Lee Haney shares his thoughts on Phil Heath’s 7x Olympia reign.
In our previous interview segments, Lee Haney shared his critiques on Ronnie Coleman and Matt Mendenhall. As a world record Olympia champion – his analysis and critique of other top competitors hold a heavy weight. In our latest GI Exclusive interivew, Lee Haney shares his thoughts on Phil Heath as an Olympia champion. Does he hold up in Haney’s eyes?
Phil Heath is one of the top Olympia champions in the history of bodybuilding. With seven Mr. Olympia wins, he stands tied with Arnold Schwarzenegger who is only beaten by Lee Haney’s and Ronnie Coleman’s eight wins. Despite his recent loss in 2018 to Shawn Rhoden, many fans believe that if he came back, Phil could continue to win more Olympia trophies. Could he perhaps one day surpass the world record eight wins?
Only time will tell as Phil Heath has been quiet about his possible return. For now, we have to assume that he won’t as he hasn’t made an official announcement. Though he has teased the fans quite a bit.
But looking back at his reign as a seven time Olympia champion, how does his physique and demeanor hold up in the short list of Olympia legends? During our conversation with Lee Haney, we decided to ask him what his thoughts were on Phil Heath.
Phil Heath posing on stage (above).
Lee Haney had nothing but stellar words to say about the former champion. Haney comments on how shocking it is for Phil to go from being a star basketball player to a star bodybuilder. He also thinks that his physique truly was impressive – bringing a level of conditioning that hardly any competitor in his era could match.
Not only that – but Lee Haney doesn’t think Phil Heath is done yet. You can count him among the fans who wish for his return to the competitive stage. While Phil had some slight issues that put him behind Shawn Rhoden back in 2018 – it was still a damn close competition. This isn’t an open and shut case. Phil Heath can still bring conditioning that threatens the current crop of competitors. He still has more than a fair shot at winning. The only question is – does he want to return?
With Lee Haney’s approval behind him, perhaps Phil Heath will come back, similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and grab one more trophy before his time is up.
You can watch Lee Haney’s full comments on Phil Heath in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
