Bodybuilding community mourns Mr Olympia legend Shawn Rhoden's sudden death
Mr Olympia legend Shawn Rhoden passed away on Saturday (November 6) at 46 after suffering a fatal heart attack.
FollowIn what has sent shockwaves across the bodybuilding community, Mr Olympia legend Shawn Rhoden passed away on Saturday (November 6) at 46 after suffering a fatal heart attack. This tragic news was confirmed by Shawn Rhoden's trainer Chris Aceto. Following the news of Rhoden's death, tributes poured in across social media, with many netizens raising questions over the quest to look 'perfect' in the bodybuilding business.
Active members of the bodybuilding community, which is still reeling under the death of legends like George Peterson, Andy Haman and John Meadows earlier this year, too took to social media to grieve the end of an era.
Also read:Â Indian bodybuilder Jagdish Lad passes away due to COVID-19
In an Instagram post, bodybuilder Cedric McMillan posted a photograph of him and Shawn Rhoden together, with a caption that was just a tag to the 2018 Mr Olympia's account. IFBB Pro and four-time Olympian Jeremy Potvin posted a moving message that read: Going to miss you, brother.Â
Meanwhile, the winner of seven consecutive 212 Mr Olympia titles, James 'Flex' Lewis, took to Instagram, recalling their 3-week road trip and revealed that the two planned to meet on the day Rhoden breathed his last. Flex Lewis also expressed his frustration over several netizens speculating the reason behind the Mr Olympia legend's cause of death. However, Flex Lewis advocated that athletes and bodybuilders must undergo regular health checkups and take preventive measures wherever needed. "Something needs to be done," voiced the Welsh bodybuilder adding that not just Shawn Rhoden but several lives can be saved if health is monitored regularly.
In his last Instagram post, Shawn Rhoden wrote: Brick by brick and patience it will take. See you on the other side. These last words by the Mr Olympia legend have moved fans and friends and become uncanny in retrospect.
One may recall, renowned bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently voiced concern over the increasing number of deaths in the bodybuilding community. He called for more testing or promotion of smaller divisions of competition as a safer category.
It wasn't an easy journey for Shawn Rhoden, who took to bodybuilding in the 1990s. In his life's journey, the icon dealt with health and personal issues, which included a phase of alcohol addiction following his father Lloyd's demise in 2002. Shawn Rhoden returned to the Mr Olympia contest in 2011, in which he stood 11th. With 27 professional titles under his belt, Rhoden created history by becoming the oldest contestant ever to win the Mr Olympia title in 2018 at 43 years and five months. In July 2019, Shawn Rhoden was formally charged in Utah with rape, object rape, and sexual abuse, which led to his permanent ban from the Mr Olympia contest.
Watch this video to know ten must-know facts about Shawn 'Flexathron' Rhoden:
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