Arnold South America 2023 results and report | Josef Květoň takes fourth place!

The bodybuilding season is in full swing and the weekend of April 14-16 was one of the traditional competitions under the auspices of Arnold himself. At the Brazilian Arnold Classic South America, under the auspices of the IFBB PRO division, competitions were held both for professional wheelchair bodybuilders, but mainly for the expected Open category, where among others two Czech fighters - Slavoj Bednář and Josef Květoň - competed. It was the professional debut of the latter. How the competition turned out not only for the Czech athletes, you can find out in this report.

Open category

Let's go straight to what you are probably most interested in. In the open category of heavyweights, besides the two Czech fighters mentioned above, ten foreign athletes were supposed to show up, and the favourite of the whole competition was definitely Behrooz Tabani, who has so far only shown up at the Romania Muscle Fest Pro two years ago, but from the photos on social media he looked very well prepared. However, his plans could be complicated by Olympia participant Vitor Hugo Boff or rising star Emir Omegaric, who, despite being only 23 years old, has an incredible musculature and, if his health holds out, could probably have a very successful career ahead of him. Sergio Oliva Jr. was also originally scheduled to compete, but he didn't make it.

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The semi-final heats were held in the afternoon Brazilian time and although usually these heats already give a clear idea of the final standings, this time the judges managed to keep the audience tense until the final. It looked promising that Josef Kveton appeared in the first call-up together with Fernando, Boffo, Bonadiman, Bic (by the way a well prepared winner of the attached amateur division) and the favoured Tabani and Omegaric. Not to mention that at one time he even stood right in the middle. However, given the subsequent reappearance in the fourth callout, it rather looked like Josef Květoň could easily be heading for 3rd place behind Tabani and Fernando. Slavoj Bednar, on the other hand, had to settle for only a performance in the second callout, which probably already put him outside the top five competitors.

However, as expected, the evening finale, which was marked by a duel between the well-prepared Tabani and Fernando for the first place, offered a clearer outline of the final standings. Boff, Omegaric and the very well prepared Josef Květoň also earned their participation in the top five.

In the end, the joust went better for the Iranian Tabani, who had the win as a clear priority, unlike the local Fernando, who had travelled halfway around the world. He thus earned qualification for this year's Olympics. Second place belonged to the aforementioned Fernando, third place was deservedly won by Omegaric, fourth place thanks to great form was won by Josef Květoň and the top five was rounded off by last year's Olympia participant Boff. Congratulations to Pep for his great entry among the pros!

Check out the complete standings once again in the table below: