“One of the Biggest Shocks”: Bodybuilding Star Finally Opens up on Mr. Olympia 2022 Upset

The 2022 Mr. Olympia culminated last month, and it had its fair share of heartbreaking moments for bodybuilders. One such moment was when famed bodybuilder Hunter Labrada bowed out of the competition with a subpar performance. The 2021 Chicago Pro winner went in with a lot of confidence but ended up outside the Top 5 positions. Here’s what happened according to him.

Labrada recently made a heartfelt confession about his feelings on not only losing the ultimate crown but also failing to qualify directly for next year. He opened up about the shock he felt in front of thousands of people and the crippling feeling post it. But Labrada is more determined than ever to make a comeback this year.

Hunter Labrada is hurt and angry at his performance at the Olympics

Hunter Labrada landed the seventh position at the Olympia last year, just behind Samson Dauda at sixth. This was a step back for Labrada, who entered the Top 5 at the competitions in 2021, ending up in fourth place. He spoke about the crushing feeling of standing in front of a room packed with people and not being crowned a winner.

Labrada said, “That was one of the biggest shocks I’d ever endured in my life, and it was in front of God knows how many thousands of people”, as he came in hot and prepared for the contest. However, post his performance, Labrada was more than aware of his deficits and his shortcomings in many aspects.

He said, “The fact of the matter is I need to figure my peak out”, adding that his team is well aware of what went wrong on the day of the competition. Labrada continued, “I’m f***ing pissed off man. I put this timer up in my gym and worked every day for 342 days from last year’s Olympia to this Olympia — I came up short. Plain and simple, I came up short of what I wanted to do”.

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His own performance hurt and angered Labrada, but it also made him more focused to come back harder next year. But for the time being, no one’s going easy on him – not even his coach.

His coach details his shortcomings, whereas Labrada vows to make a comeback

Ben Chow, Labrada’s coach, appeared on the Bro Chat podcast, alongside others, to talk about Labrada’s preparation before the Olympia. He said, “There are two things to really addressing this – one the overall prep and two the peak”. Chow believes that these two aspects could’ve been done better by Labrada. He also mentioned that Labrada came in too flat and sacrificed fullness.

Labrada confessed to not being in a good mental state post his Olympia defeat. However, his focus now is on winning the two Pro shows he must compete at, in order to qualify for the Olympia. He said, “I’m going to show you a much different Hunter at the two pro shows I do, and at the Olympia because I am going to qualify this year”. Here’s looking forward to his performance this year.

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