Just when you thought you could write off two of the sport’s more dangerous IFBB Pro competitors, both bounce back with huge follow-ups to previously sub-par showings. I’m talking, of course, about Dexter Jackson and Victor Martinez. But, first, let’s recap the entire 1st IFBB Arnold Classic Europe Top 6.
6th. Hidetada Yamagishi
This dude has stamina and more to boot. Most people who do more than 2 shows in a short time frame get worse.
He got better. Much better. Hide was pretty darn rock hard and full from the front and side shots and had very good conditioning from behind. The only thing that holds him back in this lineup is the line-up itself. While a threat to win
any show, when it comes like the Mr O or contests like this where bigger guys are also in good to great shape, something has to give. That being said, the Arnold Hide , in my opinion, smokes the Hide at the Olympia and even
bests his NY Pro 2nd place finish.
5th Flex Lewis
Razor blade conditioning in the side chest and back double shots put him in the first callout in any show. How can you really deny that kind of conditioning and flow to his physique? That is why he will continue to move up the ladder
and place very high in shows. Oh, he is definitely better “over 202” then in the Pro under 202. His shape is better when he weighs more so those who expect to take a shot at the new 212 division will have to put a pic of FLEX on
their frigerator cause he will be hard to get through.
4th Toney Freeman
The X-Man looked very good here; better than the Mr O, but not as good as in India where the line-up was actually better than the Mr O. That is, the guys probably looked better in India than in Vegas. “Mumbai Toney” would easily been no lower than third. I think he could have been a little sharper here or fuller, or something, to notch 3rd.
3rd Ronny Rockell
Ronnie structure is always top notch. It’s as simple as that. He looked like his skin was paper thing and his front shots where off the hook. His back detail was as good as it has ever been and his side chest was a small mountain of dense muscle. You know he really had to be at his best to get by Freeman, Lewis, and Hide.
2 Dexter Jackson
The Blade. Ok I said it. Yes this was the Blade. I know he thinks he was the Blade in Vegas; but in Madrid he was much closer and way improved over his Flex Pro and Arnold USA showings. At the Mr O he was truly very very sharp, but in that lineup against true mass monsters, he has to be the true Blade to beat them and that’s essentially why he was out of the top 4 (in Vegas). At the Olympia, he was almost there but not quite. Different story in Madrid. Here, he was radically tighter and far fuller then he was in Vegas. The one way to tell when Dexter is unbeatable is
the side chest and standing relaxed from behind. When the side chest vacuums itself in tight and dense and when he stands (like at this show) from behind and his back is knotted up and his glutes look like they have been raked by a tractor…well then you know he is the Blade. The Blade will push anyone in any show and that’s what happened here. Comeback complete: next up Arnold Classic in Columbus.
Victor Martinez
Victor won this show for certain! His couldn’t-be-beat attributes were the standing relaxed from behind, back lat spread and back double. Plus his front double and front lat spread seemed to be extremely dominant. From the front he looked very sharp and from the back he was nearly perfect (still room for improvement). I don’t think he was as good as in India where he was his best. He had traveled from Vegas to New York then out to India to compete, came back to New York for a few days; then mid-week, went to Texas to guest pose. He then came back to New York for a few days, scrambled to get a ticket to Madrid, and took off for this show. The point: He has to be one fatigued mother but he stuck to his diet and claimed his stake as the first winner of the Arnold Classic Europe. Comeback complete; next up, Arnold Classic Columbus!
View the Contest Gallery for complete placings and photos.
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