After a bodybuilding career that took him around the globe, International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League athlete Hadi Choopan has had one competitive goal of late. With two podium finishes in the last three Mr. Olympia contests — the only contest Choopan has participated in since December 2019 — the Iranian athlete appears ready to finally break through on the biggest stage.
On June 21, 2022, Choopan showed off a massive, ripped physique as his training for the 2022 Mr. Olympia starts to ramp up in earnest. His evident combination of raw strength, impressive muscles, and top-notch conditioning could help take him across the finish line this time around. The 2022 Mr. Olympia will take place on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Everything You Need To Know About How To Burn Fat]
The 34-year-old Choopan has been a professional bodybuilder in some capacity for nearly a decade. He began his career by winning a silver medal at the 2012 World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) World Championships. Choopan followed that with a gold medal at the 2013 WBPF Asia Championships. That same year he started an eventual three-peat at the WBPF Worlds (2013-2015).
Since Choopan’s initial stellar flourishes in posing trunks, it’s been full steam ahead for one of men’s bodybuilding’s top athletes. Here’s a rundown of some of his more noteworthy career results, according to NPC News Online:
Hadi Choopan | Noteworthy Career Results
- 2017 Mr. Olympia Amateur (Open) — First place
- 2017 IFBB Asia Grand Prix (212) — Second place
- 2017 IFBB San Marino Pro (Open) — Second place
- 2018 IFBB Portugal Pro (212) — First place
- 2019 IFBB Vancouver Pro (Open) — First place
- 2019 Mr. Olympia (Open) — Third place
- 2020 Mr. Olympia (Open) — Fourth place
- 2021 Mr. Olympia (Open) — Third place
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Mapping Out Muscle Gain]
A Contested Moment
While Choopan looks poised to finish his long climb to the top of the Mr. Olympia mountain, it’ll be a tall order in the Men’s Open division. At the time of this writing, the pool of competitors includes two-time reigning champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay (2020-2021) as well as former winner Brandon Curry (2019). Choopan probably shouldn’t discount rising stars such as Hunter Labrada (2021 fourth place) and Nick Walker (2021 fifth place), either.
With each of these athletes attempting to put their best physique forward, a second consecutive podium finish would likely still be a noteworthy achievement. Given Choopan’s recent results, that doesn’t appear to be where the Iranian athlete wants to settle.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Deloading 101: What Is A Deload And How Do You Do It?]
Notably, if the 34-year-old Choopan comes out victorious, he would fall relatively in line age-wise with two of his primary peers in Elssbiay and Curry.
Elssbiay won his first Mr. Olympia in 2020 at the age of 35. Meanwhile, Curry captured his first Olympia title in 2019 at age 36. If anything, a title for Choopan now could be slightly ahead of contemporary history. For this elite bodybuilder, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia will occur on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
Featured image: @hadi_choopan on Instagram
