KAKVA STETA....
OLYMPIA FANS WON’T GET THEIR PHIL
Written by: Peter McGough
After winning the Colorado and New York pro shows on May 13 and May 20 respectively, Phil Heath is seen as hot a prospect as bodybuilding has had in years. So the ever-growing legion of Heath fans will surely be disappointed to hear he is sitting out the 2006 Olympia. It’s a decision the 26-year-old made only after days spent searching his soul and gathering feedback from his small, but valued, circle of advisors.
“Believe me when I say I would love to compete in this year’s Olympia,” says Heath. “But I don’t feel it would be in my best interest at this stage of my career. It’s always been important to me to be able to make significant improvements from show to show. I think I put on some quality size in the 10 months between the USA last July and Colorado this past May, and to continue that improvement curve I’d like to work for a similar 10-month period before entering my next contest. Doing the Olympia on September 30 just wouldn’t give me the time I want to improve. The last thing I want to do is go into the Olympia looking the same as I did in Colorado or New York.” While he won’t be competing in Las Vegas come September 29-30, he will certainly be in attendance, probably looking healthy and full as he continues to add quality mass in preparation for his next competition, the 2007 Arnold Classic.
“By next March I will have had another 10 months to improve upon the physique I showed this May,” he says. “I think I should have a decent shot at qualifying for the 2007 Olympia at the Arnold if I can make the kind of gains in the offseason I’m expecting to make.”
He sees the six months between next year’s Arnold and the Olympia being sufficient time for him to make further improvements before making a Big O debut, “if”, as he says, “I qualify.” Any bets against him not doing that?
