On the weekend of Nov. 2-5, 2023, the 2023 Olympia Weekend in Orlando, FL, will feature 11 world championship bodybuilding events. The Men’s Physique Olympia will be held for the 11th year.
The 2023 edition will be historic as three different Men’s Physique champions will share the stage: reigning champion Erin Banks, three-time champion Brandon Hendrickson, and four-time champion Jeremy Buendia. In total, 47 athletes will compete in this contest — the most of any men’s division. The full roster is below, with the names in order of when they qualified or entered:
2023 Men’s Physique Olympia Roster
- Mehdi Kabbadj (Morocco)
- Ming Chieh Tsai (District of Taiwan)
- Kahlia Ramzi (Algeria)
- Corey Morris (USA)
- Erin Banks (USA)
- Brandon Hendrickson (USA)
- Diogo Montenegro (Brazil)
- Mahmood Al-Maghrabi (Bahrain)
- Emanuel Hunter (USA)
- Mauro Fialho Garcia, Jr. (Spain)
- Carlos DeOliveira (Brazil)
- Benquil Marigny (USA)
- Riccardo Croci (Italy)
- Derrick Stevenson (USA)
- Ryan Terry (United Kingdom)
- Emmanuel Costa (Brazil)
- Daniel Ammons (USA)
- Andre Ferguson (USA)
- Vinicius Mateus Veiro Lima (Brazil)
- Vitor Chaves (Brazil)
- Joseph Lee (USA)
- Victor Manuel Ramirez Chavez (Costa Rica)
- Bhuwan Chauhan (India)
- Sidy Pouye (Spain)
- Yoon Sung Lee (South Korea)
- Jason Huynh (USA)
- Anderson Arruda (Brazil)
- Jeremy Potvin (USA)
- Drew Cullen (USA)
- Ismael Dominquez (Mexico)
- Arya Saffaie (USA)
- Rodrigue Chesnier (France)
- Febo Gambacorta (Italy)
- Rafael Oliveira (Brazil)
- Jonas Jamena (No Country Listed)
- Jeremiah Maxey (USA)
- Joven Sagabain (Philippines)
- Edvan Palmeira (Brazil)
- Ali Bilal (Belgium)
- Ayoub Sulayman (Libya)
- Charjo Grant (USA)
- Reuben Glass (USA)
- Adeyemi Awoyemi (United Kingdom)
- Kyron Holden (USA)
- Emile Walker (United Kingdom)
- Jeremy Buendia (USA)
- JunHo Lee (South Korea)
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[Related: Riccardo Croci Wins 2023 British Championships Pro Men’s Physique Show]
How They Qualified
As is the case with all divisions, past Men’s Physique Olympia champions are forever eligible to compete. Furthermore, the top three finishers from the 2022 Men’s Physique Olympia are also automatically qualified to enter the 2023 contest.
The rest of the field comprises athletes who won pro shows during the 2023 qualifying season, which ended on Oct. 9, 2023. If any other athlete is to enter this lineup, it would be via a special invite from either the IFBB Pro League or Olympia promoters. As of Oct. 17, 2023, no invites had been offered.
Past Men’s Physique Champions
There have been five champions in the division’s history. Three of them are in this lineup. The defending champion is Erin Banks, who is also the two-time reigning Arnold Classic Men’s Physique champion. Given this roster, his title defense will certainly be earned if Banks is successful in Orlando.
The athlete Banks dethroned was Brandon Hendrickson, with three Men’s Physique Olympia titles to his credit. Hendrickson’s goal in 2022 was to tie Jeremy Buendia’s record for most all-time wins with four. Hendrickson defeated Buendia for Hendrickson’s first title in 2018. Hendrickson finished the 2022 contest in second place but has another chance to tie the record in this year’s rematch.
The issue for Hendrickson this time is Buendia will return to the Olympia stage to extend his record to five. The 2018 Olympia was the last time Buendia competed. The five-year absence means fans have no idea what to expect from Buendia when he does take the stage beyond the images shared on social media.
Top Contenders
The trio of Banks, Hendrickson, and Buendia alone make this show worth watching, but they aren’t without other top opposition. Kyron Holden ranked sixth overall in 2022 but pulled off a big upset 2023 Legion Sports Fest Pro show in Reno, NV, where he defeated Banks. As such, Holden arguably has the most momentum of any athlete on the roster.
The rest of the top five from the 2022 Olympia are also in the lineup. 2022 third-place finisher Diogo Montenegro is back and expected to bring the best version of his physique ever. Charjo Grant leaped from 12th to fourth in the standings from 2021 to 2022, but it took him three attempts to win a pro show to qualify for the 2023 contest. 2022’s fifth-place finisher Edvan Palmeira will also return with hopes of stepping onto the podium.
(@ryanjterry)The athletes who rounded out the top 10 from 2022 were Ryan Terry (seventh), Corey Morris (eighth), Ali Bilal (ninth), and Andre Ferguson (10th). All four will return for another shot at the title. Ferguson has finished as high as second twice. Terry is a former Arnold Classic winner. Both are veterans who simultaneously want to climb the standings while fending off future stars trying to surpass them, including Emanuel Hunter, Vitor Chaves, and Carlos DeOliveira. This Olympia also features the return of Jeremy Potvin, who has finished as high as fourth in 2020.
Olympia Debuts
On paper or screen, it may appear as if an Olympia rookie has no shot at cracking the top 15 in a lineup like this. However, anything is possible at the Olympia, and newcomers like Sidy Pouye intend to make a splash. Pouye qualified for the 2022 Olympia but didn’t compete. He won three pro shows during the 2023 season.
Jeremiah Maxey won the 2023 Texas Pro and was second at the 2023 Tampa Pro. He could disrupt the lineup as well. Keep an eye on Rafael Oliveira from Brazil; he’s been a pro since 2021 but had his greatest success this season.
Fans who won’t be in Orlando to watch the pre-judging and finals in person can still see the action from the comfort of their homes by purchasing the 2023 Olympia pay-per-view on the Olympia Productions website.
Featured Image: @e_bankssss on Instagram
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