A visual recap of the INBA/PNBA World Championships competition – part of the Road To Natural Olympia.
This summer held one of the biggest natural bodybuilding events of the year – the INBA/PNBA World Championships in Florence, Italy on June 25, 2022. The competition is a truly vital one for the league – part of the Road To Natural Olympia series – competitors have a chance to qualify for the Natural Olympia competition later this year. It’s also a major opportunity for amateur athletes to earn their pro cards.
The World Championships is also notable for bringing together a truly diverse and powerful line up of competitors from across the globe. Each athlete representing their nation to further place it on the map in the sport of bodybuilding.
Denny Kakos, INBA PNBA’s founder, has high hopes for natural bodybuilding. Bringing bodybuilding to the Olympics is his ultimate goal. The Olympics also abides by WADA regulations and prohibit drugs.
Generation Iron was behind the scenes at the event capturing the full house event in and the epic battles that ensued on stage. You can watch our full recap sizzle reel from the INBA/PNBA World Championships 2022 above.
2022 World Championships Athlete Highlights
Generation Iron (GI) interviewed a few key contenders participating in the weekend show. Below are the competitors we talked to, and they gave us some insight into what they look to achieve.
Kayla Rowling
3x Bikini Divas Natural Olympia champ and multi-media athlete Kayla Rowling is one of the most prominent INBA PNBA competitors competing at the 2022 INBA PNBA World Championships. Rowling’s excited about this competition exceptionally because it will be her first international bikini competition of the year. To prepare for the show, Rowling shared her pre-contest breakfast nutrition plan. Rowling has been eating five egg whites, asparagus, and mushrooms for breakfast to prep for the event.
Veronica Malloy
2x Natural Olympia champ and Hall of Fame Inductee Veronica Malloy placed well at 2021 Natural Olympia, receiving third place in Bikini Angels and a top-five placement in the Figure class. GI recently spoke with Malloy about strategies to find WADA-compliant supplements. According to Malloy, WADA doesn’t have a compliant supplement list, so INBA PNBA athletes must do their due diligence to learn what supplements will pass screenings. Malloy agrees that although Florence, Italy, is beautiful, she’s there for work–she does admit to probably indulging in pizza and other Italian cuisines after the show, though.
Tommi Thompson
Tommi Thompson’s been competing with the INBA PNBA since 2017 in the Men’s Bodybuilding Open category. He’s also been serving in the military for over 20 years. Thompson gave GI a dive into his contest prep for the show in Florence, Italy, and ways Thompon’s conditioning his body to burn fat without losing muscle. Plus, he’s being trained by Natural Olympia champ Philip Ricardo Jr. Thompon’s been keeping his weights heavy during the cutting process to show up on stage in Florence at his best conditioning.