"Hell no" - Milos Sarcev dismisses Masters Olympia return in 2023

Milos Sarcev is a former professional bodybuilder who won the Mr. Universe title winner in 1989. He was a well-known individual in the bodybuilding community. Even after stepping off the stage, he continued his involvement in the sport by taking part in discussions regarding bodybuilding.

The Masters Olympia is making its return this year after a gap of 11 years. The competition is set to be held from August 25 to 27 at the BTArena in Cluj Napoca, Romania. With the return of the Masters Olympia being a rumor in recent years, Olympia President Jake Wood announced in 2022 that the Masters Olympia will be returning in 2023.

Bodybuilders in the 45+ age category can compete in the Men's Open division of Masters Olympia. Several fans have started anticipating which of the former bodybuilders could be making their comeback for the Masters Olympia. In a video posted on February 8, 2023, on Muscular Development Magazine's YouTube channel, Milos Sarcev was involved in an interaction with Giles Thomas, the host of the show.

Milos Sarcev replied with a strong no when asked whether he would be returning for the Masters Olympia. The former Mr. Universe title winner said,

"They are going to say, okay, if I'm coming back after 10 years of not competing, and I want to be impressive, I don't want them to have a bad last picture of me. I want to impress them. I wanna to go out on my shield. I'm going to bring it. I hate it. I already said it. They're probably not going to like it. They asked me if you would compete, hell no!"

Milos Sarcev further continued,

"Why would I push myself to those limits, I know what it took to get there, right? You want to see me, and you expect old Milos or you expect old whoever - so, a guy like Kamal (Elgargni) yes, the show is made for him."

The former Mr. Universe further stated that if some of the former bodybuilders make a comeback for the Masters Olympia, they will be a shadow of themselves. Milos Sarcev said,

"He's (Kamal Elgargni) already doing it (competing). If you're already competing and you happen to be over 40 or 50, Masters is a kind of a good contest. But if you're doing a Masters, and everybody is, 'Oh, Chris Cormier, Jay Cutler, whoever else, come in, it's Masters,' hell no. I don't want to see them compete. Why would I want to see them compete, they're gonna be shadows of themselves."

Milos Sarcev looks completely firm in his decision not to compete in the Masters Olympia. The former bodybuilder claimed his training partner Sonny Schmidt had won the Masters Olympia once. Milos Sarcev continued,

"Okay, I understand. That was my thinking, was guys over 40 but then, you see they have a Masters over 50, Masters over 60, they have nationals here, Masters over 70 and 80. For the love of God. You guys are quite loud in expressing your opinion, not you (Giles Thomas) but media, oh this is dangerous, bodybuilders are dying because we use steroids and you know its dangerous, but now you want to encourage old men at the age of 50 plus to pushing like back when they were younger."

With Jay Cutler and Milos Sarcev not making their return to the Masters Olympia, we have to wait until April 24, 2023 to see who the competitors at the Masters Olympia are because the list of selected athletes will be revealed on that date.

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Who are the past winners of the Masters Olympia?

With the Masters Olympia starting in 1994, we have had several champions in the past, such as Vince Taylor and Dexter Jackson. Here is the list of past winners of the Masters Olympia, as mentioned in BarBend:

1. Robby Robinson - 1994
2. Sonny Schmidt - 1995
3. Vince Taylor - 1996
4. Vince Taylor - 1997
5. Vince Taylor - 1999
6. Vince Taylor - 2000
7. Vince Taylor - 2001
8. Don Youngblood - 2002
9. Claude Groulx - 2003
10. Dexter Jackson - 2012

After the 2003 edition of the competition, the Masters Olympia was on an eight-year hiatus, according to BarBend. The show was once again held in 2012. It's been 11 years since the last Masters Olympia and this year we're set to witness the return of the Masters Olympia.