Masters Olympia 2023 - What did the renewed veterans competition (Day 2) bring ? Results and report

It has been eleven long years since the last Masters Olympia, the ultimate competition where great athletes over 40 can compete, was held. But as we informed you late last year, 2023 will mark the continuation of this prestigious competition, whose last edition was dominated by the ageless Dexter Jackson. And the first day, which we informed you about in yesterday's report, offered a truly thrilling spectacle, with one of the imaginary highlights of the evening being the victory of the legendary Japanese bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagashi in the division up to 212 pounds and his subsequent qualification for Mr. Olympia.

Today, however, apart from the fitness, figure, men's physique and bikini categories, there is also the most attractive Open category, to which the Czech pro Slavoj Bednar has also been invited. Let's see how the whole competition looked like.

Figure

The figure category offered 18 competitors, so there was no shortage of competition. Especially when the list of invited competitors included Jessica Reyes Padilla, who won silver at Olympia last year and has already qualified for this year's event by winning the recent Texas PRO. However, as expected, this year's Vancouver PRO qualifier Gina Palma or American competitor Donya Jackson, who qualified for Olympia by winning the Tri-City Classic PRO, could stand in her way. The competition was therefore obviously extremely varied and one could expect that there would definitely be something to watch.

Already the position of the athletes in the first callout indicated that the whole competition would be in the spirit of the duel of these three athletes. Gina, Jesssica and Donya were finally joined by Corrie Morales in the first callout and it was clear that among these four athletes was the future winner of this competition. Although the show was really exciting, there could only be one winner. First place and with it the prize money of 10 thousand dollars went to Jessica Reyes Padilla after a thrilling battle.

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Fitness

Despite the fact that all the other categories were often up to twenty competitors, only 9 athletes received an invitation in the fitness category. 6 of them came from the United States and this group was completed by Marta Aguiar from Uruguay, Maria Cerbelli from Canada and Finnish competitor Minna Pajulahti. But the biggest favourite of the competition was the American athlete Stephanie Jones, who has already won bronze at the Vancouver PRO 2023 this season, for example. She was the one who finally appeared in the first call-up, where she was complemented by the aforementioned Minna Pajulahti, Tamara Vahn and Babette Mulford.

Although all of the competitors showed really good form and gave their best on the stand, the first place from Olympia Masters and thus qualification for Mr. Olympia and the prize money of ten thousand dollars was rightfully earned by Finnish competitor Minna Pajulahti, who showed a really dazzling performance on the stage.

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Physique of men

The men's physique category finally offered a great spectacle, when twenty fighters were invited to participate. Among the hot favourites to win was Myron Griffin, a participant of last year's Olympia, who was certainly not going to give anything for free, nor was American competitor Arya Saffaie, who dominated this year's Tampa PRO, so he already has his qualification for the Olympia in his pocket. Dajuan Freeman, who is still actively competing against younger competitors, was not going to stand by either. It was this trio that ended up representing the first call-up, where they were complemented, somewhat unexpectedly, by Sharif Reid, who was in really great form.

However, Arya Saffaie clearly dominated the race and showed very good form, leaving the other competitors not really catching on. In the end, he came away from the very emotional results announcement with first place and a cash prize of $10,000. And even though he doesn't quite need the qualification ticket for Mr. Olympia anymore, we believe that another professional victory this season made him happy.

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Bikini

Bikini fitness was probably the most charged category, because 21 competitors got the invitation to start. Among them Jessica Wilson, Janine Herrera and Elisangela Angell were probably the biggest favourites. The first of the aforementioned competitors qualified for the Olympia by winning the DC PRO 2023, so she had a slight advantage over the others, but the other two competitors have also competed this year and although they ended up in about half of the starting field, they showed that they can show very good form. Exactly these three racers made it to the first call-up, where they were finally joined by Nucia Freitas Samo from Switzerland.

In the end, despite the great preparation of all the competitors, nothing surprising happened during the race and Jessica Wilson walked away with the first place, which is another victory for her this season. She has already qualified for the Olympia, but the Mrs. Olympia title in the bikini category is certainly another valuable victory for this athlete, who incidentally has a doctorate in veterinary medicine.

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Open

If any category promised to be a fascinating spectacle from the start, it was the open category, which brought together a number of big names. Among the main favourites to win was Kamal Ergargni, the 2019 Mr. Olympia under 212lb winner, who, although he could have competed in the weight-limited division, opted for the open himself. Although it was predictable from the start that he would not be the biggest in the open division, he has beaten bulkier bodybuilders many times in his career with great preparation, hardness and precise posing.

However, even Phil Clahar didn't want to give him anything for free, as he defeated the favored Hassan Mostafa at this year's Orlando PRO and his participation in the Olympia is guaranteed for this year. Experienced Joshua Lenartowicz or Maxx Charles, a multiple Mr. Olympia participant, who boasts an arm circumference exceeding an incredible 58 cm, could still have a say in the final standings.

Already during the preliminaries it became clear that the athletes from the Charles-Clahar-Ergagni trio came in great shape and it was no wonder that they deserved the first call-up. In the middle of the line for the final invocation stood Ergagni, more than half a head shorter, with serial number 157. On his right was the much taller Maxx Charles with serial number 155 and the trio of probable medalists was rounded off on the left by Clahar with number 156. Among these three competitors was Fred Smalls, who was not expected to achieve any success (also because of his poor overall physique due to a torn pectoral muscle in the past).

In the end, however, he was "only" fourth, with the bronze going to Phil Clahar, who, given his certain participation in the Olympics, need not be sorry at all. The second place was finally taken by the famous Maxx Charles and Kamal Elgargni won. Fifth place went to Kenneth Jackson and it can be assumed that somewhere around 6th place could be Slavoj Bednar, whose form was also good this time.

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