The IFBB Pro League hosted three divisions at the 2023 Flex Weekend Pro in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Men’s Open, Men’s Physique, and Bikini division athletes took the stage with hopes of qualifying for the 2023 Olympia Weekend set for Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.
The main event was the Men’s Open, which saw Nathan De Asha land his 10th pro victory in his career. Ali Bilal and Lisa Reith took the wins in Men’s Physique and Bikini, respectively.
2023 Flex Weekend Pro Results
The final standings for all three contests are below:
Men’s Open
- Nathan De Asha (United Kingdom)
- Regan Grimes (USA)
- Roman Fritz (Germany)
- Liang Yan (China)
- Blessing Awodibu (USA)
- Theo Leguerrier (France)
- Tim Budesheim (Germany)
- Jan Turek (Czech Republic)
- Maik Ciesla (Germany)
- Dennis Reinhold (Germany)
- Artem Pakhniuk (Russia)
- Andrea Muzi (Italy)
- Simone Bassanelli (Italy)
- Andrea Bolzoni (Italy)
- Khaled Al Kazem (Kuwait)
Tied for 16th
- Ali Jalil Naser Al-Zarqani (Iraq)
- Giovanni Azpeitia (Italy)
- Tomas Tabaciar (Slovakia)
- Guosheng Yuan (China)
Men’s Physique
- Ali Bilal (Denmark)
- Emile Walker (England)
- Lenny Massouf (France)
- Mohammad Ali (Austria)
- Adeyemi Awoyemi (United Kingdom)
- Chao Peng (China)
- Febo Gambacorta (Italy)
- Alessio Sbizzera (Italy)
- Andrea Antonelli (Italy)
- Luca Biolo (Italy)
- Ali Raza (Australia)
- Giuseppe Riserbato (Italy)
- Mohamed Shualb (Kuwait)
- Maxime Petrov (Bulgaria)
- Khalid Ahmed Shewiter (Qatar)
Tied for 16th
- Aryan Ali (Germany)
- Simon Pietro Arena (Italy)
- Alessio Foschi (Italy)
- Kenny Privet (Switzerland)
- Marcel Treichler (Switzerland)
Bikini
- Lisa Reith (Germany)
- Ottavia Mazza (Italy)
- Kristina Brunauer (Austria)
- Valerya Fedorenko (Ukraine)
- Noemi Cosentino (Italy)
- Jade Kelsie Wolfenden (United Kingdom)
- Marisa Woo (USA)
- Giuditta Taccani (Italy)
- Sarah Neuheisel (Germany)
- Patrizia Vaccaro (Italy)
- Ines Neves (Portugal)
- Milena Bonio (United Kingdom)
- Jessica Kavanagh (Ireland)
- Margherita Todeschini (Italy)
- Noemi Lavacca (Italy)
- Henrieta Skupekova (United Kingdom)
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Men’s Open Winner — Nathan De Asha
There was hype for the Men’s Open contest because big names like De Asha, Regan Grimes, Blessing Awodibu, and Roman Fritz, among others, were in the lineup. De Asha was the overwhelming favorite, as proven by his unanimous first-place votes from the judges.
Aside from winning career pro show number 10, De Asha is qualified to compete in the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest. He has qualified in previous years but hasn’t been on the Olympia stage since 2018, when he placed eighth overall.
Grimes finished second. However, given how lean and round his muscles appeared, he’s expected to compete in a future show and, should he win, qualify for the Olympia as well. He has until the Olympia qualification cutoff on Oct. 9, 2023, to do so. Only show winners advance to the Olympia at this stage of the year.
Bronze medalist Fritz was already Olympia-qualified thanks to his win at the 2023 Bigman Weekend Pro.
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Men’s Physique Winner — Ali Bilal
Fans new to Men’s Physique may not know that Bilal is a top-tier competitor. He placed ninth at the 2022 Olympia, won by Erin Banks. This was Bilal’s third pro show of the year, and he finally scored the needed win to qualify for the 2023 Olympia. It’s his fourth career pro victory.
Emile Walker of the United Kingdom was the runner-up in his third show of the season — his highest finish thus far. Lenny Massouf of France rounded out the podium.
Bikini Division Winner — Lisa Reith
Lisa Reith won the Bikini division contest with all first-place votes from the judges. It was her first win of the season across nine shows. She finally has her 2023 Olympia qualification with eight weeks before bodybuilding’s biggest weekend in Orlando. She will make her Olympia debut in 2023 if she competes.
Ottavia Mazza was the runner-up in Milan but previously qualified for the 2023 Olympia via her win at the T.R.U. Athlete Pro contest. Kristina Brunauer ranked third for her third top-three finish in five shows thus far in 2023.
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Featured Image: @nathandeasha2 on Instagram
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