The Item: Career Updates, Special Appearances, Legends Update, Andrew Oye's IFBB Pro Athletes Roundup
The Scoop: Recently Reported: IFBB Pro League athletes had career updates or made
recent guest appearances at various sports, bodybuilding, physique and
fitness events across North America this month. The latest "Andrew Oye's Pro-Muscle Report" Pro Athletes
Roundup includes a pair of Mr. USA winners (including a new Mr. Olympia titleholder), a pair of Mr. Canada winners (including a new contest promoter), and a pair of Texans (including a "Quadrasaurus").
The "So What?": Two NPC USA National Champions -- newly crowned Mr. Olympia IFBB Pro Phil Heath (2005) and
IFBB Pro Steve Kuclo (2011), a Texas firefighter -- were featured onstage guests at the 2011 NPC Texas
State Bodybuilding Championships (October 15).
IFBB Pro Evan Centopani, and two CBBF Canadian National Champions -- IFBB Pro Fouad Abiad (2006) and IFBB Pro Frank McGrath (2003) -- guest-posed at the first annual OPA Fouad Abiad Open Bodybuilding Championships (October 8)
in Windsor, Ontario. Big Texan IFBB Pro Branch Warren (winner of the Arnold Sports Festival's 2011 IFBB Pro Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Bodybuilding Championships) appeared at the 2011 NPC Natural
Northern USA Bodybuilding Championships in Ohio (October 1).
Andrew Oye's Verdict: As I had previously reported, all of the
aforementioned athletes experienced major milestones this year. Heath earned his first Olympia Sandow trophy, defeating 4-time Mr. Olympia IFBB Pro Jay Cutler. Branch Warren suffered a serious injury to his signature quadriceps that
pulled him from contention at Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend. Following a one-year hiatus,
Evan Centopani grabbed his second pro win at the inaugural Flex Pro and
welcomed a newborn, which led him to skip the Mr. Olympia Championships. Steve Kuclo
earned his IFBB Pro card at the USA Championships, after five previous attempts at all the various qualifiers including the NPC Nationals and IFBB North American Championships.
As for our Canadian pros, Frank McGrath made a comeback,
following a serious car collision in 2010, to place at the Tampa Pro,
qualifying to compete at the Olympia for the first time. After competing at the 2011 Arnold Classic, Fouad Abiad suffered an injury that cut his 2011 IFBB Pro League contest season short; hence, it is commendable that, in the same year, he could offer competition opportunities to other athletes by launching his own bodybuilding contest
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