One of the biggest mysteries of the 2023 Olympia weekend has been involving the 2019 Mr Olympia winner is now over: Brandon Curry will be onstage Saturday.
After two days of rumors and controversy, Curry finally confirmed on his Instagram account that he will, in fact, be competing at the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest following clearance from both his doctor and the IFBB Pro League. Curry is looking to become the second man to win back the title after losing it on stage—the first was Jay Cutler in 2009. After clearing this final hurdle, he will now have that chance. Now the question is can he dethrone raining champion Hadi Choopan as well as top contenders Derek Lunsford and Samson Dauda?
Curry wasn’t in attendance at Thursday’s Olympia Press Conference in the Orange County Convention Center after being hospitalized before the kickoff of bodybuilding’s biggest weekend in Orlando, FL. Rumors have been swirling around that he was going to miss the contest due to these unknown medical issues.
Those rumors were so profound that Olympia announcer Bob Cicherillo addressed them and stated that Brandon “looked like he would be out of the show.”
In a text message with Curry during the press conference, he initially confirmed that he was fine but was waiting on clearance from his doctor before making a final decision.
“Just want to be responsible,” Curry said at the time.
Prejudging begins on Friday, Nov. 3. The finals are slated to take place of the following evening. The Tennessee native was one of two past champions set to compete in the men’s open division. The other is defending champion Hadi Choopan. Curry was fourth in the 2022 Mr Olympia in Las Vegas, Nevada. Earlier this week, top Olympia contender, Nick Walker withdrew from the Olympia due to a hamstring tear.
Muscle & Fitness will continue to monitor this development and will share updates as they are shared. Live coverage of all 11 world championship events at the Olympia can be seen live on the Olympia pay-per-view at www.olympiaproductions.com.
