The Olympia 2019 lineup is diminished… so why won’t Phil Heath come back?

Let’s be clear right at the start of this write up, Phil Heath has not officially confirmed or denied whether or not he’ll compete at the Olympia 2019. While there were early statements he made right after his 2018 loss claiming he would likely take a year off – we have heard nothing since.

Instead, we’ve seen a lot. Phil has been keeping in incredible shape and making very vague posts that many hungry fans take to imply he’ll return to the stage this year. We’re not buying it just yet but Phil has certainly kept in good enough shape to believably compete if he wanted to.

Which brings us to our main point, why doesn’t Phil Heath come back this year? As you can see from a video update compilation above by our content partner Fazi Fitness – Phil can make a relatively easy $400k this year if he wanted to. The main reason being that the Olympia 2019 lineup has completely changed. Shawn Rhoden can no longer compete due to sexual assault allegations and Big Ramy doesn’t seem to be competing due to an injury earlier this year. These two people were arguably the biggest threat to Phil Heath.

The wild cards here are Brandon Curry and Dexter Jackson. Brandon has been showing incredible improvement year after year and looks to be a true threat for anyone looking to get that Sandow trophy. Dexter Jackson has always been in the top 6 running (except for last year) and always has the chance to pull off something that tips him over the edge into victory.

But again, Phil Heath has previously proven that he can beat these two competitors year after year. Of course, nothing is guaranteed – but whatever fear Phil may have had about rushing to get back should be largely alleviated due to a truly diminished lineup. Arguably, the odds are more in Phil Heath’s favor than ever before. And with a big prize purse on the line it could be just tempting enough to jump back in and earn that cash money.

Will Phil Heath do it? We have no idea but our big question is why not? Phil Heath is a cocky bodybuilder – doesn’t he see that this could be his chance to become champion again, earn a record tying eight Sandow trophies, and also add $400k into his pocket? Anything can happen. Now all we can do is wait and see.

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