This yr’s Pittsburgh Pro felt like one other appropriate preview of the Olympia.
By now, many within the bodybuilding community understand the annual Pittsburgh Pro to be greater than a significant qualifying event on the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League calendar. Lately, among the hottest Mr. Olympia contenders within the Men’s Open division have appeared on the annual May contest to guest pose and offer a preview of their training progress in anticipation of the flagship Olympia later that fall. The 2023 iteration was no different.
On May 12-13, 2023, while champions like Michael Daboul (Classic Physique) were crowned throughout the official Pittsburgh Pro, Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, Samson Dauda, Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, Hunter Labrada, and Shaun Clarida all guest-posed throughout the contest. The one notable absence, especially in the present Men’s Open pantheon, was defending Mr. Olympia champion Hadi Choopan. With nothing officially on the road for the slate of elite competitors, these six men still appeared on stage to tease how their sterling physiques are coming along for the 2023 Mr. Olympia in Orlando, FL, this early November.
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Amongst the guest posers on the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro, Lunsford is likely to be the presumed biggest contender to Choopan’s title. Lunsford is within the midst of coaching to enhance upon a runner-up end in his first-ever appearance within the Men’s Open division on the 2022 Mr. Olympia. One in all Lunsford’s predominant rivals, Nick Walker, believes the previous 212 champion (2021) needs to be favored to win the 2023 Mr. Olympia. Bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman has also expressed his faith in Lunsford, anointing him as certainly one of the subsequent big things in the game after a recent collaborative training session.
Walker’s faith in Lunsford is notable, given his status as certainly one of bodybuilding’s top modern stars. Walker finished in third place on the 2022 Mr. Olympia and followed that up with a runner-up result on the 2023 Arnold Classic (AC). If anyone finally seems poised to interrupt through from this field, it is likely to be Walker.
Meanwhile, the 2023 AC victor, Samson Dauda, has began to receive hype as a legitimate Olympia titan. Icons like Jay Cutler have expressed that Dauda might be certainly one of bodybuilding’s next big stars. It’s a label of high expectations that Dauda has not taken flippantly. There’s also Elssbiay, who’s coming off a disappointing sixth-place result on the 2022 Mr. Olympia after vying for a historic three-peat. The previous two-time defending Olympia champion (2021, 2022) had previously skipped guest-posing on the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro and now gave the impression to be attempting to construct momentum toward one other Olympia victory this November.
Labrada is in an identical position to Elssbiay, though he doesn’t have the resume of past Olympia victories to lean on. The athlete has expressed profound disappointment in his 2022 Olympia performance and vowed to have a more streamlined physique in 2023 in hopes of an enormous rebound.
To round out this guest-posing group, Clarida, a two-time 212 champion (2020, 2022), won’t be competing within the Men’s Open division on the 2023 Olympia. The athlete wishes to eventually break James “Flex” Lewis’s record of seven 212 Olympia titles (2012-2018) and can exclusively focus his efforts on that mission moving forward.
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Discerning the precise favorites for the 2023 Mr. Olympia would likely be unattainable off one guest-posing appearance. Nonetheless, among the top contenders for the tentpole contest made it a degree to seem in Pittsburgh and showcase what they may bring to the table in November.
With that, certainly one of the unofficial first significant steps en path to this yr’s Olympia is now within the rearview mirror.
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