On July 26, 2022, 2019 Olympia 212 bodybuilding champion Kamal Elgargni formally announced that he intends to compete in the 2022 Tampa Pro and the 2022 Texas Pro competitions as a Men’s Open competitor.
The 51-year-old Elgargni made the announcement on the BPI Sports Instagram page via a live video. The 2022 Tampa Pro, scheduled for August 6, 2022, in Tampa, FL, would be Elgargni’s debut as a Men’s Open competitor. The 2022 Texas Pro will be one week later, on August 12-13, in Irving, TX.
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“I feel really, really good, and I’m excited with what I’m going to bring to the stage at both contests,” Elgargni said during the live interview with BPI Sports CEO Chris MacKenzie. Elgargni felt that Tampa was the best show for him to enter first because he lives in the Tampa area. He went on to say that he weighed 224 pounds on the day that he was making the announcement. He didn’t say what he expects to weigh on the day of the contest.
As of this writing, the competitor lists have not been released for either contest. Elgargni is the second former Olympia 212 winner to jump into the Open in the last year. In October of 2021, 2020 winner Shaun Clarida entered the Legion Sports Fest as an Open competitor and won the contest. Clarida is qualified for the 2022 Olympia as an Open and a 212 competitor, though he is only allowed to compete in one division.
One month later, another 212 bodybuilder, Angel Calderon, won the Men’s Open at the 2021 Big Man Pro bodybuilding show in Alicante, Spain. Thanks to that and his 212 win in the Romania Muscle Fest Pro, he also qualified for the Olympia in both divisions. There has also been speculation that 2021 champion Derek Lunsford may soon switch to the Open.
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As for Elgargni, he is already qualified for the Olympia 212 contest for life because he is a past champion. He didn’t say which contest he would enter should he also qualify for the Open. IFBB Pro League rules state that a competitor can only enter one contest at the Olympia, but there has been an outcry from athletes and fans for that rule to be reconsidered. As of this writing, there has been no indication that it will be.
This isn’t the first time a competitor has tried to sweep the Tampa and Texas contests. Iain Valliere performed the feat in 2021. Valliere went on to finish seventh at the 2021 Mr. Olympia.
Featured Image: @ifbb_pro_kamal_elgargni on Instagram
