2017 Arnold Classic Champion Cedric McMillan has confirmed that he will not be competing in the 2020 Mr. Olympia contest, currently scheduled to take place December 17th through 20th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The US Army veteran made his intentions known on Fouad Abiad’s YouTube channel with Abiad and guest host Seth Feroce interviewing him.
View this post on Instagram
Go Charles @charleslowthian posting my pics so he can get DMs from pretty girls
McMillan said that he suffered a hand and collar bone injury while riding a mountain bike in his home state of South Carolina. The hand injury is what will keep him out of this year’s competition.
“So I’m out here riding and going down a hill around a curve, and somehow lost traction on the back tire which drifted me off the hill. So here I am, mountain bike on the f###### hill, and the only thing you can think about is ‘what is going to stop me’ you know? Something’s going to stop me, right? So when I came off the bike, I’m not exactly sure what I hit first. I’m in a curve to the left, I hit my left hip and left shoulder, and at some point, as I was rolling, I think I tried to break my fall with my hand, or hold onto the handlebar. I know the back part of my hand was what hit.”
McMillan then shows his hand on camera and explains that his fingers became dislocated. He disclosed that he had tried to find ways to train around the injury by focusing on his legs, chest, back, and shoulders with hands-free lifting straps. This was so that he could finish preparing for the December contest in Las Vegas. After he spoke with his physician, he ultimately determined that there was no way that he could be his best and that it was better to not compete and focus on the future.
“This is what he told me. He said, ‘this is what you gotta think about. This show is in December, and you make it to December, and then you have career long issues later because of that, how worth it was it?’ You know what I mean?”
McMillan joins James “Flex” Lewis on the list of athletes qualified for the show that won’t be able to compete. He had qualified for this year’s Olympia by winning both the 2019 Fit Parade and Romania Pro contests. His last contest was the 2020 Arnold Classic, where he placed 6th. He spent the majority of 2020 focusing on his military career. His next contest is likely to be the 2021 Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
Featured Images: Instagram/cedricmcmillan, photo by Matthias Busse
