Shawn Rhoden (April 2, 1975 – November 6, 2021) was a Jamaican-American IFBB professional

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

and past

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

. He won the

2018 Mr. Olympia The 2018 Mr. Olympia contest was a weekend long IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on September 14 to 15, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the 54th Mr. Olympia competition celebrated. The weekend competition is also know ...

contest by defeating seven-time Mr. Olympia

Phil Heath Phillip Jerrod Heath (born December 18, 1979) is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He is a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won the competition every year from 2011 to 2017. His latest victory tied him with Arnold Schwarzeneg ...

Early life

Born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, Rhoden migrated to the United States in 1990 and settled in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He went through a period of alcohol addiction following the death of his father, Lloyd, in 2002 but overcame it with help from his friend Lenore Carroll.

Career

An aspiring football player in his early teens, Rhoden started bodybuilding in 1992The Wheel Deal
''

Flex Flex or FLEX may refer to: Computing * Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay * FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800 * FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research * FLEX (protocol), a comm ...

'' with inspiration from a past IFBB Mr. Universe winner, Yohnnie Shambourger. After an amateur career marked by several injuries and

alcohol dependence Alcohol dependence is a previous (DSM-IV and ICD-10) psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol (also chemically known as ethanol). In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorde ...

, by 2010 Rhoden won his IFBB Pro card. He was the 11th at the 2011 Mr. Olympia (Mr. Olympia debut), 3rd at the

2012 Mr. Olympia The 2012 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and the feature event of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2012 held September 27–30, 2012 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Orleans Arena in ...

, and 4th at the

2013 Mr. Olympia The 2013 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held September 27–28, 2013, at the Orleans Arena at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. It was the 49th Mr. Olympia competition held. Other events at ...

competition. In 2014, Rhoden was third at the 2014 Mr. Olympia competition and then third again at the

2015 Mr. Olympia The 2015 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on September 19–21, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the 51st Mr. Olympia competition celebrated. Other events at the exhibition included the 212 Olym ...

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, he was second. Two years later, he unseated

to become the

. Rhoden's age at the time, 43 years and 5 months, made him the oldest Mr. Olympia titleholder.

Personal life and death

In 2015, Shawn Rhoden and then partner Michelle Sugar had a daughter. The couple soon married in 2018. However, due to personal issues and allegations of infidelity, they divorced. Rhoden died from a heart attack on November 6, 2021.

Legal trouble

Rhoden was accused of sexually assaulting a female protege while he was visiting

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Utah, in October 2018, shortly after his Mr. Olympia win. In July 2019, he was formally charged in the

state of Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

with rape, object rape, and sexual abuse. It was alleged that Rhoden invited a married woman who he had been mentoring to his hotel room in Salt Lake, where the reported actions took place. The American Media LLC company, which is the organizing body for the Mr. Olympia contest, released a statement in July 2019 that Rhoden was banned from competing at the 2019 Mr. Olympia contest, as well as future competitions. A statement that same month from the governing body of the sport of bodybuilding and fitness, the IFBB (through representative Jim Manion), stated that the IFBB had thus far not taken any action regarding Rhoden, but would continue to monitor the situation.

Competition history

Amateur *2009 IFBB North American Championships – 1st *2009 NPC Delaware Open Bodybuilding – 1st *2001 NPC Team Universe Championships – 2nd *2000 NPC Team Universe Championships – 4th *1999 NPC Team Universe Championships – 3rd Professional *

– 1st * 2017 Mr. Olympia – 5th * 2016 Mr. Olympia – 2nd *2016 Kuwait Pro Men's Bodybuilding – 3rd place * 2015 EVL's Prague Pro – 3rd *

– 3rd *2014 IFBB San Marino Pro – 1st *2014 EVL's Prague Pro – 3rd *2014 Dubai Pro – 2nd *2014 IFBB Arnold Classic Europe – 2nd * 2014 Mr. Olympia – 3rd *2014 IFBB Australian Pro – 1st *2014 IFBB Arnold Classic – 2nd *2013 IFBB Arnold Classic Europe – 4th *

– 4th *2012 IFBB EVL's Prague Pro – 2nd *2012 IFBB British Grand Prix – 1st *2012 IFBB Arnold Classic Europe – 1st *

– 3rd *2012 IFBB Dallas Europa Supershow – 1st *2012 IFBB PBW Tampa Pro – 1st *2012 NPC Dexter Jackson Classic – NP *2012 IFBB

Arnold Classic The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman (''Arnold Strongman Classic''), fitness, figure and ...

– 8th *2012 IFBB FLEX Pro – 4th * 2011 Mr. Olympia – 11th *2011 IFBB Dallas Europa Super Show – 3rd *2010 IFBB Dallas Europa Super Show – 6th

References

External links

Ronnie Coleman Signature Series profile
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Brandon Curry Brandon Curry (born October 19, 1982) is an American professional bodybuilder who competes in the men's open bodybuilding division in the IFBB pro league. He is the 2019 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding champion. Biography Early life Curry was born a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoden, Shawn 1975 births 2021 deaths African-American bodybuilders Jamaican emigrants to the United States Professional bodybuilders Place of death missing Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople