I don’t need to remind any of you how Covid turned the entire world upside down this year. Our industry was business as usual until the Arnold Classic weekend in early March, when all hell broke loose. Just a week later, the Arnold Classic Australia was cancelled, which would be the first of many events to be either postponed by months or not held at all. Jake Wood had just bought the Olympia from AMI and reinstated the Ms. Olympia. Promoter Dan Solomon had brought the Olympia back to the Las Vegas strip at Planet Hollywood. Hopes were high, but uncertainty was rampant. Soon the most prestigious event in our sport was moved from its traditional September date to December. The doubters were out in force all over social media. “There’s no way they are having the Olympia this year,” was a common refrain. But Wood, Solomon, and the rest of the crew were determined that the show would go on, and they forged ahead. At the eleventh hour, restrictions in the state of Nevada regarding public gatherings were still limiting capacities even for large venues to a mere 250 people. The Olympia team made the bold decision to pick up stakes and move the show to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, where 2,500 fans would be able to spectate our sport’s most prestigious contest. Ironically, the last time the Olympia was held in Orlando was in 1991, when Lee Haney won his eighth title and announced his retirement at just 31 years old. Now, as the mega event looms on the horizon, let’s look at the top contenders in this year’s ultimate muscle showdown.