2023 Olympia Weekend Review: The year of surprises.
The 2023 Olympia Weekend has come and gone, but the discussions and debates continue on the top bodybuilding media sites, including Evolutionofbodybuilding.net.
The event was incredible, from the expo to the event, and stage design. A big well done to Dan Solomon and his team.
We can’t forget Bob Cicherillo, for keeping everything organized on stage.
The weekend was full of surprises on a sporting level, unfortunately, some reactions from the fans, and various media outlets, spoiled the celebrations for some athletes.
Some results were expected, while others were not, with seven new champions declared. Not all champions were new, with some of them winning back their titles.
Derek Lunsford defeated defending champion Hadi Choopan to become the 18th man in the history of the sport to lift the Sandow trophy, and the only person to with the 212 Olympia and the Mr. Olympia.
Keone Pearson, defeated Shaun Clarida to win the 212 Olympia title, preventing Shaun from winning his third Olympia title.
Sarah Villegas edged past defending champion Natalia Abraham Coelho to win back her title. Sarah has now won the Women’s Physique Olympia for the third time.
Oksana Grishina returned to the Olympia stage, after taking a year off to recover from an injury, to win back her title. Oksana has now won the Women’s Fitness Olympia five times.
Karol Milewski was declared the new Wheelchair Olympia champion, after he defeated five-time winner Harold Kelly.
Ryan Terry finally won the Men’s Physique Olympia, a title that has been eluding him his entire career. Ryan went on to defeat defending champion Erin Banks to bring the title to the UK.
Jennifer Dorie won back her title, by defeating the defending champion Maureen Blanquisco. Jennifer has now won the Bikini Olympia twice in her career.
Finally, the remaining winners all defended their Olympia titles successfully.
Chris Bumstead won his fifth consecutive Men’s Classic Physique Olympia title.
Cydney Gillon continued to dominate the Figure division, by winning her seventh consecutive Figure Olympia title.
Andrea Shaw remains unbeaten and has won her fourth consecutive Ms. Olympia title.
Francielle Mattos went on to win her third consecutive Wellness Olympia title, after edging past her competition.
New Mr. Olympia – Derek Lunsford
Regardless of how many competitors compete in the Mr. Olympia, or if the other divisions have more athletes, the Mr. Olympia Open Bodybuilding event will always be the main attraction during the entire Olympia Weekend.
This was the 59th edition of the Mr. Olympia, and Derek Lunsford is the 18th man in the history of the sport to lift the Sandow Trophy. If he defends his title in 2024 or loses it, his name will forever be remembered as a Mr. Olympia and 212 Olympia winner.
It was not an easy victory for Derek, as he had to defeat the defending champion Hadi Choopan, who also looked fantastic, and the big Samson Dauda was also in the mix.
Derek presented a full and balanced physique, compared to the shredded physique of Hadi Choopan. From the front, Hadi looked incredible, with striations all over his chest, but when it was time for the back pose, Derek was the man to beat.
It seems the judges are shifting their preference for a more balanced physique, regardless of the size of the bodybuilder. If the judges wanted a huge bodybuilder to win the title, Samson Dauda was the right man. Samson also presented a fantastic physique, and throughout the weekend, it was said Samson was allegedly 300 pounds, but this does not count for anything on stage.
While Hadi was the winner from the front, when it was time to go through the other poses, Derek had the confidence to stand next to Hadi and push him to the edge.
When the smoke cleared, Derek was pronounced the new champion, and Hadi had to accept defeat. It was evident that Hadi was not happy, but as he celebrated when he won in 2022, he had to accept defeat as a champion as well.
A number of coaches and media outlets have criticized the Olympia organizers, about the time the Mr. Olympia competitors started prejudging and finals.
The Mr. Olympia was not the only event that started very late at night. During the same weekend, the IFBB World Championships was taking place in Spain, and they had very late nights with the amount of athletes competing. Events ended between 12 am and 2 am.
The Olympia Weekend organizers don’t want to see empty seats, and the only way to do this is to schedule the Mr. Olympia as the final event.
The Olympia stage is there to stay
The organizers received some criticism about the stage and the busy background, promoting their major sponsors.
Many bodybuilding pundits are begging for a black background, to emphasize the bodybuilder’s physique. This may be possible at smaller events, but the Olympia Weekend continues to get bigger and better, and with this growth, they have to modernize the stage.
There is no turning back for the Olympia Organizers, they have to continue to build modern stages, to give bodybuilding that WWE feel, making the bodybuilders look like superstars.
The Olympia Weekend is the biggest bodybuilding event of the year, and designing a stage resembling the 1999 British Grand Prix will never happen again.
Sponsors invested a lot of money into the event, and they want their brand to get the best exposure possible, and the only way to do this is by having a state-of-the-art stage.
Gone are the days when all the sponsors’ logos were put to the side, they have to be placed prominently behind the competitors, giving them more exposure in photos and videos.
Could the lighting be better? Yes, this is something that can be arranged, and surely the Olympia organizers will get this right.
Shaun Clarida or Keone Pearson?
Shaun Clarida went into the 2023 Men’s 212 Olympia, looking to win his third 212 Olympia title, but Keone Pearson ruined his plans.
Shaun Clarida is the shorter version of 8X Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. There is no more room on Clarida’s frame for any more muscle, but then Keone comes into the picture, and everything changes.
Keone presents a physique that is easy on the eyes and has the perfect balance between aesthetics and size.
As it looks, the only way Clarida can win back his title, is if Pearson is not at his best. At the 2023 Men’s 212 Olympia, Pearson nailed his condition, something that he has had difficulty achieving in recent years.
The most popular bodybuilder in the world – Chris Bumstead
Chris Bumstead won his fifth consecutive Men’s Classic Physique Olympia title. With close to 40 million followers on his social media channels, and a very popular YouTube channel, Chris Bumsetad is literally the most popular active bodybuilder in the world.
The younger generation of gym-goers most probably know who Chris Bumstead is, compared to any other active bodybuilder.
Bumstead is the ideal ambassador for bodybuilding worldwide. Regardless if he competes in the Men’s Classic Physique division, has the ideal look, just as Frank Zane had in the 70’s.
If magazines were still in circulation, Chris would be the golden boy, featured on all the covers.
