The 2023 Toronto Pro will be Valliere’s first competitive appearance on stage during the 2023 calendar year. More importantly, the Canadian native will attempt to use the contest to qualify for the 2023 Mr. Olympia in Orlando, FL, in early November.

After the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) made changes to the Olympia qualification system, Valliere — who finished in 11th place in the Men’s Open division at the 2022 iteration of the flagship contest — has no choice but to win a significant competition to compete in the Olympia again in 2023. Only past winners in any Olympia division, along with top-five finishers in the previous edition, have automatic qualification. Competitors like Valliere need outright wins in any of the sanctioned IFBB contests during the lead-up to this year’s event.

This relatively new obstacle shouldn’t necessarily be an issue for Valliere. The athlete won his only other non-Olympia 2022 contest, the 2022 Vancouver Pro. Per his page on NPC News Online, the athlete can count a number of other notable IFBB victories from his career. They include wins in the 2020 New York Pro, the 2021 Tampa Pro, and the 2021 Texas Pro.

At this stage of Valliere’s professional outlook, the main place he’s likely seeking more success is on stage at the Mr. Olympia. Valliere made his Olympia debut in 2018, where he finished 14th. His best-ever results at the competition remain his two back-to-back seventh-place finishes in 2020 and 2021.

Valliere has previously made headlines for training Chris Bumstead, the reigning four-time Classic Physique Olympia champion (2019-2022). The pair mutually parted ways when Bumstead began working with coach Hany Rambod in the fall of 2022. In terms of opinions on the overall bodybuilding sphere, Valliere stated in February 2023 that he believes the Olympia should be more streamlined, advocating for the removal of the 212 division.

While seasoned, Valliere might not be one of the biggest stars on paper in the modern bodybuilding pantheon. Bringing his ripped legs to a potential win in the 2023 Toronto Pro, followed by customary preparation for improvement at the 2023 Olympia, might go a long way to putting the athlete back on the map.

Featured image: @iainvalliere on Instagram

The post Iain Valliere Reveals Shredded Legs as He Preps For 2023 Toronto Pro appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On Feb. 2, 2023, Valliere appeared in a podcast episode with Fouad Abiad Media, discussing some of the latest pertinent bodybuilding topics like the 2023 Arnold Classic. Among the more notable revelations was that the 2022 Vancouver Pro champion believes the 212 division should no longer be a viable professional division.

As standards for training and quality nutrition continue to grow, Valliere professed that he doesn’t see a place for 212 bodybuilders in the long run. He maintained that recent successful examples of 212 competitors like Derek Lunsford and Shaun Clarida, who have transitioned to and competed well in the Men’s Open, demonstrate that there isn’t much of a need for the 212 anymore.

As such, the athlete said the division’s existence is redundant and that it should be absorbed into the Men’s Open.

“If a 175 or 180-pound Shaun [Clarida] comes in and is beating 290-pound, 6-feet guys, you really have no [expletive] case for keeping the 212 [division], to be honest.” Valliere said. “Because I still think the guys that are really [expletive] driven to be the best, would stick out a few years of getting [expletive] on if they believed in their heart. Like the Derek’s (Lunsford] of the world, would have stuck that [expletive] out and been in the Men’s Open and would have ended up where they are.” 

After receiving pushback and counterarguments from his fellow podcasters, including retired 212 bodybuilder Guy Cisternio and retired Men’s Open competitor Fouad Abiad, Valliere made a reasonable analogy between basketball and bodybuilding, pointing out how the cream usually rises to the top without accommodations.

“That’s the same thing as saying guys that are, like, 5-foot-10 shouldn’t pursue basketball and that we should make a shorter net for the guys that are shorter. It’s stupid.” Valliere explained. “With 212, I just think a lot of those guys could end up in the [Men’s] Open just like it used to be, and be fine.”

Ultimately, to Valliere, nixing the 212 division is about the more talented athletes winning out and allowing them to compete in the most elite circumstances.

“No matter how much I train, I’m not going to be as big as Ramy [Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay] or as fast as Usain Bolt,” Valliere said. “Some guys won’t be as good as Derek [Lunsford], some guys won’t be as tall as Yao Ming, it’s just the [expletive] reality. People are not all created equally and just because they aren’t, it doesn’t mean we should fill the gap.” 

Valliere might have a right to possess his strong opinion on the future of the 212, but, at the time of this writing, competitive organizers don’t appear to have any meaningful plans toward falling in lockstep with his idea.

As for Valliere’s individual exploits, the Men’s Open bodybuilder is coming off an 11th-place finish at the 2022 Mr. Olympia. According to NPC News Online, the result was the second-lowest of his career, with a 14th-place finish at the 2018 iteration standing as his worst. To this day, Valliere’s best Mr. Olympia output was back-to-back placings in seventh in 2020 and 2021.

With the 2023 competitive season still in its early stages, if he qualifies for the contest, he’ll undoubtedly be seeking a rebound during the 2023 edition, November 3-5 in Orlando, FL.

Featured image: @iainvalliere on Instagram

The post Iain Valliere Believes the 212 Division Should No Longer Exist in Bodybuilding appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The latest chance to punch a potential ticket to Las Vegas this December was the 2022 Vancouver Pro. This contest — which occurred in British Columbia, Canada, on July 17, 2022 — featured six divisions between men’s and women’s competitors. By its end, it served as a quality jumping-off point for athletes like Men’s Open winner Iain Valliere. Valliere qualified for the 2022 Mr. Olympia on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV, thanks to his win. 

Here’s a rundown of the Men’s Open results from the 2022 Vancouver Pro:

2022 Vancouver Pro Results | Men’s Open

1. Iain Valliere
2. Antoine Vaillant
3. Hossein Kalate
4. Jonas Giatras
5. Seth Engman
6. Martin Hernandez
7. Chris Buhr
8. Afandonougbo Thierry
9. Kook Kwang Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

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According to NPC News Online, Valliere’s win in the Vancouver Pro is the fifth victory of his professional career. It also marks the Canadian athlete’s first appearance at a sanctioned contest since a seventh place result in the Men’s Open category at the 2021 Mr. Olympia. After showing off his latest work with his strength, muscle, and conditioning, Valliere will get the chance to topple some potential peers like Hadi Choopan, Nick Walker, and Hunter Labrada at the 2022 Mr. Olympia. 

Other Men’s Winners 

While every division victor earned automatic qualification for the 2022 Mr. Olympia, it’s worth noting that the 2022 Vancouver Pro is a Tier 4 competition under the IFBB Pro League’s standards. A Tier 4 contest has the least weighted points for second through fifth-place finishers. Even then, the athletes who didn’t win in British Columbia but still performed relatively well earned valuable points toward their season totals. Those could come in handy with individual qualifications for the Mr. Olympia. 

The top three athletes in each Olympia division at the end of the qualification period on November 20, 2022, earn places in the competition. 

Here are the results for the other Men’s divisions at the 2022 Vancouver Pro:

Classic Physique

1. Chen Kang
2. John Le
3. Adam Beveridge
4. Cody Amey
5. Issac Baier
6. Ethan Gohari
7. Aaron Aramini
8. David Anthony Tassin
9. Kellen Wilson
10. Cyril Gascon

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Men’s Physique

1. Charjo Grant
2. Josh Bridgman
3. Xezekiel Afanou
4. Taylor Wilson
5. Akbar Sarbaz Sarkhanlo
6. Isaias Paez Martinez
7. Shahin Zolfaghari
8. Daniel Tomas
9. A.J. Ellison
10. Gurjinder Virk

Women’s Division Winners

The three women to take advantage with their respective wins were Abby Bolton (Fitness), Valerie Ratelle (Figure), and Susana Aramayo (Bikini). 

Here are the results for each of the three Women’s divisions:

Fitness

1. Abby Bolton
2. Noemie Champagne-Cloutier
3. Danielle DaCosta

Figure

1. Valerie Ratelle
2. Dalila Xochilt Alegria
3. Brittany Offers
4. Jennifer Reece
5. Mandy Urner
6. Melissa Cech
7. Kim Clark
8. Spomenka Miller-Stanic

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bikini

1. Susana Aramayo
2. Shelby Pierce
3. Laura Ziv
4. Tessa Barresi
5. Karen Wall
6. Elizabeth Yizrael
7. Maxine Somov
8. Ayleen Santander
9. Taryn Flanagan
10. Catherine Daniel

One of the next major IFBB contests will be the 2022 Texas Pro. The Tier 4 contest that might as a showcase for athletes like Joe Mackey will take place on August 12-13, 2022, in Irving, Texas. 

Featured image: @iainvalliere on Instagram

The post 2022 Vancouver Pro Results — Iain Valliere Leads the Way appeared first on Breaking Muscle.