2013 Pro Shows Review
It’s a wrap! As 2013 comes to a close, let’s take a look at the crowded calendar of the 14 IFBB Pro Contests that we had to pleasure to witness over the last 12 months. This year surprisingly started as it began (“The Blade”) and it included three Arnold Classic competitions as well as one of the most anticipated Mr. Olympia contests in years.
Arnold Classic - The 2013 Arnold Classic line-up was not as well attended as usual. Many Arnold Classic competitions in the past included the top six of the previous year’s Mr. Olympia minus the current champ. This year, however, Dexter Jackson was the only top six competitor from the Olympia to make the trip to the Arnold. Even last year’s top two, Branch Warren and Dennis Wolf, decided to sit out the show in 2013.
The excitement of the show centered on the addition of the genetically superior Cedric McMillan who quickly became the pre-contest favorite of several bodybuilding insiders. When Cedric stepped onstage holding a film of subcutaneous water and less than stellar color, he was quickly dismissed by the judges.
In the end, Dexter Jackson breezed to an easy win at the first pro show of the year. In second place was Ben “The Pakman” Pakulski who displayed rock hard conditioning with some of the best wheels in the game. Toney Freeman showed that he still has a winning physique to contend with (even in his mid 40’s) being awarded a top three placing. Johnnie Jackson placed fourth and Hidetada Yamagishi took fifth, leaving Cedric McMillan to wonder what could have been.The taller, bigger and structurally superior Cedric was the talk of the show with his sixth place finish. The audience showed their displeasure at the announcement of his placing while Cedric resolved to correct the minor mistakes and come back much improved. Little did he know that his misfortunes were not yet behind him.
Australia Pro Grand Prix - Only one week later, most of the top contenders from the Arnold Classic traveled Down Under to compete in the Australia Pro Grand Prix. Dexter, a rare breed of bodybuilder who seems to never miss his peak, easily took first place as he actually improved upon his condition from one week earlier. Toney Freeman surprised Pakman by placing in the runner-up spot. Ben was not as dry and shredded as he was one week earlier and it hurt him in the minds of the judges who dropped him down to third. In the fourth place spot was the promising Ed “Second to” Nunn.
Fibo Power Germany - On April 13th, Cedric McMillan achieved his redemption from his Arnold Classic placing by winning the Fibo Power in Cologne, Germany. Competing both harder and darker, Cedric defeated a second tier line-up that included Johnnie Jackson (2nd), Ed Nunn (3rd), Robert Piotrkowicz (4th) and Ronny Rockel (5th).
Arnold Classic Brasil - More controversy awaited Cedric two weeks later at the Arnold Classic Brasil. Stuck in traffic and unable to get to the competitors meeting on time, Cedric was surprisingly disqualified from competing and forced to watch the show from the audience.
In what many considered an unfair decision, a contest ready and frustrated McMillan was not allowed to compete and had to be content with watching a subpar line-up compete onstage. In the end, genetically gifted Brandon Curry won his first pro show and accepted his award from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Toney Freeman took his second runner-up spot of the year with Johnnie Jackson in third, Ed Nunn in fourth and Fred “Biggie” Smalls in fifth.
New York Pro - One month later in New York, the most highly anticipated pro show of the year so far took place. All the excitement centered around the professional debut of “Big Ramy” Mamdouh Elssbiay, a new pro bodybuilder from Egypt who was said to literally be “the next Big thing” in the sport. Preview pictures of Big Ramy popped up on Facebook, creating more excitement for this newcomer who has only been training a few years and was ready to take on the best. Fans were speculating already on his chances of winning the Mr. Olympia in his very first appearance.
Further adding to the excitement was the comeback of Victor Martinez. Victor was courageously competing for the first time since being incarcerated for eight months and then breaking his arm in a freak accident. A veteran professional, many considered Victor to be the favorite for the title, even with the very large shadow of Big Ramy looming.
In the end, Big Ramy lived up to the hype as he presented the biggest physique in bodybuilding with just the right amount of conditioning to overwhelm the competition. A streamlined Victor Martinez took second, displaying great conditioning but less muscle mass than normal. The promising Juan Morel took third place in only his second year as a pro. Fourth place went to the young Jonathan Delarosa followed by Clarence DeVis in fifth.
Toronto Pro - One week later, Victor Martinez ignored the advice from the experts and traveled North to Canada to compete in the Toronto Pro. Looking slightly fuller than a week earlier in New York, Victor easily won the competition over Fouad Abiad (2nd), Jonathan Delarosa (3rd), Frank McGrath (4th) and Mohammad Bannout (5th). It was a bitter sweet victory for Victor after his heartbreaking loss only one week earlier but it did put him back on top. Critics advised Martinez to take some time off and let his body grow again. The restless Victor seemed more anxious to return to the gym and get to work.
Wings of Strength Chicago - With the Europa Battle of Champions in Hartford, Connecticut cancelled on June 29th; the next pro show didn’t take place until the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. A new group of competitors took the stage with no real front runner in the group. It would all depend on who hit peak condition when it counted.
The genetically gifted Roelly Winklaar surprised everyone by competing in arguably his best condition ever. The freaky muscle mass of Winklaar was combined with dry, hard conditioning to overwhelm the competition.
Another genetic bodybuilder, Lionel Beyeke, took a surprising second place with his round muscle bellies but lackluster conditioning. Bill Wilmore displayed enough hardness to move him up to the third place spot over a massive and freaky Essa Obaid in fourth and a very promising Justin Compton in fifth. Compton, making his pro debut, has the shape to do very well in the future with the addition of more size.
PBW Tampa Pro Show - One month later in Tampa, Florida, the stage was set for over 30 pros to take the stage to earn that one qualifying spot for the Mr. Olympia. Most experts felt it would be a showdown between Evan Centopani and Juan Morel and they were right.
Evan came in peaked condition with just the right amount of size and hardness to convincingly win the contest. Juan Morel was bigger and fuller but he sacrificed conditioning this time out and was pushed into the runner-up spot. Essa Obaid was much harder than the Chicago Pro Show and many people in the audience had him in second over Juan but he ended up taking a disappointing third. A surprising fourth place went to Mohammed Bannout who displayed outstanding conditioning to beat a bloated but massive Lionel Beyeke in fifth.
Europa Supershow - Only one week later, the Europa Supershow took place in Dallas, Texas. Hometown favorite Steve Kuclo won his first pro show in only his second year as a professional. It was a very tight decision as Essa Obaid continued to improve and took a close second place to Kuclo. Essa had superior conditioning but Kuclo had the mass and shape that the judges seemed to prefer.
Lionel Beyeke, working with Dennis James over the last week, made remarkable improvements in his physique and took a strong third place. Mohammed Bannout took another fourth place spot with his great conditioning and Cory Matthews did very well taking a top five spot in his pro debut.
Nordic Pro - In the last pro show before the Mr. Olympia contest, the Nordic Pro took place on August 31st in Lahti, Finland. With a predominantly European line-up, Baitollah Abbaspour edged out a dramatically improved Lionel Beyeke to win his first pro show. Abbaspour showed great conditioning with outstanding leg development to achieve the narrow victory. The huge Russian bodybuilder Aliaksei Shabunya was in third and the popular Alexsei Lesukov took his highest placing as a pro in fourth place.
Mr. Olympia - After much anticipation, the 49th edition of the biggest contest in bodybuilding took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 27-28th. The top four contenders were predicted to be Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Jay Cutler and Big Ramy. Everyone agreed that the top ten of this year’s Mr. Olympia would be incredible.
In the end, only a handful of competitors lived up to the promise of achieving their peak condition. Phil Heath, as consistent as Dexter Jackson when it comes to never missing his peak, convincingly won his third Mr. Olympia title. Phil was big, round and much harder than a year ago and he went after his title with fierce determination.Kai Greene, who pushed Phil so hard only one year earlier, came in much bigger and fuller but not as sharp as the defending champion. After the prejudging on Friday night, it was clear to see that Phil was going to win again easily.
The surprise of the show was Big Dennis Wolf who finally nailed his conditioning by competing both full and ripped. Dennis was the bright spot in the line-up and many felt he could have taken second to Phil over Kai Greene. Shawn Rhoden, with his outstanding aesthetics and shape, dropped one spot to fourth this year and Dexter Jackson again surprised everyone with his incredible conditioning to take fifth place.
The return of Jay Cutler was a big letdown for his fans and for the four-time Mr. Olympia winner. Cutler was dramatically smaller than before and he was out of contention for the top spot as soon as he walked onstage. Another dark horse who was a big surprise was Roelly Winklaar who shocked everyone by exceeding his Chicago Pro Show condition to take a deserving seventh place. Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay was another disappointment, placing only eighth in his Mr. Olympia debut. Branch Warren, clearly not at his best, was in ninth place with an even more improved Lionel Beyeke in tenth. Victor Martinez, Cedric McMillan, Evan Centopani, Baitollah Abbaspour, Brandon Curry and Steve Kuclo, all winners at pro shows this year, failed to make the top ten.
Arnold Classic Europe - Two weeks after the Mr. Olympia, the Arnold Classic Europe took place in Madrid, Spain. Essentially repeating the placings from the Mr. Olympia, Phil Heath beat out an improved Kai Greene for the title. Kai was the definite audience favorite and didn’t look too happy after being placed second. Dennis Wolf was third with Shawn Rhoden in fourth. Victor Martinez continued to make improvements in size and he moved up to the fifth place spot, beating out Roelly Winklaar in sixth. Notably absent from the line-up were Dexter Jackson, Jay Cutler and Big Ramy.
Evl’s Prague Pro - With the cancellation of the British Grand Prix, scheduled for October 18th and 19th in Manchester, England, the next pro show took place on October 25th in Prague, Czechoslovakia. With Phil Heath and Dennis Wolf missing from the line-up, Kai Greene soared to an easy victory, looking bigger and freakier than ever. Dexter Jackson took a strong second place with a much improved Branch Warren in third place. Fred “Biggie” Smalls entertained the crowd with his acrobatic posing routine and ended up in fourth place while William Bonac rounded out the top five.
Tijuana Pro - The 2013 contest season ended just as it had begun with Dexter “The Blade” Jackson winning his 19th professional title. The Tijuana Pro was held in Tijuana, Mexico on November 16th with a very light line-up of only seven professional bodybuilders. The big Martin Kjellstrom took second place with Kevin Ofurum in third.
The 2013 IFBB Pro Bodybuilding season was very exciting and full of lots of drama and surprises. Dexter Jackson again showed his incredible consistency by winning three pro shows and placing in the top five of the Mr. Olympia. Phil Heath answered his critics by unanimously winning his third Mr. Olympia title. The debut of Big Ramy promises big things in the future along with other young pros like Steve Kuclo, Juan Morel, Jonathan Delarosa, Lionel Beyeke, Ben Pakulski and Justin Compton. Can Dennis Wolf, Roelly Winklaar and Cedric McMillan capitalize on the promise they showed this year? How will the newly crowned pros from 2013 such as Max Charles, Akim Williams and Kevin Jordan fare against the seasoned pros as they make their debuts next year? With twenty Professional competitions scheduled for 2014, it should be another very exciting year!
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