Labrada did not mince his words, but vowed to return better than ever.
2022 Mr. Entering the Olympia, bodybuilder Hunter Labrada understandably had high expectations for himself. After his fourth-place finish in the 2021 edition of the competition, Labrada set his sights on the main throne in Las Vegas, NV, hoping to topple a one-man mountain in former two-time defending champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elsbia. Instead, Labrada failed to beat Elsbia (a feat that eventually fell to first-time champion Hadi Chopan), who fell to seventh in a disappointing finish.
On January 9, 2023, Labrada appeared in a video Iron Worlds A YouTube channel to personally recap the 2022 Olympia journey. He was clearly not happy between performances. Labrada discussed the feelings behind it and hinted at what’s next as he looks to rebound in 2023.
Labrada’s seventh-place result at the 2022 Olympia bothered him so much that he stayed away from social media platforms to avoid being embroiled in any discussion about the competition. Additionally, the athlete usually makes a point of regularly sharing some type of training or nutrition video on their YouTube channel. At the time of this writing, he hasn’t posted anything there since December 23, 2022.
“I stay away from social media,” Labrada said. “I have not shot YouTube videos. I’m looking at my family and friends and staying to myself because it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone now, but I didn’t do what I planned to do at Olympia this year. This is my first time unpacking it. ”
Because he was ranked seventh and the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) with recent changes in its qualification system, Labrada no longer has an automatic berth at the 2023 Olympia. As a result, he shared that he hopes to earn his keep and compete in at least two sanctioned IFBB Pro League events before the next Olympia. She did not share what competitions she aims to compete in before the 2023 Olympia in November 2023 in Orlando, FL.
Perhaps more importantly, Labrada revealed that she will use the new competitive opportunities to try and figure out where she stands physically after something went awry in her final Olympia prep.
” … Be that as it may, if I win the first one [contests), which I am going to do,” Labrada said. “The fact of the matter is I need to figure my peak out. We have a very good idea of where we went wrong in those final five days.”
Despite his most recent shortcoming, Labrada seemed optimistic about the future. As much as his 2022 Olympia performance bothered him, he has his eye on the prize in 2023.
“I’m really confident heading into this year,” Labrada said. I”n addition to that confidence heading into this year, I’m [expletive] Angry, man. I kept this timer in my gym and worked out every day for 342 days since last year’s Olympia. [2021] To this Olympia. I came up short. Plain and simple. It fell short of what I wanted to do. At the end of the day, it’s something I’ve always preached throughout my prep, it’s all about keeping your peace of mind.
Regardless of what lies ahead for Labrada, his positive mindset will serve him well. They can turn their apparent shame about what happened at the 2022 Olympia into a focused, quality force as motivation.
“It’s how you react to adversity that really makes you,” Labrada said. “I’ll never forget it [expletive] That first callout was called and I felt like I didn’t belong. How many people know that before God. ” … I’m going to show you a much different hunter at the two pro shows I do and at the Olympia because I’m going to qualify this year.”
Featured Image: @hunterlabrada on Instagram
