2023 Masters Olympia prize money announced at $229,000

The return of the Masters Olympia was announced in November last year and is set to take place on August 25-27 in Cluj Napoca, Romania. The competition has been on every fan's mind since its announcement as it will be making an astonishing return after an 11-year hiatus.

The organization recently announced on their Instagram page that they will be setting aside a total of $229,000 in prize money for the event. This has raised quite a few questions on how much is going to be set aside for each division and the actual breakdown of the prize money.

Ever since its establishment, Masters Olympia has only hosted the Men's Open, but this year's edition will see competitors fight it out in all 10 IFBB professional league divisions:

1. Wellness - 40 and above
2. Men’s Physique - 40 and above
3. Figure - 40 and above
4. Women’s Physique - 40 and above
5. Fitness - 40 and above
6. Bikini - 40 and above
7. Men’s Classic Physique - 40 and above
8. Men’s Bodybuilding - 45 and above
9. Men’s 212 - 45 and above
10. Women’s Bodybuilding - 45 and above

The announcement of the prize money was not well received by a few fans on Instagram who expressed their disapproval of the compensation. The main point of contention was the fact that as far as we are aware, the $229,000 will be divided into 10 different divisions at the Masters Olympia. Usually, compensation is given to the top five or at least the top three competitors in each division, which would see the prize money for each event be dissolved.

Fans take to the comments section on a Masters Olympia Instagram post to voice their disapproval of the overall prize money set aside for the 2023 Masters Olympia (Screen grab via Instagram/mastersolympiaofficial)

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History of the Masters Olympia

Age is one of the main limiting factors when it comes to sports. Every athlete, regardless of ability, faces the challenges that come with aging. These include reduced strength, reduced ability to grow muscle, muscular atrophy, and higher rate of injuries. However, the decline in ability is not met with a decline in interest. This is why we often see many athletes still operating at high fitness levels even after retirement.

Bodybuilding is one of the most grueling sports in the world and age affects the sport very directly. Although many older bodybuilders maintain their physique after a certain age, their ability to compete with younger competitors begins to decrease. This simple fact gave birth to the Masters Olympia - a competition where older bodybuilders were given the opportunity to compete against each other on the global stage.

The first edition of the competition took place in 1994 and saw many veterans take the stage to prove to everyone that they still had it in them. Veteran bodybuilder Robby Robinson took the title that year and is now, well into his 70s, still looking like a Greek God.

Since then, many prominent veterans have participated and won the competition, including Chris Dickerson and Vince Taylor. The last Masters Olympia was held in 2012 when Dexter Jackson won the title.

The biggest difference this year is that the event will host all 10 pro divisions instead of hosting just the Men's Open.