Mr. Olympia 2011: Phil Heath Will Become Bodybuilding's Next Superstar

The 2011 Mr. Olympia produced a very surprising result. Jay Cutler, long-time veteran and four-time winner of this competition, came in second. He was defeated by last year's runner-up Phil Heath.

The victory will usher in a new era in bodybuilding.

Cutler has been the face of this competition for the last five years, and has won 15 bodybuilding titles since 2000. He was the two-time defending champion in the Mr. Olympia competition.

But Heath is the new kid in town, and he is not going to relinquish his throne any time soon. His nickname is actually "The Next Big Thing."

Heath is not exactly a young man at 31 years old. But he has only been competing professionally for five years. He won three lower-level competitions prior to winning Mr. Olympia.

He is a star in the making for this sport.

But the winning can't stop with Mr. Olympia. He has to build on this momentum in order to truly become a transcendent star in bodybuilding.

Given that he was able to defeat someone with the resume of Cutler, it should not be long before he is the face of the sport.

Every great athlete, regardless of what sport they compete in, has that one moment when everything finally clicks and they are able to get over the hill; the Red Sox did it with the Yankees, the Colts did it with the Patriots and now Heath has gotten over the mountain that is Jay Cutler.

The sky is the limit for Heath, but he can't get complacent. He is The Man now, so everyone is going to be coming after him to steal what he has.

Given that Heath came into this year's Mr. Olympia in the best shape of his life, I don't think he will have any problems motivating himself to get better and retain his title for years to come.