CUTLER DETHRONES RONNIE

September 30, 2006 is a day that will live in bodybuilding lore forever. A capacity crowd at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas bore witness to history, but it was not the history many had expected. Ronnie Coleman, going for his record-breaking ninth Sandow trophy, lost to four-time runner-up Jay Cutler, and by a convincing margin by bodybuilding standards, 22 to 38 (lowest score wins). In fact, Cutler won all four rounds of the show. Although Coleman was losing after the prejudging, the champ did not go down without a fight. In arguably the best posing routine ever seen on an Olympia stage, Coleman had world-famous boxing announcer Bruce Buffer step out on stage to announce him – Ronnie then came down through the crowd to a raucous ovation. After ducking backstage, a few moments later he reappeared in a Moses costume, long white beard and all. But in the end, a better physique beat the showman as Cutler's extra ten pounds of size and sharp improvements finally put him on top. For the complete recap of the prejudging and the night show, visit the Olympia blog at http://updates.mrolympia.com We have a new champion, Jay Cutler. After numerous second-place finishes, he has finally knocked out the champ! It was pandemonium at the Orleans Arena. An amazing bodybuilding moment. Goosebumps! Cutler waved to the crowd and had the stage to himself. The man has finally achieved his dream. Ronnie Coleman, who is an amazing, worthy champion, and still tied with Lee Haney for best Mr. Olympia ever, was devastated. Jay addressed the crowd. " This is a day no one thought they'd see. I broke the trend, you know. They said the champ can't be taken out. Well you know what? The new champ's in town. And the Sandow is staying in Las Vegas. And I get to keep my hair." Will he return? "Of course. I just want to thank all the fans, as well as Joe Weider and Ben who gave me the opportunity to do all this. There's a lot of talk about competitive organisations. The IFBB is the place. This is where you win Mr. Olympia." FLEX