The 2023 Mr. Olympia contest was a rollercoaster of emotions that culminated with the first-ever two-division Olympia champion when 2021 212 Olympia champion Derek Lunsford was crowned the 18th Mr. Olympia. He defeated defending champion Hadi Choopan, 2023 Arnold Classic champion Samson Dauda, and many more of the world’s elite.
One athlete Lunsford was not on stage with was seven-time Mr. Olympia champion Phil Heath, who was in the commentary booth remarking on how dominant Lunsford’s posing is from the back. However, Heath may shed the suit for the posing trunks sooner than expected, as the new Universal Documentary Breaking Olympia: The Phil Heath Story suggests.
In the Breaking Olympia trailer, released on Nov. 2, 2023, produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s Seven Buck Productions, Heath is heard narrating his intent to win a record-tying eighth Mr. Olympia crown, cementing his place in the pantheon of the winningest Olympian ever. Only Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney have achieved eight Mr. Olympia titles. Heath isn’t in poor company with seven titles; it’s on par with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Check out the trailer for Breaking Olympia in the post below, courtesy of Heaths’ Instagram page:
[Related: 2023 Olympia Results — Complete Official Scorecards]
If I made a comeback, what would that look like?
A return to the Mr. Olympia stage seems immenent given the premise of this dramatically-scored documentary that features Ronnie Coleman, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, 2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson, 2019 Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry, and Heath’s most notorious rival, three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up Kai Greene.
The story includes Heath’s reign at the Olympia ranks from 2011-17, as well as the injury that threatened the future of his bodybuilding career and let to what was presented as a dark depression.
I ain’t dead. I ain’t dying. I’m still standing. I still have the fire. It’s the Mr. Olympia or nothing.
Heath’s off-season bulk seems to have already begun. On Oct. 19, 2023, he shared a physique update after packing on five pounds that displayed his still fully-muscle-bound physique sporting abs, dense traps, and his famously thick arms. See for yourself below:
Heath’s two most recent Olympia appearances were in 2018, when he ranked second to Shawn Rhoden, and 2020, when he took the bronze behind the first of two Mr. Olympia titles won by Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay. Breaking Olympia is directed by Brett Harvey and is expected to release in early 2024.
Featured image: @philheath on Instagram
