The 2023 Vancouver Pro was a two-day bodybuilding event held on the weekend of July 15-16, 2023, in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Six IFBB Pro League contests were held with over 50 athletes entered over those two days, with pre-judging on July 15 and finals on July 16.
At the end of the weekend, six athletes were victorious and qualified for the 2023 Olympia Weekend in Orlando, FL, on Nov. 2-5, 2023. Those winners were Hassan Mostafa (Men’s Open), John Le (Classic Physique), Jason Huynh (Men’s Physique), Sara Kovach (Fitness), Gina Palma (Figure), and Ashley Kaltwasser (Bikini), who took home her record 41st career victory.
2023 Vancouver Pro Results
The final standings for all six contests are below:
Men’s Open
- Hassan Mostafa (Egypt)
- Stan de Longeaux (USA)
- Nathan Spear (USA)
- Prince Boabang (Canada)
- Morgan MacDonald (Canada)
- Eiren Gauley (Canada)
Classic Physique
- John Le (Canada)
- Dylan Bursey (Canada)
- Robert Waterhouse (England)
- Isaac Baier (Canada)
- Adam Beveridge (Canada)
- Carl Gauthier (Canada)
- Ares Barahmeh (Canada)
- Narek Khachatryan (Canada)
- Billy Danh (Canada)
- Jesse Strand (USA)
Men’s Physique
- Jason Huynh (USA)
- Mehdi Kabbadj (USA)
- Drew Cullen (USA)
- Chevy Phillips (Canada)
- Wagner Abreu (Brazil)
- Patrick Asiedu (Australia)
- Xezekiel Afanou (Canada)
- Siegfried Ezeuko (Canada)
- Chuan-Yu Liu (District of Taiwan)
- Eric Neal (USA)
- Gurjinder Virk (Canada)
- Austin Belanger (Canada)
- Clarence Lau (Canada)
Fitness
- Sara Kovach (USA)
- Michelle Fredua-Mensah (United Kingdom)
- Stephanie Jones (USA)
- Jessica Ann Zehr (Canada)
- Noemie Champagne-Cloutier (Canada)
- Danielle DaCosta (Canada)
Figure
- Gina Palma (USA)
- Autumn Cleveland (USA)
- Dalila Alegria (USA)
- Payton Dutcher (Canada)
- Paige Sabedra (USA)
- Lauren Martin-Stow (Canada)
- Rachel Shoemake (USA)
Bikini
- Ashley Kaltwasser (USA)
- Maxine Alexandra Somov (Canada)
- Tianna Weymouth (USA)
- Nikki Kiani (Canada)
- Rhoda Allie (Canada)
- Kateryna Kauffmann (Canada)
- Meggy Martin-Johnson (Canada)
- Gina Switzeny (Canada)
- Jill E. Humphrey (USA)
- Kristy Ann Keppel (USA)
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Men’s Open Winner — Hassan Mostafa
This was Mostafa’s third show of 2023, following two second-place finishes at the 2023 Toronto Pro Supershow and the 2023 Orlando Pro. He and coach Chad Nicholls figured out the right plan of attack for this contest as Mostafa won both rounds of judging with straight first-place votes. His size was an advantage over second-place finisher Stan de Longeaux, who received his highest placing in the Men’s Open division so far.
Mostafa took his third professional victory at this show and is now qualified for the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest. Nicholls shared on Instagram that the Olympia is when we will see Mostafa onstage again. That gives him over three months to focus on the big contest in Orlando. The last time Mostafa was on the Olympia stage was in 2021 when he placed 13th.
Classic Physique Winner — John Le
This was Le’s first pro show of 2023, and it gave him his first professional victory and Olympia qualification as well. He represented the host country very well by taking all first-place votes from the judges.
Le was the runner-up in this contest in 2022, and that had been his highest placing in three pro shows before this victory. Le is now eligible to compete with fellow Canadian and four-time Olympia champion Chris Bumstead in Orlando at the 2023 Olympia.
The runner-up for this division was Dylan Bursey, who also represented Canada. Third place went to England’s Robert Waterhouse. Only one point separated them on the scorecards.
Men’s Physique Winner — Jason Huynh
Jason Huynh was already Olympia-qualified, thanks to his win at the 2023 Republic of Texas Pro show. So, this show served as a test run for him leading to Olympia.
No qualification was awarded in this division since Huynh already had his ticket to Orlando set. That would have been bad for silver-medalist Mehdi Kabbadj, except he was already qualified, as he won the 2023 Toronto Pro Supershow. The third-place finisher was Drew Cullen.
Fitness Winner — Sara Kovach
The Fitness division is scored differently than other divisions. The physique round is one-third of the score, while the performance routine (Finals) counts for two-thirds. Sara Kovach ranked third in round one but won the performance round to claim the best overall score from the judges.
This was Kovach’s fourth pro victory and her second Vancouver Pro title. She was also the champion in 2019. Kovach will attempt to improve on her fourth-place finish at the 2022 Olympia when she competes in the 2023 contest.
Figure Winner — Gina Palma
2023 Wasatch Warrior Pro Masters winner Gina Palma took her second victory of the 2023 season by placing first in Abbotsford. This is her first Figure open win, which qualifies her for the Figure Olympia.
Palma was already one of the contenders for the 2023 Masters Olympia Figure contest, so this makes her eligible to be in both the Masters Olympia and Figure Olympia.
Bikini Winner — Ashley Kaltwasser
Three-time Bikini Olympia champion Ashley Kaltwasser was a favorite to win this show from the moment she was revealed on the roster, and she came through on those expectations, taking her 41st pro win. This is her second Vancouver Pro Bikini division victory, having also won it in 2018.
Maxine Alexandra Somov finished in second place. Tianna Weymouth ranked third — her highest placing so far in her rookie season. Since Kaltwasser has already qualified for the Olympia as a past champion, no Olympia invite was issued for this division.
Other Notes
The next Men’s Open show on the 2023 IFBB Pro League calendar will be the 2023 Chicago Pro in Chicago, IL, on the weekend of July 22-23. That show will feature 10 of the 11 pro divisions, with Olympia qualifications going to all champions if they’re not already qualified. The only division not included is Men’s Wheelchair.
Featured image: @hassan_mostafa92 on Instagram
