Fans filled the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida with aspirations of seeing the best physiques in the world. The 2021 Olympia Weekend is officially underway, and Friday night saw five world champions being crowned. Here is a brief summary of the events for those that weren’t in attendance or watching on pay-per-view. What follows are the results of the evening in the order that the winners were crowned.
Fitness Olympia - Whitney Jones WIns for the Third Time
After a positive COVID-19 test kept Whitney Jones out of the Arnold Classic two weeks ago, she came to the Olympia seeking redemption. Canada’s home-grown champion Missy Truscott was hoping to repeat as champion as she did in Columbus, Ohio. Then there was Fitness legend Oksana Grishina, who wanted to win her fifth title. After prejudging comparisons and inspiring routines in the Finals, it would be Jones that left Orlando as the champion once again. Truscott and Grishina rounded out the top three.
- Winner - Whitney Jones, $50,000 USD
- Runner-Up - Missy Truscott, $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place - Oksana Grishina, $10,000 USD
Figure Olympia - Gillon Makes History
Cydney Gillon has been dominant as Figure Olympia Champion, and she made sure that this year was no different. It could be argued that this was the best that she ever looked, and that look paid off with her historic fifth Olympia title. No other woman has won the Figure Olympia five times. Gillon made it clear in the interview afterwards that she has no intentions of stopping, either.
- Winner - Cydney Gillon, $50,000 USD
- Runner-Up - Natalya Soltero, $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place - Stephanie Gibson, $10,000 USD
Women’s Physique Olympia - Villegas Repeats
After prejudging on the morning of October 8th, fans were split on who would win the Women’s Physique title. Natalia Abraham Coelho was arguably her best ever, but so was defending champion Sarah Villegas. It came down to the wire, but at the end Villegas repeated as champion, and Coelho is the runner-up this year. Among those presenting the trophy to the champion was the inaugural Ms. Women’s Physique Olympia, Dana Linn Bailey!
- Winner - Sarah Villegas, $50,000 USD
- Runner-Up - Natalia Abraham Coelho, $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place - Brooke Walker, $10,000 USD
Ms. Olympia
Andrea Shaw had the honor of being the winner of the Ms. Olympia last year when the contest made its anticipated return. Her job was to keep the other 15 competitors facing her from defeating her this year. Her physique was just as impressive this year as it was in 2020, and it was clear from the start that she was going to repeat. Jake Wood and Lenda Murray presented the gold medal and trophy to Shaw as champion for 2021. Helle Trevino finished as the runner-up with Margie Martin rounding out the top three.
- Winner - Andrea Shaw, $50,000 USD
- Runner-Up - Helle Trevino, $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place - Margie Martin, $10,000 USD
212 Olympia
The judges and fans were torn between 212 Olympia champ Shaun Clarida and former NPC USA winner Derek Lunsford. It took a hard final comparison at the Finals for the judges to make a final decision. In the end, the man from Indiana won his first Olympia title. Lunsford narrowly defeated Clarida to be named the best 212 pound bodybuilder in the world. Rounding out the top three was 50 year old former champion Kamal Elgargni.
- Winner - Derek Lunsford, $50,000 USD
- Runner-Up - Shaun Clarida, $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place - Kamal Elgargni, $10,000 USD
Mr. Olympia Prejudging
Last but certainly not least was the opening round of the Men’s Open. The Mr. Olympia prejudging was held at the end of the night. Reigning champion Mamdouh Elssbiay (Big Ramy) wanted to establish dominance early. Meanwhile, former champion Brandon Curry wanted the title he felt was his back. Then there was that upstart kid that won the Arnold Classic last month. Nick Walker wanted to be the first man to win the Olympia in his debut. After numerous comparisons, it appears that the top three after prejudging will be Elssbiay and Curry. They stood alone in the final callout of the evening. That makes the Finals on Saturday night very interesting to say the least.
The Finals of the Mr. Olympia and the crowning of the champions in the other divisions will be on Saturday, October 9th in Orlando. Stay tuned to Muscle Insider and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with all the latest bodybuilding news.