Europa Pro 2023: Regan Grimes dominates the royal open division and heads to Olympia! Overall results and report

The next weekend was marked by more competitions, where the registered athletes could qualify for the dizzyingly fast approaching Mr. Olympia. There is no shortage of competitions in Europe in October, with the Flex Weekend PRO in Milan, Italy, followed by the Europa PRO in Alicante, Spain. And as is usually the case with European competitions, several Czech competitors got their chance to show off their skills. And how did they turn out? That's what we will look at in this report.

Classic Physique

The competitors had to show off their skills in 10 different categories, so the competition was divided into two main blocks. The first one was opened by the Classic Physique category, where Patrik Herčzík was the best Czech competitor and 21 other competitors stood by his side. The quality of the competitors in the starting field was already evidenced by the fact that 5 of them have stood on the boards of Olympia in the past and Patrik will definitely not have it easy. In the end, the role of the favourite was confirmed by the Dutch professional Wesley Vissers, who was followed by the local José Maria Mete Bueriberi. Despite his good form, Patrik did not make it to the first call-up and ended up in 11th place. However, given the great competition, even this can be considered a good result. The final standings were as follows:

Top 5 classic physique Europa Pro 2023

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Physique of men

A number of interesting competitors also stood on the podium of the men's physique category, although two main favourites crystallized early on in this competition. These were Belgian-based Afghan Ali Bilal, who won the aforementioned Flex Weekend PRO last week, and Sidy Pouye, who has already secured qualification for Olympia with his earlier win at the Sheru Classic in Italy. As Pouye showed really incredible form, great symmetry and perfect preparation, he deservedly won in the end. The final standings were as follows:

Top 5 Physique Men Europa Pro 2023

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Women's Bodybuilding

In the women's bodybuilding there were a number of interesting competitors, but the eyes of the judges were undoubtedly most captivated by Victoria Knysh, who showed really brutal volumes and perfect readiness, and Chelsea Dion, who showed a really impressive individual routine. It is the latter who has been showing constant progress and the judges, after a few rough comparisons, decided to give her the first place this time. The Czech competitor Ivana Dvořáková was also in this category and her performance just fell short of the top five. In the end, according to available sources, she took 6th place. The final standings were as follows:

Top 5 Women's Bodybuilding Europa Pro 2023

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Physique of women

The women's physique category could be described with a bit of exaggeration as already decided the moment Karina Goncalves, who had already qualified for Olympia thanks to her victory at the recent Mr. Big Evolution PRO, appeared on the stand for the first time. Only Caroline Alves dos Santos was breathing lightly on her back, but in the end she had to settle for second place and the bronze went to Sara Bradley. The top five were:

Top 5 Physique Women Europa Pro 2023

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Figure of women

As far as the women's figure is concerned, the biggest Czech hope for a precious metal was Gabriela Linhartová, whose sister Tereza qualified for the Olympics at the recent UK Athlete PRO. This time, given her great fitness and awesome muscle volume, it was clear that everything was on track for Gabriela to accompany her. And that's exactly what ended up happening. Finishing a close second was Paula Ranta, who leapfrogged Gabriela by two places at the aforementioned English races. The final standings were as follows:

Top 5 figure Europa Pro 2023

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Bodybuilding men open

As usual, the men's open bodybuilding attracted the most attention, which this time could repeat the scenario from the recent Flec Weekend PRO, as Nathan de Asha, Roman Fritz, Regan Grimes or Theo Leguerrier were again among the main favourites to win. Jan Turek, who has already shown several times in the past that he is one of the world's top riders, was the one to look forward to. However, in the packed starting field, which finally numbered 23 competitors, he did not have it easy at all. In the first call-up, Regan Grimes and Nathan de Asha stood in the middle of the line, just like in Milan, which was in line with the pre-race predictions. However, while Nathan clearly dominated last week in Milan, this time the tables were slightly turned.

And no wonder - Regan's trip to the Italian races was reportedly complicated by an allergic reaction to the paint, which was reflected in the appearance of the resulting musculature. This time he offered a fuller and sharper form with the brutal volumes we're used to. He rightfully took the win followed by Nathan and Tim Budesheim. In the end, Honza Turek was one of the favourites for the second call-up, which secured him the eighth place among the pros. Considering the large number of competitors, this is also a great achievement.

Top 5 men's bodybuilding open Europa Pro 2023

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Bodybuilding up to 212 pounds

In the men's category up to 212 pounds there were 12 competitors, none of them from the Czech Republic. However, local fans could at least keep their fingers crossed for Slovak pro Tomas Tabachiar, who showed great form. However, the main favourites of the evening, including Oleh Kryvyi and Marco Ruz, were not quite up to the task. It was these two competitors who eventually competed with each other for the win, with the judges ultimately ruling in favour of the Ukrainian pro. In the end, Tomas Tabachiar narrowly missed out on a top five finish and had to settle for 6th place. The complete standings were as follows:

Top 5 bodybuilding up to 212 pounds Europa Pro 2023

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It is worth mentioning from the remaining categories that women's fitness was dominated by Slovakian competitor Michaela Pavleová, Wellness was dominated by Spanish competitor Sandra Colorado Acal, who already had her nomination for Olympia from the Canadian Toronto PRO Supershow. Bikini fitness was dominated by Valerya Fedorenko. And that's all for this report. However, we'll bring you news from the French Sheru Classic later this month, with one more European and one American competition to come in October (both of which fall on October 8), and that will finally close the door on the possibility for Open competitors to qualify for the November Olympia.

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