Vancouver Pro 2024 dominated by John Jewett! How did Slavoj Bednar do? Results and report

Another opportunity to compete for qualification for Mr. Olympia, which is only 15 weeks away, was given to the competitors at the prestigious Canadian event Vancouver Pro. Every year these competitions keep a very high level and this year was no exception - there were 6 competition categories in total, the most prestigious of which was of course the men's open bodybuilding. How did the Czech representative Slavoj Bednar, who recently announced that he was aiming for the top five, fare? Find out in this report.

What did the pre-competition predictions look like?

As expected, the pro open start list was supposed to have 10 competitors, which at first glance is not that many. But it was all big names, as the roster included Stan De Longeaux, Stuart Sutherland and Tim Budesheim. Stuart, for example, already had a fourth place from New York PRO 2024 under his belt for this year, while Stan and Tim are already among the stalwarts of the bodybuilding scene. Of course, John Jewett also had a chance on paper, having moved up to the open from the 212lb division where he had already gained some Olympia experience. Finally, the Brazilian winner of the previous amateur contest joined the ten announced competitors.

How was the race?

The course of the race itself then suggested that the competition would unfold more or less as predicted. Thus, the first callout consisted of Sutherland, Budesheim and Jewett, who were supplemented by Iranian bodybuilder Hossein Kalateh and Robin Strand. They were also joined by the well-prepared Czech competitor Slavoj Bednar, who looked like he may well fulfil his plan for the top five. The top six, on the other hand, eluded Stan, from whom a better result was definitely expected given his qualities.

Considering the situation during the first callout, it looked like Slavoj and Stuart were going to fight it out for fifth and sixth place, as they had the top spots in the group. And they did. Later, the judges even compared them separately, with the outcome unclear until the last moment. Slavoj, after all, has a huge amount of competition experience and this time they came on stage full, powerful and with great separation. However, the younger Sutherland had the upper hand in terms of volume and therefore their duel had no obvious winner at first sight.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the line-up, the contest was between Tim Budesheim and John Jewett, both of whom showed great form and it was clear that it was going to be really close here too. Tim is showing constant progression and his whole physique looks pretty even. Unfortunately for him though, John Jewett also came across as quite sovereign, having put on a lot of extra muscle after the aforementioned move up from the weight limit category, making his physique look quite powerful and also making a good impression.

And how did it all turn out in the end? Slavoj Bednar had to settle for a very close sixth place - not a bad performance at all considering that he left behind a number of big names including Stanislas De Longeaux.

Fifth place went to Stuart Sutherland, with Iranian Hossein Kalateh in fourth and Robin Strand in third. But then there was a moment of tension and it was clear that one of the competitors would be very disappointed, while the other would have reason to rejoice. However, John Jewett came out the better of the contest when the results were announced, and earned himself a chance to see Olympia again. This time, however, not in the 212 category, but in the prestigious open. On the other hand, Tim's frustration at still not achieving his first professional victory was quite evident, despite taking a medal for the seventh time in his career.

And although it's not easy, let's hope he can quickly come to terms with this temporary setback, because an athlete of his quality certainly has the qualities to compete at the Olympia, and maybe we just need to keep trying for longer. His next opportunity will come next week at the races in Chicago, and we'll keep you posted on the results of that as well.

In conclusion, we can only congratulate Slavoj on his great form and ultimately a very pleasing placing. Although it was not quite the coveted Top 5, it is still a great result considering the intense competition. And we also wish him good luck in the next races he will be competing in this season!*

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