Phil Clahar has won the 2023 Orlando Pro bodybuilding show. Clahar competed against 12 other Men’s Open competitors in Orlando, FL, on Saturday, July 1, 2023, and he left the stage as the champion.
As a result, Clahar has earned his qualification to return to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and compete in the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest on Nov. 2-5, 2023. Hassan Mostafa finished as the runner-up, and Stan de Longeaux claimed the bronze. The final standings are below:
2023 Orlando Pro Results — Men’s Open
- Phil Clahar (USA)
- Hassan Mostafa (Egypt)
- Stan de Longeaux (USA)
- Emmanuel Alvarez (USA)
- Chris DiDomenico (USA)
- Jason Lowe (USA)
- Mohammad Alnsoor (Jordan)
- Ray Short (USA)
- Matt Kouba (USA)
- Erik Ramirez (USA)
- Lionardis Cardoza (USA)
- DeVon Causey (USA)
- Scott Lightfoot (USA)*
*Did not finish the contest
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Winner — Phil Clahar
This is Clahar’s first professional win, but it didn’t come without controversy. Mostafa won the pre-judging round, but Clahar ranked first in the final round by the judges. This resulted in a tied score overall.
According to the IFBB Pro League, in the event of a tie, the final decision is made by “relative placing,” meaning the contestant who finished higher in the final round is awarded the higher overall placing. In this case, it was Clahar.
This win puts Clahar in a unique situation. He was already invited to compete in the 2023 Masters Olympia in Romania on Aug. 26-27, where the winner will also qualify for the 2023 Mr. Olympia. Clahar can either skip the Masters Olympia and focus on his return trip to Florida, or he can compete in both contests. He is the only athlete on the Open Masters Olympia roster who has already qualified for the 2023 Mr. Olympia.
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Second Place — Hassan Mostafa
Mostafa was the 2022 Orlando Pro champion and finished as the runner-up for his second straight contest. He also won silver behind Iain Valliere at the 2023 Toronto Pro Supershow one month before this contest.
Only 2023 pro show winners move on to the Olympia this season, so Mostafa will have to earn gold in another contest to qualify for the 2023 Mr. Olympia.
Third Place — Stan de Longeaux
“Stanimal” scored his highest placing as a Men’s Open competitor in this contest. Prior to this, he finished fourth at the 2022 Legion Sports Fest Pro. The French competitor started his pro career in Classic Physique, where he finished as high as 10th at the 2019 Olympia.
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The next Men’s Open show on the 2023 IFBB schedule is the 2023 Mr. Big Evolution on Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Portugal. The exact location of the show has not yet been announced by the IFBB Pro League at the time of this article’s publication.
Featured image: @hassan_mostafa92 on Instagram
