2023 Europa Pro Championships Preview, Top Bodybuilders to Watch

The 2023 Europa Pro Championships takes place this Sunday, September 17 in Alicante, Spain. This event is an Olympia qualifier and will feature 10 divisions — Men’s Open, Men’s 212 Bodybuilding, Classic Physique, Men’s Physique, Women’s Physique, Bikini, Women’s Bodybuilding, Figure, Fitness, and Wellness. 

Days from now, top contenders from the Men’s Open category will headline the 2023 Europa Pro Championships. With the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest approaching in less than two months (November 2-5), athletes have limited opportunities to guarantee entry on the sport’s most prominent stage.

Regan Grimes will aim to qualify for this year’s Mr. Olympia after a close-fought battle in Milan, Italy with 2023 Flex Weekend Pro champ Nathan De Asha. Their last showdown was extremely competitive with Grimes outsizing De Asha, though the Englishmen displayed superior conditioning to capture the crown. 

Nathan De Asha, meanwhile, will target his second Pro show victory in two weeks and should he succeed, he’d have all the momentum necessary to shock the world on the Olympia stage. In addition, fans look forward to seeing how Roman Fritz, Theo Leguerrier, Tim Budesheim, and Dorian Haywood fare in their pursuit of Olympia glory. 

2023 Europa Pro Championships Men’s Open Lineup 

•   Khaled Al Kazem
•   Ali Jalil Naser Al-Zarqani 
•   Nathan De Asha 
•   Giovanni Azpeitia 
•   Simone Bassanelli 
•   Andrea Bolzoni 
•   Tim Budesheim 
•   Robert Burneika 
•   Volodymyr Byruk 
•   Maik Ciesla 
•   Roman Fritz 
•   Regan Grimes 
•   Dorian Haywood 
•   Mark Joyce 
•   Theo Leguerrier 
•   Pablo Llopis 
•   Mikhail Maslov 
•   Artem Pakhniuk
•   Dennis Reinhold
•   Tomas Tabaciar 
•   Antonio Valero 
•   Jan Turek 
•   Liang Yan 

UPDATE: 2023 Europa Pro Championships Results

Top Names to Watch 

Nathan De Asha 

Last weekend, De Asha continued from where he left off in 2021, securing yet another Pro show victory at the 2023 Flex Weekend Pro. Riding high, De Asha plans to use the success this season as a launching pad for the first call-out at the nearing 2023 Mr. Olympia.

He conquered previous shows with a dominant V-taper and silhouette. And considering he holds a recent win over Grimes, who many consider to be a top contender, it’s safe to say De Asha enters this competition as the favorite. De Asha hasn’t been seen on the Mr. Olympia stage since 2018, where he picked up an impressive eighth-place finish. 

Regan Grimes 

Grimes, trained by bodybuilding mastermind Milos Sarcev, has shown the ability, gumption, and willpower to transform his physique. Carrying an exceptional level of mass, if Grimes dials in his conditioning perfectly for this prep, he could easily slip past Nathan en route to gold.

Grimes, having just finished second in Italy, is considered an obvious frontrunner. He benefited greatly from his 2022 off-season after taking seventh at two consecutive shows (2022 Arnold Classic, 2022 Boston Pro).

The Canadian native last appeared on the Mr. Olympia stage in 2021 when he took 15th place, respectively. With the deadline to qualify for Olympia ending on October 9, this could be one of Regan’s last chances to secure his entry. 

Roman Fritz 

Fritz, who took third at the 2023 Flex Weekend Pro, might be going under the radar for some, but when Roman’s size matches his conditioning levels, he’s extremely dangerous on stage.

Equipped with a beautiful structure and a massive lower body, Fritz enters this contest with house money as he already secured his qualification to the nearing Olympia off the back of his 2023 Big Man Pro show victory in July. He’s yet to appear on the Mr. Olympia state but that could be subject to change in the near future. 

Theo Leguerrier

Theo Leguerrier was a model of steadiness in his previous 2022 season, participating in seven IFBB Pro contests. He earned his sole triumph at the 2022 Europa Pro Championships but failed to make the top-15 cut at the 2022 Mr. Olympia. 

With the Europa crown up for grabs again, Leguerrier is aiming to bring an even dryer look to defend his title. Considering that he boasts balance, shredded quads, and defined triceps, Leguerrier is one of the top names to beat heading into this weekend. 

Dorian Haywood

Haywood has already arrived in Spain with a chip on his shoulder. Looking to grant his passage to Mr. Olympia in November, Dorian has seen visible improvements over the last season, mainly in muscle hardness and fullness.

The bodybuilding veteran is known for his willingness to compete and his discipline inside the gym. Haywood last stepped up for the 2022 Tampa Pro in 12th place, which was won by Akim Williams. Even though there are plenty of high-profile names making their appearances this weekend, Dorian Haywood could easily upset some favorites with the right look at his first show of 2023. 

Tim Budasheim

Mass monster Tim Budasheim will be in attendance this weekend in Spain. He made his 2023 debut on the Flex Weekend Pro stage last weekend, where he walked away in seventh place. Sporting deep striations and vascularity, Budasheim has the potential to give any competitor on stage a run for their money. 

While Budasheim hasn’t graced the Mr. Olympia stage thus far in his career, that could all change with an emphatic victory this Sunday. 

All Other Division Rosters Competing at 2023 Europa Pro Championships

Men’s 212 Bodybuilding 

•   Cesar Oyarce Auladell
•   Dobromir Delev
•   Florin Dogaru 
•   Mostafa Eskandari 
•   Oleh Kryvyi 
•   Marco Ruz
•   Vincente Santamaria 
•   Almotazbelah Senousei 
•   Tomas Tabaciar 
•   Francisco Barrios Vik 
•   Dean White
•   Asmawi Zolkifli 

Classic Physique 

•   Jabor AlKuwari
•   Jose Maria Mete Bueriberi 
•   Eric Castagnet 
•   Eduardo Ciocchetti
•   Valeri Enchev 
•   Pedro Ferreira 
•   Marcos Iglesias Garcia 
•   Patrik Herczik 
•   Philipp Jendreiek 
•   Thomas Kunz 
•   Miguel Malimo 
•   Fernando Gornals Margol 
•   Luis Garcia Martinez 
•   Roberto Martinez 
•   Sam Mikaelsson 
•   Victor Toledo Pardo 
•   German Pastor 
•   Zhivko Nikolaev Petkov
•   Ruben Lopez Reyes 
•   Esteban Smith 
•   Abel Daniel Carreno Sousa 
•   Wesley Vissers 

Men’s Physique 

• Aryan Ali 
• Mohammad Ali 
• Adeyemi Awoyemi
• Ali Bilal
• Thomas Igor Williams 
• Alessandro Cavagnola 
• Youcef Djoudi 
• Isaac Francis 
• Febo Gambacorta 
• David Hammond 
• Tunde Hassan
• Ali Jafar 
• Ali El Khtabi 
• Ruben Marques 
• Jaime Maso 
• Hashem Mohammed 
• Happy Edodo Oguieva 
• Toby Owen United 
• Isaias Paez Martinez 
• Kenny Privet
• Nikolay Rashkov 
• Giuseppe Riserbato 
• Alessio Sbizzera 

Women’s Bodybuilding

•   Chelsea DionLas 
•   Ivana Dvorakova 
•   Julia Foery 
•   Jacqueline Fuchs
•   Cristina Arellano Goy
•   Viktoria Knysh 
•   Lisa Kudrey 
•   Anastasia Leonova
•   Virginia Sanchez 

Fitness 

•   Donnice Chow
•   Amy Hamilton 
•   Minna Pajulahti 
•   Michaela Pavleova
•   Nikolett Szabo 

Figure

•   Mari Carmen Alvarez
•   Arya Bahar 
•   Pamela Colombo 
•   Carolina Fernandez 
•   Rejoice Godwin 
•   Lauren Green 
•   Nadine Claudia Huber 
•   Svitlana Ivanina 
•   Anna Kohckar 
•   Gabriela Linhartova 
•   Silvia Cuartero Martinez
•   Stella Miliani 
•   Olena Mykhailiuk 
•   Katja Nowak 
•   Paula Ranta
•   Susana Serrano 

Bikini 

•   Solidea Bellia
•   Kristina Brunauer 
•   Noemi Cosentino
•   Valerya Fedorenko 
•   Jessica Feeney
•   Chantal Hill
•   Vivienne Kahl 
•   Jessica Kavanagh
•   Noora Mahonen 
•   Ottavia Mazza
•   Samantha Minshull 
•   Sarah Neuheisel 
•   Renata Nowak 
•   Lisa Reith 
•   Jule Schwabe 
•   Rania Stamatiadou 
•   Giuditta Taccani 
•   Regina Tan
•   Patrizia Vaccaro
•   Angela Valenzuela 
•   Marisa Woo

Women’s Physique 

• Maria Ethel Heredia Appa
• Emila Balkova 
• Sarah Bradley 
• Tatiana Bulut 
• Fay Simone Ellis 
• Lena Frenkel 
• Karina Goncalves 
• Modesta Halby
• Marina Kassinopoullou 
• Uta Kohler-Spitzbart 
• Alida Opre 
• Petra Osterwald 
• Anastasia Papoutsaki 
• Laura Pyszora 
• Joanna Romano 
• Mar Ruiz
• Caroline Alves dos Santos
• Alessandra Patricia Da Silva 
• Kerstin Telker

Wellness

• Sandra Colorado Acal 
• Debora Boff 
• Klaudia Vanessza Csur
• Paula Dominguez Garcia
• Celandine Holenweg 
• Paula Fernandez Lopez 
• Charline Mas
• Anna Mroczkowska 
• Lisa Steele 
• Nerilde Garcia Strey 

RELATED: Wesley Vissers Demolishes A Hellacious Push-Day Workout Weeks From 2023 Europa Pro

The Open winner of this weekend’s Europa Pro Championship will have a chance to prove themselves at the sport’s ultimate destination from November 2-5 in Orlando, Florida: 2023 Mr. Olympia, currently ruled by the reigning champion Hadi Choopan.