2023 Japan Pro Bodybuilding Show Preview

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This show features one of the final Men’s Open shows of 2023.

Last updated on November 24th, 2023

The 2023 Japan Pro is set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. It features three IFBB Pro League divisions: Men’s Open, Men’s Physique, and Bikini. The Men’s Open contest is one of the final shows of 2023 for the division. All three divisions will award 2024 Olympia qualifications to their respective winners if they are not qualified before the weekend.

2023 Japan Pro Rosters

The rosters for all three shows are below:

Men’s Open

Pavel Beran (Czech Republic)
Vitor Boff (Brazil)
Alfred Chiriac (Romania)
Roman Fritz (Germany)
Seojin Ham (South Korea)
Yuxuan He (China)
Ho Yeon Jang (South Korea)
Sungeun Jeon (South Korea)
Seungmin Kim (South Korea)
Theo Leguerrier (France)
Katsutoshi Matsusaka (Japan)
Errol Moore (USA)
Derrick Olara (China)
Jung Soo Park (Korea)
Soohyun Park (South Korea)
Jorge Abraham Trejo Reyes (USA)
Joji Sekine (Japan)
Kai Tian (China)
Liang Yan (China)
Morad Zahir (Morocco)
Chengrui Zhang (China)
Dawei Zhou (China)

Men’s Physique

Mohammad Ali (Austria)
Ka King Cheung (HKSAR)
Juxian He (China)
Farouq Ishimoto (Japan)
Chen Jian (China)
Mohammed Afroz Khichi (India)
Jun Ho Lee (South Korea)
Seungmu Lee (South Korea)
Yoon Sung Lee (Korea)
Xin Li (China)
Ryohei Okada (Japan)
Masoud Parviz (Australia)
Puwanat Putoya (Thailand)
Joshua Eng Cherng Shin (Malaysia)
Hong Son (Vietnam)
Jian Song (China)
Jumpei Taguchi (Japan)
Natsuki Takaramura (Japan)
Ryo Terashima (Japan)
Yiming Wei (China)
Xin Xi (China)
Han Yang (China)
Chin-Jui Yu (Taiwan)
Yukihiro Yuasa (Japan)

Bikini

Rena Ajima (Japan)
Uchral Byambatseren (Mongolia)
Xinyi Chen (China)
Karyse Coley (Japan)
Zhao Dong (China)
Aleksandra Duba (Poland)
Yue Gao (China)
Shawn Hektor-Lewis (USA)
Ashley Kaltwasser (USA)
Piranya Kantabut (Thailand)
Tae Rin Kim (Korea)
Asaka Kimura (Japan)
Miharu Kurachi (Japan)
Samantha Kwan (HKSAR)
Wing Shan Amanda Lam (HKSAR)
Cecilia Liang (Taiwan)
Pei Fen Lin (R.O.C)
Bunluek Sanguanlikhitkun (Thailand)
Kerry Sexton (United Kingdom)
Yurika Shigemoto (USA)
Elizaveta Shmulker (Japan)
Regina Tan (Singapore)
Wendy Tsai (R.O.C)
Jiaqi Wei (China)
Chanyu Xu (China)
Josephine Yeong (Malaysia)
Liling Wang (China)
Laura Young (Australia)

Men’s Open Athletes to Watch

Below are three athletes in the Men’s Open likely to contend in first callouts for the Olympia qualification:

Theo Leguerrier

Theo Leguerrier ranked 13th in Orlando, FL’s 2023 Mr. Olympia contest. He won the 2023 Italian Olympus Pro to qualify for the 2023 Olympia. Japan will be his sixth pro contest of 2023. If he wins, he could take a longer offseason to focus on his physique for the 2024 Olympia. If not, he will have to enter and win a pro show before the cutoff date of Sept. 15, 2024.

Roman Fritz

Roman Fritz finished one spot behind Leguerrier in the Olympia. Japan marks Fritz’s 10th pro show appearance. He’s coming off a seventh-place finish at the 2023 Prague Pro, won by Samson Dauda. The 2023 Big Man Weekend Pro winner is looking for the pro second win of his career.

Vitor Boff

This is Vitor Boff’s fourth pro contest of 2023 and might be his best chance to win. His best finish was fourth at the 2023 Legion Sports Fest Pro. He seeks his first pro win and Olympia qualification.

Bikini Division Athletes to Watch

Kaltwasser is always a favorite heading into any show, but here’s her likeliest competition for the crown:

Ashley Kaltwasser

Three-time Bikini Olympia champion Ashley Kaltwasser has already qualified for the 2024 Bikini Olympia thanks to her third-place finish in the 2023 Olympia, her 42nd career win at the 2023 Shawn Ray Hawaiian Classic, and her lifetime Olympia invite as a previous Olympia champion. If she wins in Japan, no Olympia qualification will be awarded.

Yurika Shigemoto

Yurika Shigemoto ranked third in the Shawn Ray Hawaiian Classic and won two shows in 2023. One of those victories was the 2023 Tokyo Pro, held in the same city as this contest. Shigemoto was also in the 2023 Bikini Olympia contest but finished outside the top 15.

Chanyu Xu

Chanyu Xu is coming off a win at the 2023 Korea Pro. She won’t need to win to secure an Olympia invite, but this gives her a chance to stand alongside an elite competitor and another Olympia-caliber athlete. She can test herself against established stars, which could serve as valuable experience for the 2024 Olympia.