Mr. Olympia 2023

The 59th Mr. Olympia edition is just a few weeks away. It is scheduled from November 2nd to 5th, 2023, and bodybuilding fans are unable to hold their excitement to witness the magnificent and prestigious competition unfold. 

As they are rooting for their favorite bodybuilders across divisions, it would be interesting to know more about the event and its genesis and evolution before pondering on the details of the upcoming event.

The History of Mr. Olympia

Bodybuilding gained significance in the 1950s-1960s, with many youngsters competing in bodybuilding championships like Mr. America and Mr. Universe. But the sport took a new lease of life when brothers Ben Weider and Joe Weider founded the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) in 1946 in Canada to promote the sport.

The most prestigious bodybuilding show in the world, Mr. Olympia, took birth in 1965 in New York City, offering prize money of $1000 for the winners under the aegis of IFBB. Larry Scott won the first-ever Mr. Olympia and repeated his suit in 1966. Sergio Oliva is the 3x Mr. Olympia champion, securing Sandow trophies from 1967 to 1969.

The competition, however, amassed huge popularity with the advent of the Austrian bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s. Arnie reigned the Mr. Olympia stage from 1970 to 1975. His documentary The Pumping Iron (1977), which filmed the bodybuilders' training routine for 100 days before Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe in 1975, left a lasting impact on the masses, inspiring many youngsters to choose the sport as a professional career. 

Ever since, the sport and the Mr. Olympia competition have earned more and more reputation, with legends like Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and Phil Heath gracing the stage. Schwarzenegger became the first bodybuilder in the sport's history to become the 7x Mr. Olympia champion in 1980.

Arnie's record was broken a decade later in the 1991 Mr. Olympia event when Lee Haney lifted his eighth Sandow Trophy. Ronnie Coleman started his winning streak on the prestigious stage in the late 1990s and became the King of bodybuilding with eight Mr. Olympia titles before Jay Cutler defeated him in 2006. Phil Heath dominated Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia stage from 2011 to 2017, equaling Arnold Schwarzenegger in the number of Sandow trophies. And the last Mr. Olympia was won by an Iranian bodybuilder known as the 'Persian Wolf,' Hadi Choopan. 

Events at Mr. Olympia, 2023 - A Gist

There are various categories in the 2023 Mr. Olympia that will unfold this November. Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend event includes 11 different categories. However, the two dominant categories at the event are the Mr. Olympia Men’s Open and Mr. Olympia Classic Physique. 

Other categories include Ms. Olympia, Figure Olympia, Women's Physique Olympia, Wheelchair Olympia, 212 Olympia, Men's Physique Olympia, Fitness Olympia, Bikini Olympia, and Wellness Olympia. 

Apart from the fame that the top-tier bodybuilders amassed from competing at the event, they also received huge prizes based on their position in the competition. Last year, the winner of the Men's Open secured $400,000, with IFBB awarding over $1.5 million in cash prizes across the 11 categories. The prize money might be increasing this year. 

Mr. Olympia Men's Open, 2023

This category is the most elite and popular event of the Mr. Olympia show every year, with fans awaiting to witness the winner of the Men’s Open. The event is uninhibited by any height or weight restrictions. Men’s Open is known for athletes with monstrous physiques, dry vascularity, and extreme striation.

It includes two rounds, namely Pre-Judging, and Finals. The posing routine of competing bodybuilders comprises eight mandatory poses, such as front double biceps, front lat spread, back double biceps, back lat spread, side chest, side triceps, abdominals, and the most muscular. In the final segment, the bodybuilders get to do an individual posing routine aside from the confirmation round. 

Last year, the Persian Wolf, Hadi Choopan, won the trophy with a prize money of $400,000. One can expect a cutthroat competition this year with icons like Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, Samson Dauda, Hunter Labrada, reigning Mr. Olympia, Hadi Choopan, and Chinedu Andrew Obiekea, A.K.A., Andrew Jacked, competing.

Mr. Olympia Men’s Open roster for 2023

• Brett Wilkin (USA)
• Hadi Choopan (Iran)
• Derek Lunsford (USA)
• Nick Walker (USA)
• Brandon Curry (USA)
• Mamdouh Elssbiay (Egypt)
• Samson Dauda (United Kingdom)
• Behrooz Tabani (Iran)
• Tony Burton (USA)
• Ross Flanigan (USA)
• Iain Valliere (Canada)
• Michal Krizanek (Slovakia)
• Phil Clahar (USA)
• Andrea Presti (Italy)
• Hassan Mostafa (Egypt)
• Justin Shier (USA)
• Roman Fritz (Germany)
• Hunter Labrada (USA) 
• Chinedu Andrew Obiekea (UAE)
• Kamal Elgargni (Libya)
• Nathan De Asha (United Kingdom)
• Regan Grimes (Canada)
• Theo Leguerrier (France)
• Charles Griffen (USA)

Mr. Olympia 2023 Classic Physique

To provide bodybuilders an alternative to Men’s Physique and Open category, the IFBB introduced Classic Physique in 2016, and soon earned a great reputation for the conditioning of the athletes. This class is promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The event is known for icons in brief black boxers and six mandatory poses like front double biceps, back double biceps, side chest, side triceps, abdominals, and thighs, and favorite classic pose. It focuses more on aesthetically pleasing physiques

Last year, the Classic Physique title was won by Chris Bumstead and fans are awaiting his fifth win this year. Other icons to watch for the 2023 edition include Breon Ansley, Urs Kalecinski, Terrence Ruffin, etc.

Mr. Olympia Classic Physique roster for 2023 

• Woilid Baatout (France)
• Chris Bumstead (Canada)
• Ramon Rocha Queiroz (Brazil)
• Urs Kalecinski (Germany)
• Mike Sommerfeld (Germany)
• Eric Brown (USA)
• Daniil Famponte (USA)
• Andrei Kozhokar (Russia)
• Michael Daboul (United Kingdom)
• German Pastor (Spain)
• Eric Wildberger Lisboa (Brazil)
• Samuel Paquin (Canada)
• Damien Patrick (USA)
• Damian Kuffel (Poland)
• Vahid Badpei (Iran)
• Laszlo Kiraly (Hungary)
• Antoine Loth (Spain)
• Carlos Dommar (USA)
• Fabio Junio Ramos Vale (Brazil)
• John Le (Canada)
• Marcus Perry (USA)
• Diego Alejandro Galindo (Brazil)
• Matthew Greggo (USA)
• Stephane Matala (France)
• Jared Thompson (USA)
• Jae Hun Park (South Korea)
• Alejandro Cambronero (Costa Rica)
• Eduardo Oliveira (Brazil)
• Shicheng Jin (China)
• Shi Tian Wang (China)
• Wesley Vissers (Netherlands)
• Christopher Ziller (Germany) 
• Gabriel Zancanelli (Brazil)
• Courage Opara (USA)
• Terrence Ruffin (ISA)
• Maxime Yedess (France) 
• Breon Ansley (USA)
• Hasan Alibrahim (Netherlands)
• Junior Javorski (Brazil)

Schedule for the Mr. Olympia 2023 competition