Team Oxygen Gym represents at the Olympia!
Team Oxygen Gym Represents at the O!
I had the honor of attending the recent Mr. Olympia contest, where several of the top finalists either train full-time or part-time at Oxygen Gym Jabriya in Kuwait. To say they represented the gym well would be a massive understatement.
First and foremost was Mamdough Elssbiay, aka Big Ramy. Ramy was on the flat side for Friday night’s judging, but he showed up at the Saturday finals looking insanely full and hard. He dwarfed every other man in the lineup with outrageous mass that was enhanced by superb shape. One of the freakiest sights of the entire weekend was when he would shake his massive quads from side to side before locking them into a flexed pose. Those massive thighs swayed so far off the femur that it appeared they would fly off into the wings of the stage! Ramy placed fourth to a cacophony of boos, and many felt he would have been as high as second had he showed his Saturday form at the Friday judging. Still, his four-year progression at the Mr. Olympia from 8th to 7th to 5th and now 4th shows Ramy is consistently moving closer to the Sandow trophy.
The biggest surprise of the Mr. Olympia was Holland’s William Bonac, who has been visiting Oxygen Gym to train for nearly two years. His insane muscle thickness and density reminded me of Kai Greene, albeit with a slightly smaller waist, and his shredded condition may have been the best in the entire show. This was Bonac’s third Mr. Olympia appearance in a row, and his placings have moved up from 15th in his debut to 8th last year, to the coveted top five this time. He also has a total of four pro wins over the past two season. Not bad for a guy who started his pro career off as a 212 who many thought was making a mistake switching to the Open class in 2013.
Roelly Winklaar was already The Beast, but spending much of this year at Oxygen Gym took his freak factor to a whole new level. Roelly was so thick and full that it seemed as if he might explode at times. His crab most muscular pose had many in the audience laughing out of shock and amazement. Roelly finished sixth, but was first place in the hardcore freak category.
If an argument could be made about any man in the Olympia lineup who should definitely have placed higher, it would be Nathan DeAsha, who splits him time between his native UK and Kuwait. He had a stellar rookie year, with a win at the Toronto Pro and a runner-up spot at the California Pro. With a crazy X-frame, crisp condition, and standout pecs, delts, quads, and arms, I easily had him in the top ten.
Finally, the most impressive debut at the Olympia was Ahmad Hamad Ashkanani. Ahmad had only earned his pro card six months prior to the O at the Arnold Amateur in Australia, but was able to win his IFBB debut at the Tampa Pro. Vegas odds makers would have had pre-contest favorites and veterans Jose Raymond, Eduardo Correa, David Henry, and Hide Yamagishi all beating this raw rookie, but his package of mass, structure, and granite-hard condition was too much to handle for anyone but reigning 212 champ Flex Lewis on his way to scoring his fifth consecutive title.
All in all, Team Oxygen Gym did a bang-up job. Congratulations to them, their coaches, and of course Bader Boodai and his staff at Oxygen Gym for providing these men the environment to be their very best.
Next month, more about Oxygen Gym and some of the top champions who train here.
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