One of the bodybuilding traditions following the Olympia Weekend is the Romania Muscle Fest Pro. The 2023 edition of that contest is set for the weekend of Nov. 11-12 in Bucharest, Romania. Athletes in nine IFBB Pro League divisions will compete for judges, fans, and promoter Jake Wood with 2024 Olympia qualifications being awarded to the winners of each contest.
2023 Romania Muscle Fest Pro Rosters
The rosters for all nine divisions are below:
Men’s Open
- Behrooz Tabani Abarghani (Iran)
- Nathan De Asha (United Kingdom)
- Pavel Beran (Czech Republic)
- Kristoffer Berner (Sweden)
- Anton Bippus (Denmark)
- Kevin Brucher (Germany)
- Roberto Buonomo (Italy)
- Volodymyr Byruk (Ukraine)
- Pavel Cervinka (Czech Republic)
- Alfred Chiriac (Romania)
- Samson Dauda (United Kingdom)
- Mohamed Foda (Egypt)
- Hameed Juma (Bahrain)
- Gianluca Di Lorenzo (Italy)
- Andrea Presti (Italy)
- Marcello de Angelis Rezende (Brazil)
- Jan Turek (Czech Republic)
- Giuseppe Zagarella (Italy)
212 Bodybuilding
- Vincent Alliot (France)
- Radoslav Angelov (Bulgaria)
- Kingsley Oben Arrah (Cameroon)
- Ahmad Ali Ashkanani (Kuwait)
- Dawid Cnota (Poland)
- Victor Eric Lopez Garcia (Mexico)
- Junior Pagula (Brazil)
- Vincente Santamaria (Spain)
- Daniel Vasilica (Romania)
Classic Physique
- George Achampong (Denmark)
- Nicolas Alberto Concepcion (Philippines)
- Pekka Kotipohja (Finland)
- Fernando Gornals Margol (Spain)
- Alberto Milani (Italy)
- Karol Rogaczewski (Poland)
- Manuel Santalucia (Italy)
- Ali Shams Ghamar (Iran)
- Mehmed Mehmedov (Bulgaria)
- Chris Pistolas (Greece)
- Ruben Lopez Reyes (Spain)
- Karol Rogaczewski (Poland)
- Luc Andre Steinker (Germany)
- Sebastien Theurel (France)
- Francesco Della Vedova (Italy)
- Wesley Vissers (Netherlands)
- Alexander Westermeier (Germany)
Men’s Physique
- Hamad Al-doseri (Bahrain)
- Mishal Alhassan (Saudi Arabia)
- Aryan Ali (Germany)
- Mohammad Ali (Austria)
- Andrea Amato (Italy)
- Andrea Antonelli (Italy)
- Nasreddine Bouakouk (Algeria)
- Alessandro Cavagnola (Italy)
- Alessandro Colacchi (Italy)
- Jeffrey Darko (United Kingdom)
- Caike DeOliveira (USA)
- Mauro Fialho (Spain)
- Miroslav Juricek (Czech Republic)
- Jaime Maso Lopez (Spain)
- Alexandru Panek (Romania)
- Nikolay Rashkov (Bulgaria)
- Giuseppe Riserbato (Italy)
- Jose Luis Rivas (Spain)
- Oskar Tchorzewski (Poland)
Women’s Bodybuilding
- MayLa Ash (USA)
- Leyvina Rodrigues Barros (Brazil)
- Ivana Dvorakova (Czech Republic)
- Simone Ellis (England)
- Tiana Flex (South Africa)
- Jacqueline Fuchs (Switzerland)
- Viktoria Knysh (UAE)
- Anastasia Korableva (Romania)
- Gemma Lancaster (United Kingdom)
- Barbara de Freitas Moojen (Brazil)
- Hagit Seindlis (Israel)
Women’s Physique
- Emilia Balkova (Bulgaria)
- Tatiana Bulut (Turkey)
- Tanya Chartrand (Canada)
- Cristina Chatti (Spain)
- Sarah Crail (Australia)
- Julia Glazycheva (Russia)
- Modesta Halby (Denmark)
- Diana Hristova (Bulgaria)
- Dany Jacot-Descombes (Switzerland)
- Marina Kassinopoullou (Cyprus)
- Jo Kelly (United Kingdom)
- Lisa Kurzamann (Austria)
- Christina Kremser (Austria)
- Emilija Martic (Canada)
- Silvia Cuartero Martinez (Spain)
- Jenny Melin (Sweden)
- Petra Osterwald (Switzerland)
- Laura Pyszora (United Kingdom)
- Raluca Raducu (Romania)
- Sahar Rahmani (Iran)
- Caroline Alves Dos Santos (Brazil)
- Natalia Spierings (United Kingdom)
Figure
- Reem Albareeq (Bahrain)
- Behnaz Nasrollahi Azar (Germany)
- Zulfiya Bitieva (Kazakhstan)
- Maria Ignacia Mas Delgado (Spain)
- Daiane Aparecida Freitas (Brazil)
- Veronica Gallego Garcia (Spain)
- Rejoice Godwin (Spain)
- Charlotte Goubet (France)
- Vanessa Happle (Germany)
- Anna Kohckar (Ukraine)
- Tereza Linhartova (Czech Republic)
- Helen Zavitsanou Pistolas (Greece)
- Jennifer Reece (Canada)
- Cristina Araujo Silva (Spain)
- Lubomira Steftcheva (Bulgaria)
- Stefana Sandu (Romania)
- Yadviga Zakurina (Russia)
- Jennifer Zienert (Germany)
Bikini
- Lorena Blanco (Spain)
- Mara Carro (Germany)
- Irene Iravedra Cunarro (Spain)
- Aleksandra Duba (Poland)
- Johanna Durr (Germany)
- Valerya Fedorenko (Ukraine)
- Luca Katai (Hungary)
- Noemi Lavacca (Italy)
- Alice Marchisio (Italy)
- Violeta Palamarchuk (Ukraine)
- Sara Lujza Rogacsi (Hungary)
- Andrina Scharli (Switzerland)
- Kerry Sexton (United Kingdom)
- Rania Stamatiadou (Greece)
- Giuditta Taccani (Italy)
- Anna Thaarup (Denmark)
- Dorottya Zoe Toth (Hungary)
Wellness
- Sandra Colorado Acal (Spain)
- Lisa Beck (Germany)
- Laleska Bruschi (Brazil)
- Marjelle De Cock (Belgium)
- Klaudia Vanessza Csuri (Ukraine)
- Paula Dominguez (Spain)
- Dainora Dvarionaite (Lithuania)
- Lenia Fernandes (Portugal)
- Laurene Gaudelier (France)
- Houda Hmini (Morocco)
- Celandine Holenweg (Switzerland)
- Valentina Mabrouk (Italy)
- Lidia Melero (Spain)
- Rosa Benadero Munoz (Spain)
- Carlotta Tonelli (Italy)
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Men’s Open Athletes to Watch
Below are the Men’s Open competitors likely to contend for gold:
Samson Dauda
The 2023 Arnold Classic champion is coming off a third-place finish at the 2023 Mr. Olympia in Orlando, FL. Dauda is automatically qualified for the 2024 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas, NV, on Oct. 10-13, 2024. Still, this show would give him a second pro victory for the year and prevent another competitor from qualifying for the 2024 Olympia.
Nathan De Asha
For Nathan De Asha, this is his Mr. Olympia contest. He was not allowed entry into the United States to compete in the 2023 Olympia, so this is his first chance to compete against his Olympia rivals, including Dauda. If De Asha wins this contest, it would give him over 10 months to prepare for the 2024 Olympia and take care of whatever issues prevent him from entering the United States so he can compete in the 2024 Olympia.
Andrea Presti
Andrea Presti has won the Mr. Big Evolution Pro three years in a row. However, he has never won a pro show other than this title. He ranked 12th in the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest, his highest placing in that show in his career thus far.
[Related: 2023 Musclecontest International Fit Pira Pro Preview]
Women’s Bodybuilding Athletes to Watch
Below are the Ms. Olympia hopefuls in 2024 who could make a splash in Romania:
MayLa Ash
MayLa Ash was one of the 2023 Ms. Olympia contestants. She left that stage in seventh place behind Andrea Shaw, who won her fourth consecutive Ms. Olympia. Winning this show would wrap that 2024 qualification up early so Ash can enjoy a longer offseason.
Jacqueline Fuchs
Jacqueline Fuchs ranked third at the 2023 Europa Pro and finished the 2023 Masters Olympia in seventh place overall. She ranked 13th in the 2022 Romania Muscle Fest Pro.
Anastasia Korableva
The host country’s lone representative in the Women’s Bodybuilding division is Anastasia Korableva. Korableva ranked seventh in this show in 2022, fourth in 2021, and fifth in 2020. This will be her first pro show of the 2023 calendar year.
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Featured Image: @samson_dauda on Instagram
