The sixth edition of the 2023 Wheelchair Olympia competition will be held as part of the 2023 Olympia Weekend in Orlando, FL on Nov. 2-5, 2023. Men’s Wheelchair is the newest men’s division, and it has grown significantly since its Olympia debut in 2018.
This 2023 edition features 12 competitors, tying 2022 for the most athletes on the Wheelchair Olympia roster. Competitors are listed below in the order in which they qualified:
2023 Wheelchair Olympia Roster
- Harold Kelley (USA)
- Gabriele Andriulli (Italy)
- Antoni Khadraoui (Algeria)
- Josue Golrila Albino (Brazil)
- Mohammadreza Tabrizi Nouri (Canada)
- Tyler Brey (USA)
- Karol Milewski (Poland)
- Woody Belfort (Canada)
- Tory Jones (Canada)
- Bradley Betts (USA)
- Tim Caldwell (USA)
- Jason Metcalf (USA)
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How to Qualify
Past Olympia winners are qualified within their division for life. The top three finishers of the 2022 Olympia automatically qualified for the 2023 contest. Athletes who don’t meet either criteria earned their place onstage by winning a pro show during the 2023 Olympia qualifying season, which concluded on Oct. 9, 2023.
However, of the 11 IFBB Pro League categories, the Wheelchair division was the lone division to maintain the previous Olympia Qualifying System, which offered points for high-ranking finishes in pro shows. The top five on points also qualified for the 2023 Olympia, even if they did not win a pro show. Those five athletes were Woody Belfort, Tory Jones, Bradley Betts, Tim Caldwell, and Jason Metcalf.
Past Champion
Only one athlete has ever won the Wheelchair Olympia: five-time champion Harold Kelley. Kelley has dominated the division since its founding and is the favorite to win a sixth title in Orlando. Since 2014, Kelley has only lost two pro shows: the 2014 Dallas Pro, won by Nick Scott, who has since retired from competition, and the 2022 Arnold Wheelchair Classic, won by Gabriele Andriulli. Kelley rebounded from his runner-up finish to Andriulli at the 2022 Olympia with what many consider his best package to date.
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Top Contenders
Andriulli is the only athlete to beat Kelley during Kelley’s Wheelchair Olympia reign. As such, Andriulli is Kelley’s top contender. Andriulli qualified for the 2023 Olympia via his runner-up finish to Kelley at the 2022 Olympia. Andriulli competed at the 2023 T.R.U. Athlete Pro, finishing second behind winner Karol Milewski.
Antoni Khadraoui of Algeria ranked third in the 2022 Olympia. He did not compete during the 2023 season. How his physique has improved remains a mystery leading up to the 2023 Olympia.
Dark Horses
Kelley’s most recent contest was the 2023 Arnold Classic Wheelchair contest in Columbus, OH, which he won. Tory Jones scored silver at that contest, improving from his eighth-place finish at the 2022 Olympia in Las Vegas, NV. Even though Jones qualified on points, the Canadian is likely to make his presence known in the first callout.
2022 Olympia sixth-place finisher Woody Belfort will return in 2023. He secured the most points of any athlete in the division to earn his spot on the Olympia stage. 2023 Dallas Pro champion Tyler Brey hopes to improve on his seventh-place finish at the Olympia last year.
No one should sleep on Milewski, who made a statement with his gold-medal finish at the 2023 T.R.U. Athlete Pro contest. Bradley Betts ranked 10th in Las Vegas, but placed second to Brey in the 2023 Dallas Pro and should garner attention in Orlando.
Olympia Debuts
The international growth of the Wheelchair division has led to a new crop of competitors, some of whom will make their Olympia debuts in November. Josue Fabiano Barreto Monteiro of Brazil and 2023 Toronto Pro Supershow winner Mohammadreza Tabrizi Nouri of Canada are among them.
2023 Arnold Classic South America champion Josue Gorila Albino will make his Olympia debut alongside 46-year-old Tim Caldwell, who competed as an amateur for seven years before turning pro in 2022. Caldwell competed twice this season, topping out in second place at the 2023 Toronto Pro. Rookie Jason Metcalf is also slated for on bodybuilding’s biggest stage for the first time.
Fans who can’t make it to Orlando for the Olympia can watch it live by purchasing the 2023 Olympia pay-per-view on the Olympia Productions website.
Featured image: @haroldkelley071 on Instagram
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