The 2002 Dutch Grand Prix Report

Locally this event was simply called the DORIAN YATES GRAND PRIX 2002, such is Dorian's fame, name and presence in Holland. Held in the huge KENNEMER SPORTS CENTRE in Haarlem (near Amsterdam) on November 3rd, it was the first major Pro GP in Holland in 10 years.
The 18 competitors were a nice balance of seasoned professionals from USA with the likes of COLEMAN, CORMIER, JACKSON and JAMES, plus the new boys such as GROULX, HORVATH, VAN AMSTERDAM, THORVILDSEN, SHERIDAN and BAUTISTA adding some exciting new blood. Incidentally this is the order in which these 10 guys ultimately finished. The other 8 guys showed great potential with GIOVANNI THOMPSON, at 6 feet tall, being the one most likely to make a mark in the future.
The 3 guest posers were JULIETTE BERGMANN, current lightweight Ms. Olympia, MARKUS RÜHL and VICTOR KONOVALOV. Juliette was on her home turf and the crowd simply adored her. She looked fantastic. Markus, current NOC Champion and Olympia competitor was a bit disappointing. He had been listed as competing in the GP, then due to food poisoning back before the English GP, he pulled out. So Dorian convinced Markus to speak to the fans, take off his shirt and pose his upper body. Although Markus said he had not trained much since the Olympia, his condition was still excellent and he would probably have made top 5 in this GP if he had competed. Victor was in excellent condition and is always an inspiration to everyone. MURIEL SALA and REGINA SILVA (Reggiani Da Silva) also performed their spectacular routines.
My special thanks go to the organisers DORIAN YATES, LILLY CAVALLO, SIMON RUTZ PROMOTIONS and PAPA MIKE for their help and support and also to my long suffering assistant CLIVE JAQUES who taped in the pump room for me.
Apart from a few surprises with the innovative lighting, there were no surprises in the results. RONNIE COLEMAN was a clear cut winner and appeared to be a little fuller and better than he was at the Olympia. But his midsection did seem to be a constant problem when ever he relaxed slightly. His posing included a much enjoyed trip into the VIP area.
In 2nd place CHRIS CORMIER had also tightened up, lost water and was a narrow 3 point victor over English GP winner of the week before, DEXTER JACKSON. I expected that result to be the other way around. It was very close.
Dexter looked hard, cut and symmetrical as usual as I have never seen him out of shape or displaying a bloated gut. He and LEE PRIEST are the world's top 2 shorter physiques. Too bad that Lee did not do the 2 GP European tour events as he could have taken home some good prize money. The same comments apply to Günter although I believe he had prior plans to stay at home and prepare for the big GNC show which he subsequently won, defeating Ronnie.
DENNIS JAMES in 4th looked better than at the Olympia. He posed superbly, especially his slant on the solo compulsories was most entertaining. The audiences always love Dennis.
CLAUDE GROULX continues to impress and improve with his 5th place. He does all the right things and is gradually obtaining the recognition he richly deserves. I have never seen him look better. JAROSLAV HORVATH of Slovakia told me that he had been dieting for 11 months. His 6th place certainly earned him a well deserved break. He celebrated at the after dinner banquet by eating pizza and icecream, both at the same time, washed down with Dutch beer!
Highest placed local Dutchman was ED VAN AMSTERDAM in 7th. He is tall, blonde, good looking and loaded with self confidence. What great name for a Dutch bodybuilder! He could be one to watch in the future. He also has great abs and calves but needs to bring up his back which is a bit narrow.
It is always disappointing for the fans when guys who have entered a GP and been advertised as attending simply fail to arrive. I used to believe that these "no show" competitors would be fined. But Dorian told me that they have no contracts to appear and accordingly they are not fined for not turning up. This is a scenario that needs tightening up by the IFBB as the promoters are putting themselves on the line financially in running these very expensive events.
Apart from Markus not making it into the contest, FLEX WHEELER and ART ATWOOD did not show. In the case of Art, I was told that his wife would have a visa problem in entering Holland. Perhaps more competitors from the USA would have competed if they knew that in Amsterdam they have dozens of "coffee shops" that can legally sell marijuana!
Next year's DORIAN YATES DUTCH GP will be on November 2nd, the night after the English GP, and we plan to cover both events again. It was a great event this year in Holland for the new promoters and I can't wait for the next one which will probably be held in Amsterdam.
See the complete set of results in our RESULTS SECTION.