Thanks to promoter and Japanese bodybuilding legend Hidetada Yamagishi, the IFBB Pro League was brought to the Land of the Rising Sun for the 2019 Japan Pro show. There were three divisions contested at this event: Open Bodybuilding, Men’s Physique, and Bikini.
Open Bodybuilding Results
1st Place – Juan Morel
Morel has been busy since the Mr. Olympia in September. He has been focused on earning his qualification for the 2020 contest as soon as possible. He came up short in South Korea and Romania, leaving both shows with second place finishes. With this victory and qualification now secured, he can either take a long offseason to prepare for the Olympia or be more selective if he does choose to enter other shows hoping to take more victories and prize money. Outside of the prize money and medal, he also was presented with a championship belt.
2nd Place – Cedric McMillan
McMillan was looking to win his third straight contest but it wasn’t meant to be. He had beaten Morel less than two weeks ago in Romania. The judges in Tokyo had him solidly behind Morel here. It could be that the judges appreciated Morel’s look more or McMillan might have missed his peak.
3rd Place – Regan Grimes
This is Grimes’ second consecutive bronze position finish. While he would obviously rather win, at least he is securing early points into the season scoring system which may help him get to Las Vegas should he not win a contest in 2020. The fact that he is being compared to a former Arnold Classic Champion as well as a two-time New York pro winner does have to serve as a boost of confidence for the young Canadian.
2019 Japan Pro Top 5
1st – Juan Morel
2nd – Cedric McMillan
3rd – Regan Grimes
4th – Cody Montgomery
5th – An Nguyen
Other Notes
Janet Layug won the bikini division contest at this event. Song A Reum of South Korea surprised many by finishing in second place. Alessia Facchin of Italy took third.
The Men’s Physique contest was won by South Korea’s Bong Seok Choi. Romanov Denis of Russia finished as the runner-up with third place going to Ryan John-Baptiste of the UK.
Featured Image: Instagram/juandieselmorel