The Masters Olympia is coming back. Per a Dec. 1, 2022, announcement from the relatively newly-created Instagram account @mrolympiamasters, the 2023 edition of the contest will take place on Aug. 26-27, 2023, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The competition’s return marks 11 years since its last edition in 2012. It will be a showcase of 10 competitive divisions for participating athletes.
The 2023 Masters Olympia announcement detailed that a full list of invited athletes for the entire roster will be revealed on Apr. 24, 2023.
To garner a place in the 2023 Masters Olympia, potential athletes must submit a “letter of intent” to an official email address — mastersolympia@mrolympia.com — that denotes their age, nationality, competitive background, and any personal social media platforms. In any submissions, athletes also have the option to include a video application — no longer than one minute) — and any images of their physique.
All applications must be submitted by Apr. 10, 2023. At the time of this article’s publication, it is unclear how the items in every athlete’s application will be evaluated for potential invitations.
Here are the age requirements for each of the respective divisions at the 2023 Masters Olympia:
2023 Masters Olympia Required Ages By Division
- Men’s Open — Age 45 and up
- Women’s Open — Age 45 and up
- Men’s Physique — Age 40 and up
- Women’s Physique — Age 40 and up
- Classic Physique — Age 40 and up
- 212 Bodybuilding — Age 45 and up
- Wellness — Age 40 and up
- Bikini — Age 40 and up
- Fitness — Age 40 and up
- Figure — Age 40 and up
In the last edition of the Masters Olympia in 2012 — which featured just the Men’s Open division — 2008 Mr. Olympia champion Dexter Jackson captured the crown. Jackson’s win came after the competition was absent for approximately nine years. Vince Taylor holds the most Masters Olympia titles, with five wins near the turn of the 20th century (1996-1997, 1999-2001).
There is no shortage of iconic competitors who could potentially pose on the stage in Romania in the Summer of 2023.
There’s Jackson, who technically remains the defending champion. There’s seven-time Mr. Olympia (2011-2017) Phil Heath, who stepped away from bodybuilding after a third-place result at the 2020 Mr. Olympia. He is evidently still keeping in shape, judging from his media presence.
There’s also Jay Cutler. The four-time Mr. Olympia (2006-2007, 2009-2010) did shoot down rumors of a Masters Olympia return in mid-October 2022, but those plans could potentially change in the coming months.
With a lot of time before the 2023 Masters Olympia kicks off, more concrete information — such as how fans can tune into the contest — will likely be revealed at a later time. Until then, some of bodybuilding’s elder statespeople can start earnestly training to show off their dynamite physiques in Romania next August.
Featured image: @mrolympiamasters on Instagram
