2013 Mr. Olympia & 212 Class Qualification Update.
The 2013 Mr. Olympia contest is fast approaching, being less than 3 months away. We feel that this year's Mr. Olympia is going to be one of the most exciting in the history of the competition, especially with Jay Cutler coming back after injury. Will he be able to challenge Phil, or will some new star step up to the plate to take the Mr. Olympia crown? Or will Branch Warren bring his winning form from the Arnold Classic of a year or so ago to take the title?
At the present time, 12 bodybuilders are officially qualified for the Mr. Olympia come September 27 and 28, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are in alphabetical order:
Brandon Curry - USA
Jay Cutler - USA
Mamdouh Elssbiay - Egypt
Kai Greene - USA
Phil Heath - USA
Dexter Jackson - USA
Victor Martinez - Dominican Republic
Cedric McMillan - USA
Robert Piotrkowicz - Poland
Shawn Rhoden - USA
Branch Warren - USA
Dennis Wolf - Germany
Five more bodybuilders can earn themselves a spot in the Mr. O lineup via the Olympia Qualification Series. This series rewards consistently high placings for non-winners throughout the contest season. If placing in the second to fifth spots at any event during the season, a pro bodybuilder earns himself points where the total number of points vary, depending on the importance of the competition.
The top five bodybuilders after the last qualifier, the 2013 Nordic Pro in Lahti, Finland - will be qualified to compete in the Olympia in September. This makes the Nordic show and extremely important event for a number of competitors, and GMV will again be doing the Nordic Grand Prix event.
Here are the points for the qualifiers as at 30th June this year. Although the five bodybuilders below are currently qualified for the Mr. Olympia, anything could happen in positions 3 to 5, depending on results in the remaining Pro shows of this season. Only Toney Freeman and Johnnie Jackson look like pretty safe to me. The biggest surprises are probably Ronny Rockel and Michael Kefalianos.
Points
1. Toney Freeman (30 points)
2. Johnnie Jackson (20 points)
3. Ben Pakulski (11 points)
4. Ed Nunn (9 points, tied)
4. Roelly Winklaar (9 points, tied)
6. Jonathan Delarosa (6 points)
7. Michael Kefalianos (5 points, tied)
7. Hidetada Yamagishi (5 points, tied)
9. Baito Abbaspour (4 points, tied)
9. Fouab Abiad (4 points, tied)
9. Juan Morel (4 points, tied)
12. Clarence DeVis (2 points, tied)
12. Frank McGrath (2 points, tied)
12. Ronny Rockel (2 points, tied)
15. Fred Smalls (1 point, tied)
15. Moe Bannout (1 point, tied)
15. Ivan Sadek (1 point, tied)
15. Daniel Toth (1 point, tied)
At the present time, 6 bodybuilders are officially qualified for the 212 Showdown, come September. They are listed below in alphabetical order:
212 Showdown Qualified
Troy Alves - USA
Al Auguste - Haiti
Eduardo Correa Da Silva - Brazil
David Henry - USA
James "Flex" Lewis - Wales, UK
Jose Raymond - USA
The biggest surprise to me is that I see no mention as yet of Kevin English.
Here are the points for the 212 Showdown qualifiers as at 30th June this year. It is looking certain that Sami Al Haddad will be qualified and competing, but the next 4 qualifiers are very close in points, between 5 to 8 points. I will have my money on Mark Dugdale making it through, but the rest are very close indeed.
Points
1. Sami Al Haddad - Bahrain (13 points)
2. Mark Dugdale - USA (8 points)
3. Raul Carrasco Jimenez - Spain (7 points)
4. Muhammad Masoom-Butt - Pakistan (6 points)
5. Marco Rivera - USA (5 points)
6. Guy Cisternino - USA (4 points)
7. Lukas Osladil - Czech Republic (3 points, tied)
7. Aaron Clark - USA (3 points, tied)
9. William Bonac - Netherlands (2 points, tied)
9. Thomas Benagli - Italy (2 points, tied)
9. Mboya Edwards - Canada (2 points, tied)
12. Khalid Almohsinawi - Netherlands (1 point, tied)
12. Milton Holloway, Jr. - USA (1 point, tied)
New Physique Class Showdowns
History will be made at this year's Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend as the best Men’s and Women's Physique competitors fight it out for the highest honor of winning the first-ever Olympia Physique Showdown.
As usual Wayne of GMV will be there doing his thing behind the video camera on the riser platform at the Main Expo stage.
Please drop by and say hello. Tina will also be there helping Wayne out and also working on a booth. More details later.
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