2000

Y2K would be a breakout year for Markus. In February as he began preparing for the Toronto Pro and his third try at the NOC, he tore a ligament inside his shoulder joint. His doctor advised him to take four to six weeks off from training. Having a flashback to 1994 when he had to bail out of his first contest with an almost identical injury, Ruhl decided to abbreviate his time off to just five days. He had a feeling this spring was his time to make it or break it, and sitting out would be a missed opportunity. Instead, he carefully worked around the injury and lightened the weights when necessary. His instinct proved to be correct, as Markus defeated Dexter Jackson in Canada to win his first IFBB show. Along with the prize money came a new motorcycle, which Markus was forced to sell, as he didn’t know how to ride it and had no desire to learn. Next he placed second to Jay Cutler, who was also scoring his first pro win that year at the NOC. At that year’s Olympia, Markus competed too heavy at 280. Though he was the heaviest man in the show, the best he could manage was seventh place, which was still a major improvement from 1999 where he didn’t officially place at all. Ruhl also competed in the British Grand Prix again and placed fifth. Meanwhile, his bellybutton had ruptured while in the final stages of preparation for the Olympia, and as soon as the grand prix contest was over he had hernia surgery. While he was recovering back in Germany, I did a Star Profile interview with Markus for Musclemag International. I asked him if he felt that he was at a publicity disadvantage, since the judges were far more familiar with the more famous names like Ronnie Coleman, Kevin Levrone, and Flex Wheeler. "That is true," he replied, "but one day the famous names will be Ruhl, Cutler, and Jackson." Did this guy call it, or what? I also asked him where he saw himself in five years. In a true Jean Dixon moment, he told me he would be top five in the world by then. Less than four years after this prediction, he placed fifth at the Mr. Olympia.