The 2024 212 Olympia contest is one of 11 world championship bodybuilding events at the 2024 Olympia in Las Vegas, NV, on the weekend of Oct. 11-12, 2024. This single-day contest will begin on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, with pre-judging at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the finals to be held in Resorts World on the same day.
This is the 17th edition of the contest, which started as the 202-pound division in 2008 before evolving to the 212 in 2012. Nineteen IFBB Pro League competitors have qualified for this contest. The athletes are listed below in the order that they qualified:
2024 212 Olympia Roster
- Keone Pearson (USA) — Defending Champion
- Shaun Clarida (USA)
- Angel Calderon Frias (Spain)
- Kim Geon Woo (South Korea)
- Ahmad Ashkanani (Kuwait)
- Vitor Alves Porto De Oliveira (Brazil)
- Oleh Kryvyi (Ukraine)
- Jafar Ghaffarnezhad (Iran)
- Giuseppe Christian Zagarella (Italy)
- Esteban Fuquene (Colombia)
- Naser Mohammad (Kuwait)
- Mehdi Jaberinezhad (Iran)
- Kerrith Bajjo (USA)
- Marco Ruz (France)
- Marcello Alfonsi (Brazil)
- Jordan Janowitz (USA)
- Francisco Barrios Vlk (Brazil)
- Fabricio Moreira (Brazil)
- Muzi Maluleke (South Africa)
[Related: 2024 Mr. Olympia Preview]
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How to Qualify
There are three ways to qualify for this competition. Past champions are eligible to compete in the Olympia within their division for life. Still, they must obtain verification from the IFBB Pro League five years after their final Olympia win.
The top three finishers from the 2023 212 Olympia contest are automatically qualified for the 2024 contest. Competitors who won at least one pro show during the qualifying season are also eligible to compete in the Olympia—that season ended on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.
After the qualifying season has ended, a competitor can only enter the Olympia by special invite from the IFBB Pro League or Olympia promoters. No special invites are expected to be offered in 2024.
Past Champions
The two previous Olympia champions in this lineup are considered the top two contenders in 2024. Keone Pearson won the title in 2023 by defeating two-time champion Shaun Clarida in Orlando, FL.
Clarida is the only athlete in the division’s history to win back the title after losing it. He ranked second to Derek Lunsford in 2021 but won his second championship the following year. Lunsford moved to the Men’s Open in 2022 and won the Mr. Olympia in 2023.
Pearson will attempt to be the first 212 athlete to repeat as Olympia champion since Flex Lewis won seven championships from 2012 through his retirement in 2018. Pearson, a former Classic Physique competitor, will rely on his shape and structure, which are highlighted by his wide shoulders and narrow waist.
Clarida hopes muscle density and superb definition will score him a third Olympia title. If Clarida wins, he becomes the third athlete in the division’s history to win three 212 Olympia titles.
2019 212 Olympia champion Kamal Elgargni is also eligible to compete in this show — his fifth year of eligibility. However, he is not in the lineup on the Olympia website, nor has he confirmed whether he intends to compete. Elgargni did not compete in the 2023 Olympia.
Top Contenders
If anyone besides Pearson and Clarida wins this contest, they will be the eighth champion in the division’s history. The last two titleholders are expected to be in the first callout during the opening round of competition.
Several challengers seek their first Olympia victories. Angel Calderon Frias was third in the 2023 212 Olympia and runner-up to Clarida the year before that. Frias has been successful in the Open and 212 categories but chose to remain in the 212. His experience and the improvements he has worked on for the past year could lead him to the top.
Kerrith Bajjo ranked fourth in 2023, just outside the automatic qualification window. It took him two pro shows to earn his spot, but he can expect to join the other favorites in the first callout.
Oleh Kryvyi ranked sixth in the 2023 Olympia and has made significant improvements to his physique since then, as shown by his 2024 New York Pro win in May. He will be Ukraine’s only representative in this contest.
One of Lewis’s rivals during his seven-year winning streak was Ahmad Ashkanani, who finished second in 2016 and 2017. Ashkanani ranked fifth in 2023 and will make his eighth consecutive Olympia appearance in 2024. He and Clarida are the only two participants from the 2016 Olympia competing in the 2024 contest.
Dark Horses
Nothing is certain in bodybuilding, and the top contenders’ being at their best is not guaranteed. If any are off, several up-and-coming challengers will be ready to take their spots.
One such contender is Naser Mohammad, who ranked seventh in the 2023 Olympia. He garnered much attention at the 2024 Mr. Big Evolution Pro, where he won in dominating fashion.
Fabricio Moreira is the only other top-10 finisher from 2023 who will be in the 2024 contest. He ranked ninth that year and scored his Olympia qualification in his home country of Brazil. He intends to move up the standings in 2024, but promising newcomers like Jordan Janowitz and Muzi Maluleke can surpass him.
Other Notes
Stay tuned to BarBend for coverage of all 11 pro divisions at the 2024 Olympia, leading up to and during the big weekend in Las Vegas. Fans unable attend can watch the action live on Olympia’s pay-per-view livestream, which is available on their website.
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Featured Image: @keone_prodigy on Instagram
