Juan Morel | The Growing Threat - Can He Crack Top 6?
Juan Morel The Growing Threat
Can He Crack Top Six?
Poll
Will Juan crack the top six
Will he place out of top six
For most of the 28 contenders at this year's 2015 Mr. Olympia contest, being staged in Las Vegas next September 18th and 19th, the priority will be to peak in 100% condition. The truth is most of the line-up are maxed out in terms of accumulating more muscle; for them its case of refining what they’ve got instead of adding to what they’ve got. However there are several exceptions: For instance Big Ramy, William Bonac and Juan Morel.
For Morel in particular he has improved year by year since winning his pro card by taking the superheavyweight and overall titles at the 2011 North Americans. Indeed he has moved ominously forward each season somewhat like a freight train that perfectly complements his Diesel moniker.
Born in New York on April 2, 1982, he is the son of Dominican Republic parents. How fitting then that by the time he turned pro he was training at the Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, Long Island, also known as the East Coast Mecca, run by bodybuilding’s power couple Bev Francis and Steve Weinberger. There he hooked up with his “brothers” sharing the same Dominican Republic heritage, Victor Martinez and Jon DeLaRosa, who also worked out of the Francis/ Weinberger emporium.
A TALE OF NEW YORK
Maybe the best barometer or Juan’s career and progress is to chart his experiences at the New York Pro. In 2012 he finished fourth at that contest and later that year won the Battle of The Champions. In 2013 he moved up to third in the Big Apple soirée and a year later was runner-up to Big Ramy. Then in May of this year he won the event, in the process beating out his former mentor and very close friend Victor Martinez. As stated earlier he is still getting better. Pictures released in the last few weeks show him to be bigger, sharper and more shapely.
Another bonus is that, compared to most of his peers, he is still relatively fresh. He is 33 which anyway is youngish for present-day pros. But in training years he is even younger. His first ever bodybuilding contest was the 2007 East Cost Championships where he placed second in the light heavies at 198 pounds. Throughout his career he has been pretty sharp in learning from the best while still making his own decisions and has unusually taken charge of his own destiny as regards contest prep.
In 2012 and 2013 he qualified for the Olympia but chose to bypass both times and finally made his Big O debut in 2014 where he finished tenth. He will walk out for next week’s prejudging with 260 pounds of quality stacked on his 5’11” frame and he looks sure to be more competitive this year. All eyes will be on alert to see whether he can crack the top six at the 51st rendition of Joe Weider’s brainchild. The top six these past several years has been a case of the usual suspects jockeying for position, so can Juan break up that party? “Party” being applicable because one of his favorite phrases when contemplating a bodybuilding contest is, “Now it's a party.” Let’s see if it’s a party next Friday, September 18th.
Let us know via our poll whether Juan Morel will crack the top six, or not, at the 2015 Olympia. And your reasons why.
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