Defending 212 Olympia champion Shaun Clarida has been to the top of the 212 Olympia division twice but has never defended his title successfully. He hoped to change that at the 2023 Olympia.
Clarida’s potential title defense began in the pre-judging round at the Olympia World Fitness Expo in Orlando, FL. Clarida and the rest of the lineup faced the fans and judges in the opening round of action. Following the numerical comparisons, they were introduced to the crowd individually. Each athlete had his own supporters in the crowd, but the loudest pop was for the “Giant Killer.”
After that, it was time for the judging to begin. Athletes were switched occasionally for comparisons, but based on the first callout, Clarida and Keone Pearson appear to be the judge’s favorites. The opening group went through two rounds of posing, as did the second group. The bodybuilders in each callout are listed below:
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[Related: 2023 Amateur Olympia Results]
Callout One
- Ahmad Ashkanani
- Kerrith Bajjo
- Keone Pearson
- Shaun Clarida
- Angel Calderon Frias
- Oleh Kryvyi
Callout Two
- Roman Iushchenko
- Radoslav Angelov
- Naser Mohamed
- Andrei Melnikov
- Fabrizio de Sousa Moreira
- Felipe Moraes
Callout Three
- Piotr Borecki
- Felipe Fierro
- Chris Jones
- Hidetada Yamagishi
Callout Four
- Angel Calderon Frias
- Shaun Clarida
- Keone Pearson
- Kerrith Bajjo
Callout Five
- Shaun Clarida
- Keone Pearson
We are halfway to the finish of this contest, and the defending champion appears to be in the driver’s seat. Pearson won’t make the rest of the show easy for him, though. They were in an extra comparison round on their own to conclude the round.
The finals of the 212 Olympia contest feature the top 10 athletes from pre-judging. The champion will be crowned by the end of the day on the main stage at the Orange County Convention Center. Stay tuned to BarBend for updates from Orlando throughout the weekend.
[Related: 2023 Fitness Olympia Prejudging Results]
2023 Olympia Weekend
The third contest to feature its prejudging contest was the Figure Olympia. Earlier in the morning on Nov. 3, 2023, the Fitness division opened the Olympia prejudging. The defending champion Missy Truscott was in the final callout alongside Ariel Khadr, Jodi Boam, and Whitney Jones.
The rest of the prejudging for Friday includes, in order, Women’s Physique, Ms. Olympia, Wellness, and Mr. Olympia. All of the previously mentioned divisions, except for Mr. Olympia, will host their finals on Friday night (Nov. 3). Mr. Olympia’s finals are the main event of Saturday night (Nov. 4).
Featured image: @keone_prodigy on Instagram