The 2022 bodybuilding season was a memorable one for several reasons. New champions were crowned, careers were redefined, and it all culminated in one of the most fiercely contested Olympia weekends in history.
But while the year was exciting from a spectator’s point of view, it wasn’t great for many of the athletes involved. A few former champs took notable tumbles down the rankings in 2022, while some perennial underdogs were left still searching for a high-profile win. Here are 10 notable bodybuilders looking for redemption in 2023.
10 Former Olympia Champions and Underdogs Looking to Bounce Back in 2023
- Blessing Awodibu
- Brandon Hendrickson
- Hunter Labrada
- Whitney Jones
- Iain Valliere
- Sarah Villegas
- Isabelle Nunes
- Kamal Elgargni
- Terrence Ruffin
- Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay
Blessing Awodibu
Blessing Awodibu’s 2022 season was off to a great start, thanks to his victories at both the Indy Pro and New York Pro shows. He came into the Mr. Olympia contest that year dripping with confidence, even going as far as to speak out at the press conference about his chances of beating favorites such as Nick Walker and Hunter Labrada. In the end, though, Awodibu finished outside of the top 15, putting a damper on the end of a promising season.
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Things got murkier a few months later when Awodibu withdrew from the 2023 Arnold Classic contest in Columbus, OH, shortly after the roster was announced. Now, he’ll have to win a pro show to even qualify for the 2023 Mr. Olympia. And even if that happens, he’ll need to make some big improvements to crack the top 10 in what’s becoming an increasingly competitive field.
In just the span of 12 months, Awodibu’s gone from dark horse to underdog, and he’ll have to prove himself all over again in 2023.
Brandon Hendrickson
Three-time Men’s Physique Olympia champion Brandon Hendrickson was the odds-on favorite to win his third title in a row and fourth overall at the 2022 Olympia. This win would’ve tied him with Jeremy Buendia for the most ever in the division, setting up a potential battle between four-time champs in 2023.
Unfortunately for Hendrickson, Erin Banks showed up in Las Vegas looking better than ever and soundly beat the incumbent for the Men’s Physique crown.
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Now, Hendrickson has to beat both Banks and a returning Buendia to win the 2023 Men’s Physique Olympia, and he likely won’t be the favorite like he was in 2022. But remember, Hendrickson has already regained his title after losing it once — it would be historic if he managed to do that again.
Hunter Labrada
Second-generation star Hunter Labrada had a strong fourth-place showing at the 2021 Mr. Olympia, which automatically qualified him for the 2022 contest. It was just assumed that he would stay in the top five and possibly even improve upon his previous placing if everything broke in his favor.
But when the dust settled, Labrada wound up falling all the way to seventh, placing him outside of the automatic qualification window and forcing him to win a pro show to qualify for the Olympia in 2023.
As of May 2023, Labrada was in preparation for both the Tampa Pro (Aug. 3-5) and Texas Pro (Aug. 19). That gives him two chances to return to the Olympia and prove that his 2021 campaign was no fluke.
Whitney Jones
Three-time Fitness Olympia champion Whitney Jones faces much more serious circumstances than other athletes on this list. Jones, the reigning champ, had to withdraw from the 2022 Fitness Olympia due to health issues, leaving the door open for Missy Truscott to win the title.
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Jones’ burgeoning dynasty was suddenly sidetracked due to circumstances outside of her control, and she’ll have to fight from behind to reclaim her title. But on the positive side, she’s automatically qualified to compete in the Fitness Olympia for life as a past champion. Her disappointment from 2022 could also make her even more determined and competitive, making it that much tougher for Truscott and the rest of the contenders in the field.
Iain Valliere
Canada’s Iain Valliere has become one of the more popular athletes in the Men’s Open division, thanks to his increasingly impressive physique and the honest opinions he shares on podcasts, videos, and interviews. After finishing seventh at the Olympia in both 2020 and 2021, all eyes were on him to finally make the leap into the top five in 2022.
Instead, Valliere left Las Vegas with an 11th-place finish in one of the night’s biggest surprises.
Like Labrada, Valliere needs to requalify for the Olympia and then try to take another opportunity to move up past other competitors that beat him in 2022. His first step in that journey is reportedly going to be at the Toronto Pro on June 4. He’ll do his best to serve notice that his best is yet to come.
Sarah Villegas
Though the Women’s Physique division has been very competitive in recent years, two-time Ms. Physique Olympia Sarah Villegas was still the strong favorite to secure a three-peat in 2022.
But that plan was derailed by Natalia Abraham Coelho, who was on a roll with wins at the 2022 New York Pro and Pittsburgh Pro. Her physique only improved by the time the Olympia came around, and she proved to be more than enough to claim Villegas’ crown.
Not only that, but Coelho rode that momentum to secure wins at both the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro and New York Pro shows, proving that she’s comfortably the new face of the division.
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Like Jones, Villegas won’t have to requalify for the 2023 Olympia as she attempts to regain her title. And if she does manage to pull off the upset, she will be the first woman in her division to regain the title after losing it.
Isabelle Nunes
The Wellness division has put together one of the most impressive divisions in the sport since its debut in 2021 — and 2022 Wellness International winner Isabelle Nunes is one of its main attractions. After winning that title, many assumed she’d be the top candidate to unseat defending Olympia champion Francielle Mattos, but she wound up finishing one spot short of her ultimate goal.
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Following the loss, she aimed to defend her Wellness International title at the 2023 Arnold Classic weekend but had to withdraw due to an injury, further punctuating a disappointing few months.
Nunes is working to return to the stage and compete for Mattos’ title, but she will now have to contend with 2023’s Wellness International winner Kassandra Gillis, as well as the popular Angela Borges, who finished third at the 2022 Olympia. It’s a packed roster of talent, and Nunes will have to come from behind in order to get to the top of the mountain.
Kamal Elgargni
Kamal Elgargni was hoping to win his second 212 Olympia title in Vegas in 2022 — but in a surprise to many, he fell behind winner Shaun Clarida and runner-up Angel Calderon Frias to take third. If that wasn’t enough, Elgargni then set his sights on the Open division by entering the 2023 Arnold Classic, only to finish ninth out of 10 competitors.
Realistically, Elgargni is in his 50s, and many can argue that he really has nothing to prove, but he’s on a mission for another high-profile win before his career inevitably comes to a close. And it turns out that his best shot might come at the 2023 Masters Olympia in Romania in August.
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If Elgargni pulls that off, he would be the second man to win an Olympia, Masters Olympia, and Arnold Classic in his division. The other is Dexter Jackson, who won five Arnold Classic titles, the 2008 Mr. Olympia, and the 2012 Masters Olympia. To get there, though, Elgargni will again have to battle against competitors who easily outweigh him. But that’s nothing new for the veteran competitor.
Terrence Ruffin
Many assumed the 2022 Classic Physique Olympia would be a battle between four-time champion Chris Bumstead and two-time Arnold Classic Physique winner Terrence Ruffin. Despite typically being smaller on stage, Ruffin’s shape and graceful posing still made him a threat. But once the show started, everything that could go wrong, did.
Ruffin was outshined by Ramon Rocha Queiroz (second), Urs Kalecinski (third), two-time Olympia champion Breon Ansley (fourth), and Mike Sommerfeld (fifth). The end result was a sixth-place finish, putting him outside of the automatic qualifying window.
Right now, Ruffin has been focusing on coaching other athletes, and there’s no word on if he will compete in 2023. If he does, he’ll be up against one of the most competitive divisions in the sport. While every athlete competes to win, a top-three finish would be some form of redemption for Ruffin.
Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay
Let’s face facts: “Big Ramy” didn’t simply lose the 2022 Mr. Olympia. He lost in a way that no champion wants to experience. He went from being at the top of the heap in 2021 to barely making the top five the following year, trailing behind Brandon Curry, Nick Walker, Derek Lunsford, and winner Hadi Choopan.
Fast forward to the 2023 Arnold Classic, and Elssbiay had redemption on his mind. And while he improved on his placing from the Olympia, he only moved up a single spot to fourth place. Worse yet, he was just one place in front of two-time Olympia 212 champion Shaun Clarida, who weighs over 100 pounds less than Ramy.
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Elssbiay is automatically qualified for the Olympia for life, but he needs to bounce back in a big way in 2023 to prove this blemish on his career was just an outlier. Ramy clearly wants to win the title, but even a top-three finish would serve him well in 2023.
Featured image courtesy of the Arnold Sports Festival
