Tampa PRO 2023: Qualification for 212 Olympia secured by Fabricio Moreira | Results and reportage

The bodybuilding season is of course packed with more or less prestigious competitions and almost every week the competitors have the opportunity to show their form somewhere. However, Tampa PRO is one of the permanent bodybuilding events and it is a standard event featuring top competitors from all over the world. The 16th edition of the event offered a total of 8 other categories besides Open and up to 212 pounds and there was certainly no shortage of competition.

Pre-Competition Predictions

As far as the pre-competition predictions are concerned, the starting list for the open category consisted of 9 competitors, including a number of big names. Perhaps the one that resonated the most, however, according to instagram posts, was the well-prepared Hunter Labrada, who dominated this competition back in 2020. Hunter declared beforehand that his goal for this season is to improve muscle volume while maintaining an optically narrow waist. Thus, many fans believed that if he could accomplish this goal, he would be the favorite for today's contest. In particular, Jonathan De La Rosa, a bit of a bodybuilding veteran who last appeared at Tampa PRO in 2016 when he took fifth place, could stand in his way. However, he showed great form at Chicago PRO 14 days ago, where he finished a close second to Justin Shier, and it's no wonder he's hungry to compete after such success. Nate Spear, who took bronze at the recent Vancouver PRO, could also shuffle the standings and although many experts tipped him to be the first callout, he was not expected to directly threaten the top spot.

It was the 212lb category that offered a much more packed starting field, promising the participation of as many as 15 athletes from around the world. The paper favorites before the competition were Egyptian giant Mohamed Embaby, Brazilian competitor Fabricio de Souza Moreira and Canadian bodybuilder Jason Nguyen, who made his pro debut at the aforementioned Chicago PRO and immediately capped it off with a second place finish.

Up to 212 pounds

The category up to 212 pounds, as usual at bodybuilding events, finished a day earlier and was the imaginary highlight of the first day of the competition. Already at the preliminary round it was clear which athletes would fight for the victory, when the judges put American competitor Diego Montoya, Mohamed Emababy and the aforementioned Fabricio Moreira next to each other in the first callout. It was somewhat of a surprise that rising star Jason Nguyen did not make it to the top three, but on the other hand all three competitors showed great preparation and perfect balance.

As time progressed, Diego Montoya dropped out of the chase for the win and it looked like the judges were now wavering between Mohamed and Fabricio. And it has to be said that it was a really close fight as both riders were well prepared. Mohamed's fresher experience on the stage spoke in his favour, because while his last race was a third place in the aforementioned Chicago, Fabricio's last appearance in the same city was a year earlier, when he also took bronze. However, given Fabricio's great form, the judges rightfully placed him first in the Jim Manion Professional League for the first time in his career. This gives him his fourth medal among the pros and this time he also gets a ticket to Mr. Olympia.

Second place was taken by the aforementioned Mohamed Embaby, with Diego Montoya taking third. Fourth place went to the aforementioned Jason Nguyen and the top five was rounded off by Robert Taylor, who could partially mend his mood after his unsuccessful entry at Mr. Big Evolution PRO, where he took 12th place due to a skin reaction and malaise that almost landed him in the hospital.