by Christian Duque
I really love how Keone put it out there that he was doing the open at Prague and the reasoning behind it. The reigning 212 Mr Olympia is not jumping ship as I initially thought he was, rather, he is trying to see how competitive his physique would be in open bodybuilding. I like that way of thinking because he’s challenging himself but at the same time he’s staying true to his 212 title. That division has been through a lot, especially after losing the G.O.A.T. Flex Lewis.
When The Welsh Dragon retired it undoubtedly took a hit on the division. Later, having Derek win the title but never defend it, didn’t exactly do well for it, either. When Arnold removed it from the Arnold Classic, people started to wonder how much staying power The 212 had. That said, the big question on everyone’s mind is what if Keone wins the Prague Pro, then what? Does he come down in weight and defend his 212 title? Does he also then do the open within the weight limits of The 212? Or does he stay his Prague size, forgo his 212 title defense, and try the open O? We all know that if he chooses to do the Open O, that he’s going to place at least Top 10 because of his beautiful symmetry and the flow of his muscle. Then on top of that you factor in the fact that he’s an Olympia champion from another division and you know that’s going to all but command him to get looked at closer. And that’s not politics – it’s respect.
At the end of the day there are a lot of great competitors that come to compete from all over the world, but surely you’ll recognize that when you’re dealing with a reigning Mr Olympia that is a total game changer. Now Keone has competed in several divisions, including classic physique but to go to open bodybuilding from being the best of The 212, is quite a jump. Although it may seem like a lot of 212 competitors have tried their hat at open bodybuilding, it really isn’t hand many as you might think. I would say probably under 10 of the top competitors over the years and the major reason for this is the fact that The 212 guys generally, not always, but generally give up height and weight to the open guys. If it were only a question of body weight then I would say that more guys from the lighter weight division would compete in the open. But it’s a lot more than that. A lot of times The 212 guys get dwarfed out in the open. That had always been an issue until Hadi won the Olympia. After Hadi won the Olympia, then Derek won it – to have two guys that are in that height range be the best in the world means that it’s no longer an issue.
If height is no longer an issue, then it is all about which competitor brings the best physique to the stage. I think this piggyback’s a little bit off of what Lee Priest has been saying. He is of the position that there is really no need for The 212 or classic physique. He cites the recent success of The Miracle Bear winning his pro open debut. And it’s a valid point because at the end of the day the judges are looking for size and symmetry along the mandatory poses. Whether a guy is lighter, or a guy is shorter and/or lighter it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day it is not a weight contest and it is not a height contest rather it is a physique-based contest.
When you phrase it that way Lee Priest has a phenomenal point and truthfully there should be no distinction between the weight classes. This would mean that Keone would be able to compete at the same weight that he would normally compete at The 212 in open because the weight shouldn’t matter, but does it? That’s somewhere I would maybe disagree with Lee ever so slightly. It is not a weight contest but if somebody goes into an open bodybuilding show dramatically smaller than the top bodybuilders I don’t think they are going to be judged solely on their muscle and symmetry. Even writing this out makes me feel like the judges shouldn’t care about size, they should only care about the look of the muscle, the separation, and how the athlete pose. I guess Lee’s point is still valid and still beats my point which is something that really should not factor into the equation. I mean if it was a mass monster contest maybe but even a mass monster would be proportionate to their physique.
Proportionality is also a big factor here. A lot of times people just look at numbers on a scale but take Shaun Clarida, for example. You would be an absolute imbecile to call him a small bodybuilder. He is not a small bodybuilder because a small bodybuilder would be a classic physique competitor. Now if you refer to him with the word small because of his height that’s a different story, but in terms of proportionality Shaun Clarida is an absolute monster. He could even be argued to be a mass monster. But if you look at Shaun’s weight at under 200 pounds it really wouldn’t do him justice. If you go back to the Arnold Classic where Shaun placed 6th and Big Ramy placed 5th, you couldn’t ask for a greater size differential. The Egyptian Phenom not only towered over Clarida but was probably close to a hundred pounds heavier than him. Nonetheless they were separated only by one place. It very well could have gone the other way. So in reality if Shaun Clarida could almost beat Big Ramy in open competition, why would Keone have to dramatically alter his physique in order to be competitive? The answer is he wouldn’t have to. He could very well compete in both divisions, the question is, will he?
I think that in theory he wouldn’t have to gain much size but in reality I feel like how could he not? Derek didn’t even try qualifying for the Olympia the year that he won it. He got a special invite after his guest posing appearance in Pittsburgh. And once he started building size he took a gamble. If he had not gotten the special invite I don’t think he would have been able to suck down to The 212 parameters. Fortunately for him he got the special invite and he went on to win the title. That being said, if Keone were to put on the necessary size to be competitive in Prague I would hope that he wouldn’t stray too far away from 212 territory. That is if he ever plans on returning to The 212. Because if he wins in Prague at an open show I would imagine he’s going to probably want to hold on to that size even if it means he can’t defend his 212 title so that he can compete in the open Olympia. The prestige alone is enough reason to do it. But then you look at the money. You can’t compare 212 money to open bodybuilding money. It’s like night and day.
That being said, I still appreciate the fact that Pearson is showing enough reverence for The 212 title as to not say that he has retired or that he will not defend it. I think that at this point for him to say something like that would hurt the event and may even hurt ticket sales. I think what Keone is doing is very responsible and I think that he is remaining ambiguous with regard to what happens if he wins in Prague. For me, personally, I think he could easily win in Prague and as long as he didn’t put on too much size he can still get back down to 212 territory. This is where it might get a little argumentative.
I’m going to go against what a lot of commentators in the sport have to say when I tell you that I think it is better to be The 212 Mr Olympia then to potentially be top six open Olympia. Yes, the prize money is better for open bodybuilding and yes it would seem like being top six in the open is more glamorous, but when you’re 212 Mr Olympia you are the best of your division. You are the top competitor in your division as opposed to being the sixth best. People are going to argue this until the cows come home. I would love to see Keone win Prague and defend his 212 title. But I think the reality is different. If Keone wins Prague I don’t see him defending his 212 Olympia title, I see him going for the open Olympia.
