EVLS Prague PRO 2023: Samson Dauda reigns supreme again! Complete results and report

Although Mr. Olympia, which we informed you about in a separate extensive report, is hopelessly over, the bodybuilding season continues. After the Romania Muscle Fest 2023 held last week, Czech bodybuilding and fitness fans have also seen it as usual. The tenth anniversary edition of EVLS Prague PRO took place at the Hilton Hotel in Prague and this year promised a particularly packed starting field, with Olympic bronze medallist Samson Dauda considered by many to be the main star. In this report, we will take you through the highlights of the evening in written form.

Figure category

This year's Prague competition offered a total of six different categories, with the figure competitors getting the first chance to compete. A total of 21 female athletes took part, including one of the hot favourites to win, Tereza Linhartová. It was she who, together with her sister Gabriela, also reached the podium of the prestigious Olympia, but Tereza already won last week at the aforementioned Romania Muscle Fest 2023 and thus secured her qualification for the next year's prestigious bodybuilding competition. Even though she could give her body a well-deserved rest, she decided to show off in front of her home crowd.

And already from the semi-final callout it was clear that Tereza really belongs to the top competitors in her category, as she appeared in the middle of the line in the first callout. Maria Luisa Baeza Diaz then appeared next to her, rounding out the Figure Olympia Top 10, relegating Tereza to 11th place at the time. After the semi-finals, it was clear that the final would mainly bring a duel between these two competitors. Rejoice Godwin and Stefana Sandu, who appeared in both the first and the last callout, could then enter the fight for the medals.

The final itself was then quite thrilling and the top ten female competitors were given space for individual presentations. Then when it came to the announcement of the winners, Behnaz Nasrollahi Azar came in fifth place, the aforementioned Stefana Sandu came in fourth and third place also went to Rejoice Godwin as expected. Then when it came to the second place, after a moment of suspense, Maria Luisa Baeza Diaz was announced as the runner-up and it was therefore clear that Tereza Linhart would take the gold, thus reversing the Olympia defeat for the aforementioned athlete from Chile.

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Bodybuilding up to 212 pounds

The second category was the men's bodybuilding up to 212 pounds, where only 8 competitors showed up, but they were all in absolutely great shape. The main draw was undoubtedly Kuwaiti pro Ahmad Ashkanani, who dominated the competition in Romania last week. However, the once silver medalist from Mr. Olympia up to 212 pounds was followed in Prague by the well-prepared Giuseppe Zagarella, with whom he had already fought in Romania. And for the third time they were joined by Lucas Garcia, who lost a little in volume, but his physique looks balanced and elegant. This trio met each other in the first and last callout and fans could have high expectations from the final.

Finally, after the athletes' individual performances, this category also came to a close. And the judges, after mature consideration, decided to favour the brutal volumes of Ahmad Ashkanani, who definitely outclassed his opponent with the amount of quality mass, although aesthetically the remaining two competitors were perhaps a little better. The second place went to Giuseppe Zagarella, with Lucas Garcia taking the bronze.

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Open categories

The most attractive open category was held in a great atmosphere, with a number of local and foreign stars on stage. As expected, the Slovak giant Michal Križánek had a huge support, and he was poised for a great result from the beginning. He came superbly prepared and no one could be surprised that he appeared in the first call-up alongside the favoured Samson Dauda, Nathan de Asha and also the incredible Rubiel Mosquera, who only a day earlier had won a pro card at the associated amateur event.

Among the Czech pros, Honza Turek also appeared in the first callout, confirming his status as the best Czech pro at the moment. Pavel Beran appeared in the second callout and Pavel Cervinka in the fourth. At the end of the semi-final it looked like Michal and Samson would duel for the victory, and we honestly don't envy the judges this choice at all, because both competitors showed great forms.

During the final of the open heavyweight category the atmosphere in the Prague Hilton hotel was really first class - especially during the performances of Pavel Beran, Michal Križánek and Honza Turek. When it came to the announcement of the winners, many spectators were really tense about how it would all turn out. In the end, there was a reason for the Czech fans to rejoice when the fifth place was awarded to the sensational Honza Turek.

Fourth place went to Nathan de Asha, somewhat as expected, and third place went to the aforementioned Rubiel Mosquera, who could hardly have asked for a better entry among the pros. Michal Križánek, despite all his efforts, was not able to keep up with Samson Dauda this time, and therefore the Slovak giant had to settle for second place. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic result and Michal showed that he still has a huge potential in the future.

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Physique category

The men's physique category promised the participation of two Czech representatives and as soon as both of them appeared in the first callout, it was clear that the Czechs can achieve great placements in this category. When Ondra Kmost'ák finally appeared next to Miroslav Juricek posing in the middle of the line, it even looked like a battle for medals between these two fighters. And this assumption was also confirmed in the last heat, where they were joined by Furkan Er and British rider Adeyemi Awoyemi, who has already won this season's Dubai PRO.

As we have already announced, the finals only completed the pre-announced sensation. When the winners were announced, it was already clear that the first place would go to the well-prepared Miroslav Juricek, who won the professional competition for the second time in two weeks. However, the second place was equally great for Ondra Kmošt'ák, who appeared on the boards of professional competitions after four years and immediately got a silver plaque. And it should be noted that if Miroslav Juricek had not been well prepared at the competition, Ondra could have become the second Czech to qualify for the Olympia 2024.

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Classic physique

In the numerous men's physique category two Czech professionals were originally supposed to take part, but after Miroslav Pribán's absence only Sebastian Gunčík appeared on the stand. And despite the good preparation, the competition was very strong and it seems that the German competitor and bronze medalist from this year's Olympia Urs Kalecinski and Michael Daboul will fight for the victory.

And after the free sets of well prepared physiques, the results were announced quite quickly. The duel between the two best fighters from the semi-finals finally went better for the German competitor, who can thus rejoice in another valuable victory among the professionals. Michael Daboul had to settle for second place, Alexander Westermeier took bronze, Sebastien Theurel finished fourth and Karol Rogaczewski rounded off the top five.

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Bikini fitness

The last category that had the opportunity to present itself during this year's EVLS Prague PRO was the bikini fitness category. In this category, Alice Marchisio and Violeta Palamarchuk crystallized as favorites during the semifinal heats.

The finals were quite exciting and also the well prepared Valerya Fedorenko, who did not stand in the middle of the starting field, but still showed great form. And then when it came to the announcement of the results, it was her name that came first. Violeta Palamarchuk finished second and Alice Marchisio, who won the races in Romania last week, had to settle for bronze.

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