At the 2005 Olympia expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas they held a new event called the Gakic Bench Press Challenge.
The start of the event was hosted by none other than Mr. Bob himself. After introducing why everyone was seated around the front of a stage (the reason I say this is because I was walking by random people at the expo and half of them did not know why they were sitting down in front of the stage. As soon as Bob introduced what was going on, at least half of them got up and left!), Bob introduced the new Flexxy Awards.
The Flexxy Awards
The Categories Were As Follows:
- Athlete Of The Year (male and female)
- Rookie Of The Year
- Most Improved
- Vanguard Award
Here Is Who Won:
Athlete Of The Year
Male: Darrem Charles
Female: Monica Brant
Rookie Of The Year
Most Improved
Vanguard Award
Click To Enlarge.
The First Ever Flexxy Winners.
If any of these are incorrect, send it to Will at will@bodybuilding.com. These were off the top of my head and it was a long weekend.
The Bench Press Competition
While there was much hype of this being a big new event they failed terribly to pull it together. Half of the guys on-stage knew there was a script but failed to stay with it and insisted on taking jabs at one another. Some of the highlights were:
- Jeremy Freeman doing 54 reps.
- Phil Heath doing 44.
- Nasser doing 15. LOL
| » Bench Press Video: |
|
|
Jeremy Freeman.
Jeremy Freeman Does An Amazing 54 reps at 225 lbs.
|
|
Click To Enlarge.
Good Job There Buddy.
The Winners
Team Muscletech officially beat Weider by over 25 reps. Roland could not take this so he tried being funny and talking like Arnold and calling out the other host to a final showdown.
Roland busted out 17 reps, so did the other guy. At first, the other host (Christen?) would not do it. He was all "I just had surgery and I can't bench heavy."
I think he is just a pretty boy cover model and 225 was his max, but he didn't want anyone to laugh at him. Well, we still did. Pretty boy did 17 reps (barely).
Then Roland could not take it any longer and just gets under the bench and busts out 15 more reps and is all trying to shove it in the other guys face. It was like watching two little kids argue about how their dad could kick their dad's ass. LOL
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I would give the show a 3.5 out of 10.
It was horribly orchestrated, unscripted with little to no humor. Half of the time you could not understand what was going on onstage. There was way too many people on stage at any given moment. The cameras were very distracting and blocked most (All in the name of a good shot).
Click To Enlarge.
Is This Bench Press Competition
Or A Camera Demonstration?
Hopefully they can get their act together next year and hire a new crew to run the events at the biggest bodybuilding show of the year (this includes the Mr. Olympia, Wildcard Showdown, Bench Press Competition, pre-judging, location of the shows). I have seen better bodybuilding shows in Boise, Idaho!
Check Out Some Of The Pics Here.
On the 3rd page you will find some shots of Gene Rychalk's failed bench press. I was in the front row at the very end (closest chair to him) and it was horrible! I wish Gene all the luck and I wouldn't be very surprised if we don't see him for awhile.
Click To Enlarge.
Right Before Rychalk's Attempt. [ Learn More ]
A full write-up will be available soon.
Thanks,
Will
Web Manager
Bodybuilding.com
will@bodybuilding.com
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Read Visitor Reviews - Write Your Own Review
Back To Bodybuilding Contests' Main Page
Back To The Articles Main Page.
Related Articles
2007 Iron Man Pro & Fit Expo Information!
2006 INBF Best Body / Naturalmania Bodybuilding & Fitness Extravaganza Info!
Competing In WNSO Events!
The Flexxy Awards Video:
