Shawn Rhoden is a Jamaican-American IFBBprofessional bodybuilder and former Mr. Olympia. He won the 2018 Mr. Olympia contest by defeating seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath. He is the oldest bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia title, at the age of 43 years and five months. On July 12 2019, TMZ broke a story that he was accused of an incident of rape in October 2018. The article also revealed that an arrest warrant was issued, and bail was set for $750,000. Shortly after the story surfaced, he was disallowed from competing at the 2019 Mr. Olympia, and future Mr. Olympia competitions as well.
Early life
Born in Kingston, Rhoden immigrated to the United States in 1990 and settled in Maryland. He went through a period of alcohol addiction following his father Lloyd's death in 2002 but overcame it with help from his friend Lenore Carroll.
Career
An aspiring soccer player in his early teens, Rhoden started bodybuilding in 1992 with inspiration from former Mr. Universe Yohnnie Shambourger and, after an amateur career ruptured with several injuries and alcohol dependence, won his IFBB Pro card by 2010. He was the 11th at the 2011 Mr. Olympia, 3rd at the 2012 Mr. Olympia, and 4th at the 2013 Mr. Olympia competition. In 2014, Shawn Rhoden took 3rd place at the 2014 Mr. Olympia competition and again 3rd place at the 2015 Mr. Olympia. Rhoden followed up in 2016, with a 2nd place finish at the 2016 Mr. Olympia. In 2018, Rhoden became the new Mr. Olympia replacing Phil Heath. He is the oldest bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia title, at the age of 43 years, 5 months.
Legal trouble
Shawn Rhoden has been accused of sexually assaulting a female protege while he was visiting Salt Lake City, Utah in October of 2018, shortly after his Mr. Olympia win. He was charged formally in the state of Utah in July of 2019 with rape, object rape and sexual abuse. It is 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 of 2019 that Rhoden was banned from competing at the 2019 Mr. Olympia contest, as well as future Mr. Olympia competitions. The governing body of the sport of bodybuilding and fitness the IFBB, released a statement in July of 2019 through representative Jim Manion, that no actions will be taken against Rhoden, until further information is gathered on the situation.
