For the primary time since 2012, a Masters Olympia champion was topped.
On the weekend of Aug. 26-27, 2023, the Worldwide Federation of Bodybuilding and Health (IFBB) held its first Masters Olympia competitors in 11 years. The return of the competition noticed rivals seem in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and 51-year-old Kamal Elgargni captured the Males’s Open Masters Olympia championship.
Elgargni beforehand received the 2019 212 Olympia and has now change into the second-ever professional bodybuilder to win titles in two Olympia divisions, alongside 2008 Mr. Olympia and 2012 Masters Olympia winner Dexter Jackson.
The 2023 Masters Olympia contest was additionally the primary time members in 10 physique divisions took the stage competing for a Masters Olympia title: Males’s Open, 212, Males’s Physique, Basic Physique, Ladies’s Bodybuilding, Ladies’s Physique, Determine, Health, Bikini, and Wellness. In prior Masters Olympia contests, solely rivals within the Males’s Open, Determine, Health, and Bikini divisions competed.
As a Masters competitors, all athletes have been at the least 40 years outdated on the time of competitors, aside from the Males’s Open, 212, and Ladies’s Bodybuilding athletes who have been required to be 45 or older.
Along with their share of $229,000 — one of many largest prize purses within the sport — champions in every division additionally earned {qualifications} to compete within the Olympia contest on Nov. 3-5, 2023 in Orlando, FL. Right here’s how every division within the long-awaited contest turned out.
Males’s Open
- Kamal Elgargni — $20,000
- Maxx Charles — $10,000
- Phil Clahar — $5,000
- Fred Smalls — $3,000
- Kenneth B. Jackson — $2,000
212
- Hidetada Yamagishi — $10,000
- David Henry — $5,000
- Anwar Darwish Ali Al Balushi — $3,000
- Ahmed Fawzi — $2,000
- Jonni Shreve — $1,000
Basic Physique
- Alejandro Cambronero — $10,000
- Kelvin Hinde — $5,000
- Ross Caeser — $3,000
- Luis Garcia Martinez — $2,000
- Tom Connelly — $1,000
Males’s Physique
- Arya Saffaie — $10,000
- Sharif Reid — $5,000
- Dajuan Rico Freeman — $3,000
- Myron Griffin — $2,000
- Andrea Mosti — $1,000
Ladies’s Bodybuilding
- Reshanna Boswell — $10,000
- Barbara Moojen — $5,000
- Virginia B. Sanchez Macias — $3,000
- Donna Salib — $2,000
- Silvia Matta — $1,000
Ladies’s Physique
- Ivie Rhein — $10,000
- Caroline Alves Dos Santos — $5,000
- Heather Grace — $3,000
- Joanna Romano — $2,000
- Susan Graham — $1,000
Determine
- Jessica Reyes Padilla — $10,000
- Donya (Dee) Jackson — $5,000
- Gina Palma — $3,000
- Corrie Morales — $2,000
- Zulfiya Bitiyeva — $1,000
Health
- Minna Pajulahti — $10,000
- Stephanie Jones — $5,000
- Tamara Vahn — $3,000
- Jenny Value — $2,000
- Debbie Fowler — $1,000
Bikini
- Jessica Wilson — $10,000
- Janine Herrera — $5,000
- Nucia Freitas Samo — $3,000
- Kerryne Henich — $2,000
- Elisangela Angell — $1,000
Wellness
- Nerilde Garcia Strey — $10,000
- Simara Walter — $5,000
- Oana Marinescu — $3,000
- Tania Isabel Cunha Viegas — $2,000
- Casey DeLong — $1,000
The final Masters Olympia occurred in Miami, FL in 2012 when Dexter Jackson earned a victory in what was, on the time, the ultimate Masters Olympia competitors. The 2012 occasion was, itself, the competition’s return after not being held since 2003. On the time of this writing, the IFBB has not but formally introduced if the Masters Olympia will stay an annual competitors or if it is going to once more take an indefinite break from the competition calendar.
Regardless, the 2023 contest was a major alternative for knowledgeable rivals to showcase their physiques as a approach to doubtlessly inspire similar-aged spectators and supply present (youthful) rivals a take a look at their long-term potential within the sport.
Featured Picture: @mastersolympiaofficial / Instagram
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