“I’ve decided I’m gonna be out of the Olympia this year.”
Less than three weeks out from the 2023 Mr. Olympia, former 212 champion, Kamal Elgargni, announced that he was pulling out of this year’s contest due to personal reasons. Elgargni, who was widely considered to be one of the front runners to challenge current 212 Olympia champion Shaun Clarida for his title, made the announcement on his Instagram page, citing his brother’s recent cancer diagnosis as the primary reason for his decision.
“It’s a sad announcement for me, but family comes first. I’ll be back for sure”
The decision did not come lightly for the 2019 212 Olympia champion, who had been preparing to make his sixth consecutive appearance on bodybuilding’s biggest stage, for what could have potentially been a historic weekend. Elgargni, who was qualified to compete in both the 212 and Open divisions this year, following his win at the Masters Olympia in August, had spent the last several weeks in Florida, preparing for this year’s contest; now joins a growing list of competitors that includes Big Ramy, Brett Wilkin, and the recently retired Iain Vaillire, who have all withdrawn from competing within the last several weeks.
However, despite his decision to forgo this year’s contest, Elgargni made it clear that he was not retiring from competitive bodybuilding, and informed his fans that he would follow up with another video detailing his future in the IFBB at a later date.
