s pro card reinstated. I believe if Chick had a way to do it, he would take credit for inventing the internet, but I think Al Gore beat him to it. So since Phil did not go through Bob and instead chose to make his case on his own social media platforms and by going on podcasts, apparently that earned him Cicherillo’s disdain. As a result of that, it would seem that 10 months later Phil getting screwed out of the biggest title of his career, would raise a few red flags.
Again I just want to make the case that while it has happened before that bodybuilders win the prejudging and lose the contest, none of those instances have ever been ones that do not raise an eyebrow. Every example where this happens has led to a lot of turmoil within the fans and a lot of division within the media. The example of Bev Francis, was one that created a lot of friction in the sport. The decision to let Lee Haney defeat Lee Labrada in 1990 was pretty bizarre, to say the least. The decision to give it to Ronnie Coleman in 2001 despite the fact Jay Cutler had defeated him in the prejudging created a lot of turmoil. And so does this decision at the Masters Olympia. While it’s true that the Masters Olympia was not a contest that was talked about much, this unusual decision has created a tsunami of interest by fans, media personalities, and commentators alike. It just never happens. And not by this number of points, either.
So what could explain this? What could explain Phil winning the prejudging but then allegedly falling apart in the finals. And then taking 2nd place? Someone who falls apart, gets 2nd place, 3rd place? How does one who has fallen apart even have a case for being in the Top 5 of any contest? When you start asking yourself these questions, most of you will start drawing blanks. THAT is where we’re at.
Now Phil’s competition included the guy that would go on to win the title, Dorian Haywood, and a couple of other guys that were in incredible condition. The top four deserved to be in the Top 4. I am not taking anything away from them. But I thought it was pretty clear who won the contest. I thought the prejudging was the part of the show where the winner was decided. It has often been said that the finals are for the fans. That’s where you have the individual posing routines and the highly entertaining pose down. It could also be where they crown the Best Poser, Most Improved, and Most Muscular. Sometimes, they use the finals to crown a People’s Champion.
But by the time the finals come around the judges have already pretty much decided who won the contest. Now I understand the nuances of the sport and the powers that be wanting to create a confirmation round but that’s hogwash. A confirmation round? We’re talking about judges who judge the Olympia, we’re talking about judges that see thousands if not tens of thousands of physiques walk across them each and every year. If they were test judges or local judges I could understand a confirmation round, but when you’re dealing with the best judges in the world, do we really need to have them confirm their opinion from the prejudging? I mean, I understand what the policy says but I also understand the way the real world works. If you dominate the prejudging in a bodybuilding show, you win the show. If you’re first call outs, and you’re dead center for the entire prejudging, unless there’s an act of god, you’re going to win the bodybuilding show. So when fans start asking questions, when competitors start asking questions, it isn’t necessarily all that unreasonable.
The fact is Phil didn’t dominate Dorian and Dorian didn’t dominate Phil. Neither guy was leagues ahead of the other; however, they both deserved to be in the top two in my opinion. The third and fourth place finishers could have won the whole show if it was a show based solely on condition. I’m not the only one that has said this and I’m not the last that’s going to say it, either. Those guys were dialed in and they did their homework. They were TOTALLY dialed in, but bodybuilding is not just about condition. It’s about muscularity, symmetry, and posing. All in all, I really do believe that Dorian and Phil were To 2 – all day. I’m not going to say that Phil was robbed because of the fact that Dorian didn’t look as good. But I will say that Phil was robbed because he won the prejudging and he lost the finals in a very odd kind of way.
Now typically if we were dealing with a deadheat and the judges needed some extra rounds of posing or to see the mandatories again, we could raise a red flag at the fact they picked the wrong guy for whatever reason. But that’s not what happened here.
These guys were not in a stalemate – at least the scorecards didn’t reflect that. Phil clearly won – nearly by double digits – in the prejudging. And anybody that saw Phil at the finals could tell that he was in great shape and was not much different than he was in the prejudging. So given the fact that Dorian had to make up for a deficit in the prejudging and then suddenly wins the finals, that is mathematically very difficult to achieve. And that’s where people, like myself and others, start to look for other clues, other possibilities that could have resulted in said outcome. We don’t know anything concrete. What we know is some history, some conjecture, and we throw in some of our intuition into the mix. It’s by no means an airtight case. But a lot of times there’s something to it.
When you have covered the sport of bodybuilding for over 20 years, you start to develop a pretty good sense of who done it and what happened. And mind you, 20 years is a drop in the bucket. Me covering the sport for 20 years is nothing to brag about. There are people in this sport like Ron Harris, for example, or the late great Peter McGough, or the late great Joe Weider, who spent their entire lives writing about bodybuilding, covering bodybuilding shows, doing interviews and really learning about the intricacies of the sport. 20 years is nothing. I don’t ever brag about doing this for 20 years because 20 years is nothing, but I can tell you that in 20 years I have developed enough insights to shape some pretty damn near-decent perspectives. Looking at what Bob did to Phil on that September 4th, 2024 interview at Muscle Discord paints a certain picture some may not want to look at. That said, if a tree falls in the woods, it makes a noise, even if no one’s around to hear it.
What Bob did to Phil is inexcusable. What’s also inexcusable is the video that Bob did with “Sugar” Shawn Ray lashing out at Ron Harris. Bob accused Ron of agreeing with everything Matt Tsinkorang and Phil Clahar had to say on the 2025 Masters Olympia on Muscle Discord. That never happened. Ron listened attentively, didn’t interrupt, and offered limited dialogue. In hindsight, I can see where maybe he was uncomfortable being there, but if that was the case, he shouldn’t have done the podcast. Either way, what Bob and Shawn did was mischaracterize Ron and all but lie about what he said. Then Cicherillo accused Ron of “not having any nuts.” Ultimately, Bob and Shawn’s video caused Ron to pull away from Muscle Discord. While I agree that Ron should focus on doing his own content and should be more assertive when it comes to sharing his opinion, I felt that his “No More Mr. Nice Guy” video pandered to Bob’s intimidation tactics and will more than likely embolden Bob to try this approach when dealing with other critics – perceived or actual. Will he go after Muscle Discord, next? Maybe StrengthAddicts? Maybe IronMag?
You NEVER give into bullies. That only makes things worse.
In any event, I don’t know why Phil took second at the Masters Olympia. I think that Dorian will be a very good champion. Nonetheless, no one has been able to explain to me how the discrepancy in points was made up. Phil looked phenomenal for the prejudging and he looked phenomenal for the finals. Yet he got second. Only time will tell, but I have a feeling we will never know. The same way we never knew about 1980, ‘81, ‘90, 2001.
Do you agree with the placings and the scoring at the 2025 Masters Olympia? Do you think Bob is done bullying those who disagree with him? As always, I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate some lively conversation.
