The bodybuilding world is grieving the loss of prominent IFBB athlete Gustavo Badell. The pro-dubbed as ‘The Freakin’ Rican’ was treasured by the community, owing to his grand accolades in the sport. Hence, moments after the news of his demise surfaced yesterday, several bodybuilders took the opportunity to remember and cherish his iconic presence. 

Similarly, former IFBB pro, Milos Sarcev, shared a post on his Instagram recalling his fond memories of the late athlete. He penned down a heartfelt note for his co-competitor while adding a snippet from the 2004 Mr. Olympia. Sarcev also noted an interesting match between Badell and four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. 

Milos Sarcev remembers Gustavo Badell

Taking to his Instagram a few hours ago, the 58-year-old bodybuilder shared a tribute to Badell, owing to his unfortunate demise at 50 years old. The snippet was a glimpse of the 2004 Mr. Olympia Challenge round, where Badell competed against top-notch athletes like Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler. 

As per reports, Gustavo was helped by the Serbian bodybuilder to strategically plan his performance. Thus, in one part of his caption, he wrote, “Anyway, Gustavo and I made exact plan – analyzing which poses Gustavo can beat all those guys one by one…and we picked the right ones.”

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However, Cutler happened to narrowly outperform Gustav in the challenge round, thus placing him third in the 2004 Mr. Olympia. Ronnie Coleman won the show, followed by Cutler as the runner-up, leaving room for Badell in third place. “The only thing that should have been ruled out is: that SAME POSE cannot be used in direct comparison! @jaycutler was smart… Damn Jay – you spoiled it!” Sarcev added at the end of the note. However, what had actually gone down in that event? 

Jay Cutler beat Gustavo Badell in 2004

Sarcev explained the 2004 Mr. Olympia, as the first event that Badell and he competed together. He claimed that the late athlete worked his way up the ladder. He was initially placed in the 12th position and was called out at the Prejudging round itself. However, given the “numerous comparisons,” Badell, later on, moved up to the top 10 and eventually finished third at the 2004 event. 

Furthermore, chances were high of Badell finishing at an even higher position but Cutler beat him by a nickel. As per his caption, the American athlete smartly won the first pose against German bodybuilder, Gunter Schlierkamp. This concluded Cutler’s victory over Badell. 

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Gustavo Badell was a treasured athlete in the IFBB domain. He was compared with greats like Coleman, and he even placed in the top 3 places two times and under the top 6 on multiple occasions. Thus, it is, once again, a great loss for the community, and he shall always be remembered.