Mr. Olympia without the trio of Cedric McMillan, James Hollingshead and Rafael Brandao!
Author: This year's Olympia Weekend, the most watched event in the world of professional bodybuilding, is fast approaching! Under normal conditions, we would already know the name of the new, maybe even the old holder of the Mr. Olympia title, as well as the winner of the competition for fighters from the lighter weight category, the Olympia 212 Showdown.
But since this season, like the rest of the world, is marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, this season's highlight has been moved to December.
The most watched event every year is undoubtedly the duel of heavyweights from the Open category at the Mr. Olympia competition. The following fighters managed to qualify for this year's event:
| Name | Country | Qualified from | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandon Curry | USA | Mr. Olympia 2019 | 1. |
| William Bonac | Netherlands | Mr. Olympia 2019 | 2. |
| Hadi Choopan | Iran | Mr. Olympia 2019 | 3. |
| Dexter Jackson | USA | Mr. Olympia 2019 | 4. |
| Roelly Winklaar | Curacao | Mr. Olympia 2019 | 5. |
| Phil Heath | USA | Lifetime from Mr. Olympia 2011 | 1. |
| Cedric McMillan | USA | Fit Parade Pro Grand Prix 2019 | 1. |
| Nathan DeAsha | Great Britain | Monsterzym Pro 2019 | 1. |
| Juan Morel | USA | Japan Pro 2019 | 1. |
| James "Flex" Lewis | United Kingdom | Special Invitation | |
| Hunter Labrada | USA | Tampa Pro 2020 | 1. |
| Iain Valliere | Canada | New York Pro 2020 | 1. |
| Lee Seung Chul | South Korea | Monsterzym Korea Pro 2020 | 1. |
| Antoine Vaillant | Canada | California Pro 2020 | 1. |
| James Hollingshead | Great Britain | European Pro 2020 | 1. |
| Lukas Osladil | Czech Republic | European Pro 2020 | 2. |
| Rafael Brandao | Brazil | European Pro 2020 | 3. |
| Akim Williams | USA | Wings of Strength Chicago 2020 | 1. |
| Max Charles | USA | from the rankings | 1. |
| Luis Rodriguez | USA | out of the rankings | 2. |
| Regan Grimes | Canada | out of the rankings | 3. |
| Mamdouh Elssbiay | Egypt | special invitation |
However, it is already certain that not everyone will take the stage!
James "Flex" Lewis
Some time ago, we informed you that seven-time Olympia 212 Showdown champion James "Flex" Lewis has withdrawn from the competition. He, although he received a special invitation from the organizers, which he originally decided to take advantage of, is dealing with an unspecified chronic injury, and at the urging of his wife and after consulting with his trainer Neil Hill and doctors, he has come to the decision that he will not be stepping on the competition stage this year!
Cedric McMillan
Cedric McMillan, who qualified at the end of last season by winning the 2019 Fit Parade Pro Grand Prix, has also withdrawn from the race.
He broke his palm in a fall from his bike, which required surgery. To avoid a cast, he opted for fixation via wires and screws. Although this allows him to move his fingers, he can't hold anything in his hand, which prevents him from getting the quality training needed to participate in such a big competition.
However, he has already let it be known that he will fight to qualify for the next edition of this competition, right at the beginning of the season at the Arnold Classic, a competition he managed to dominate in 2017!
Cedric McMillan talks about his non-participation in Mr. Olympia 2020:
James Hollingshead
James Hollingshead won't be on the Mr. Olympia stage this year, even though he won his first pro triumph at the Europa Pro Championships 2020 in early October.
A few days later, he also managed to dominate the British Grand Prix 2020 in front of his home crowd, where he was already fighting to qualify for the Olympia Weekend 2021! And this, according to him, is the reason why he will not travel to Olympia this year.
He said that taking part in a domestic professional show meant giving up Olympia! Apparently it has to do with restrictions related to preventing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and travel. As he stated, if he wanted to participate in Mr. Olympia 2020, he would have had to travel long before the British Grand Prix.
Rafael Brandao
Rafael Brandao, who like James, qualified for the 2020 Europa Pro Championships where he finished 3rd, will also be without a place at Mr. Olympia 2020.
The Brazilian suffered from the Covid-19 coronavirus, which sidelined him from training for a full 3 weeks. So it is clear that such a long training break shortly before a top competition could not have been the only way to go but to forfeit his participation.
Will anyone else be missing out on Mr. Olympia?
Unfortunately, this is also to be expected!
For example, last year's Fan Champion title holder, Persian Wolf Hadi Choopan, has an uncertain participation. The Iranian pro has let it be known that he has so far failed to negotiate the visa needed to travel to the United States. This is said to be literally impossible when all the authorities needed to do so are not working at all at this time of the year!
Then again, competitors from Europe, including our Lukas Osladil, may be in a similar situation. Although they do not need a visa, due to the restrictions imposed by the USA, it is almost a superhuman task for them to travel overseas! Still, the organizers are working to ensure their participation!
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