Los Angeles, CA—Toney Freeman and Phil Heath will lead an all-star cast of physiques at the 19th Annual IFBB Iron Man Pro Bodybuilding Championships, set for Saturday, February 16, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Freeman, nicknamed the “X-Man” for his superior shape, is a 6’2″, 275-pounder from Atlanta, Georgia, who has indicated he will return to defend the title he won in 2007. His top opposition could come from Heath known as “The Giftâ€, a 5’9″, 225-pounder from Denver, Colorado. The 27-year-old Heath, a former NPC USA winner, won his first two professional contests in 2006 before taking fifth in the Arnold Classic a year ago.
Other top stars slated to compete include David Henry, a 5’5″ 190-pounder who finished in the top 10 at last year’s Mr. Olympia, Hidetada Yamagishi, the first Japanese bodybuilder ever to grace the Olympia stage, and Troy Alves, who has placed third on two occasions previously at the IM Pro.
Two top rookies who plan to make their pro debut in February are DeShawn Grimez, who won the Heavyweight class at the 2007 USA, and “Sting” Ray Arde, a 5’6″, 210-pounder from San Jose, California who earned pro status by winning the Heavyweight class at the 2005 NPC Nationals.
The event, promoted by Iron Man Magazine Publisher John Balik and National Fitness Productions, gives out $30,000 in prize money, with $15,000 going to the winner. The top five finishers will qualify for the 2008 IFBB Mr. Olympia, set for the last weekend in September in Las Vegas.
The annual “Meet the Pros” segment will take place on Friday, February 15, at the FitExpo hall. There will be a weigh-in, and both members of the media and the audience will be able to query the athletes before meeting them on an individual basis upon its conclusion.
The Men’s Judging will take place on Saturday, February 16, at 10 am; Finals are set for 6:30 pm.
2008 IRONMAN Pro Competitor List:
as of 01-07-08
Toney Freeman, USA
Gustavo Badell, USA
Phil Heath, USA
Silvio Samuel, USA
Troy Alves, USA
Eddie Abbew, UK
Khalid Almohsinawi, USA
Ray Arde, USA
Paco Bautista, Spain
Troy Brown, Canada
Jimmy Canyon, USA
Rodney Davis, USA
Omar Deckard, USA
Alfonso del Rio, Spain
Moe Elmoussawi, USA
Deshaun Grimez, USA
David Henry, USA
Rusty Jeffers, USA
Ken Jones, USA
King Kamali, USA
Vincent Liu, Canada
JoJo Ntiforo, USA
Sergey Ogorodnikov, Russia
Gian Enrico Pica, USA
Armin Scholz, Germany
John Sherman, USA
Denis Sergovskiy, Russia
Mehmet Yildirim, France