Clarida wants no less than more crack at a 212 title before the following potential phase of his profession.
Shaun Clarida had an enchanting conundrum heading into the 2022 Mr. Olympia. By winning the 212 Olympia title in 2020, the athlete has a everlasting berth to compete in that respective division at the distinguished event every 12 months should he so select. Nevertheless, with a Men’s Open win on the 2021 Legion Sports Fest, he could’ve theoretically made the shift to compete within the Open next month. He has now officially put all inquiries to rest about where he’ll feature on Dec. 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
On Nov. 16, 2022, Clarida revealed he would stay within the 212 division on the 2022 Mr. Olympia in a video on his YouTube channel.
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In keeping with Clarida, the most important reason he’ll return to the 212 division is that he desires to earn a second 212 Olympia title. The athlete maintained that his loss to Derek Lunsford in 2021 (who has since, mockingly, transitioned to the Men’s Open division) afforded him the suitable “motivation” to return and potentially re-earn his place at the highest of the 212 mountain.
As he would further outline in a Nov. 16, 2022, Instagram post, Clarida wrote he “would have loved to battle it out with the large boys within the Open” but that he has “unfinished business” within the 212 division first.
With Lunsford officially out of the 212 competitive category in 2022, a friendly rival Clarida could have to beat as a substitute is Kamal Elgargni. The 50-year-old Elgargni is one other former 212 champion (2019) and, per NPC News Online, has never finished outside of the highest three within the division on the Olympia. He’ll likewise be attempting to reclaim his former 212 glory in December.
That said, with a showcase of some high-level arm workouts and other training sessions from his off-season, together with a elegant physique update where the 5’2″ bodybuilder showed off his heaviest-ever body weight of 211 kilos in Summer 2022, Clarida continues to be one in all the clear 212 favorites. As a star and expected top finisher, he now just has to live as much as those high expectations.
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Throughout, the 2022 Mr. Olympia is shaping as much as be a doozy of a contest across various divisions. While Clarida will face a tall order to complete his journey back as much as the 212 summit, he can rest assured he likely won’t be the one bodybuilding star battling through a gauntlet of talented peers. Perhaps bowling through a gifted field will make finally completing the “unfinished business” much more gratifying for him.
Featured image: shaunclarida on Instagram