Olympia 2026: And NEW or And STILL?!

Welp, it's that time of the year again: The Olympia is upon us, the biggest event of the year for the bodybuilding industry. If you make this stage, you have made it as a bodybuilder as not everyone gets to grace the Olympia stage, no matter how much they want to. Personal issues have kept me from making a better predictions post this year, but I will at least post who I feel will leave Las Vegas as the best of their respective divisions.

Ms. Olympia...And STILL

The field is pretty small this year (Visa issues kept some competitors from making the trip) but it doesn't make it any less exciting. While Andrea Shaw looked great and won the Rising Phoenix a few weeks ago, it wasn't the dominant victory that folks expected. In fact, some have said that this might be the year Andrea gets beaten at the O. However, she will be going into this show with some extra motivation: She revealed in the Olympia press conference today that her mom is currently in the ICU. Andrea is doing the show for her. I truly believe her dedicating this show to her mom is what is going to propel her to another Olympia title, but we all know that is not going to be the most important thing on her mind this weekend. On behalf of not just FitGems Nation but all of the bodybuilding community, our thoughts and prayers out to Andrea's mom and we are hoping for a safe recovery.

Women's Physique Olympia...And STILL

There is no rivalry in the female muscle world right now bigger than Natalia Coelho and Sarah Villegas. Natalia is the current champion and apparently that really got under Sarah's skin so much that posted a video a month heading into this show about PMMA allegations. I felt that was a low brow, bush league move. You lost last year, just be better than her this year ON THE STAGE. Prove you're the better woman ON THE STAGE. The fact that Natalia would rather do her talking ON THE STAGE shows me that she has what it takes to repeat...which I feel she will. 

Fitness Olympia...And NEW

This field feels different without names such as Whitney Jones, Ariel Khadr, Missy Truscott (now in figure), Oksana Grishina, and Tamara Vahn, but different doesn't mean boring because the fitness division is anything BUT boring. Michelle Mensah had a great showing last year, shocking the world wining the Fitness Olympia and continuing her hot streak earlier this year winning the Arnold Classic US and UK Fitness titles. On paper, she has a great chance to repeat, but something about Jaclyn Baker leads me to believe this is finally her year to shine. She has been runner-up for quite some time and she has only focus on one show this year, the Olympia, and I truly feel we will see the best version of Jaclyn yet and will finally win the big one.

Figure Olympia...And STILL

Ever since the higher-ups announced the changes to how figure would be rewarded, there have been some surprising results in the later part of the year, sending a message to those that just relied on size and conditioning that they will be penalized for it. However, they are trying to let competitors know that Rhea Gayle is what they are looking for in figure. She represented the best of the figure division last year, and based off their criteria they are trying to enforce, I don't see why Rhea can't repeat this year. With them getting each competitors weights and heights for potential caps in the division, figure might be overgoing quite a change come next season. The top 6 is something to keep an eye on this year.

Bikini Olympia...And NEW

Maureen Blanquisco returned to the stage last year and out-of-nowhere reclaimed the Bikini Olympia title. Her first was in 2022. Maureen definitely has what it takes to repeat but there is this thing called momentum...and to me, no one has moment in that division right now quite like Ashley Kaltwasser. Coming off an unprecedented 60th pro win, this will be Ashley's 98th show (just two shy out of doing 100 pro shows). I'm well aware she has not won the big one since 2015, but over the last few years, she has come extremely close to winning the big one again. It's not luck that she has 60 pro wins, and I truly feel she will put together the right package to win her 4th Olympia title.

Wellness Olympia...And NEW

As I mentioned earlier with bikini, momentum is a real thing, especially with competition. To me, the one that has is the most is the current Arnold Classis US and UK Wellness Champion Rayane Fogal. Many thought she was borderline figure due to her impressive upper body, but this year, she finally found the right balance she needed to truly challenge for the title of top wellness champion. 

Fit Model Olympia...And INARGUAL

This weekend someone will join the likes of Rachel McLish, Dana Linn Bailey, Mia Finnegan, Jenny Lynn, Sonia Gonazlez, and Francielle Mattos as the inaugural champion of a division. I can honestly say that I have not followed fit model as closely as the other divisions so I have no real opinion on it at the moment, but thanks to BTS TV, they did a great job putting together not only a list of the competitors but their total number of shows, their wins, and their top 3 placings. Based off that and that alone, I'm going to choose Faithlyn Derla. She has competed eight times and in those eight times, she won a show, was a runner-up in 2 shows, and placed 3rd in 3 shows. Her track record is among the best of the competitors, But whoever is the winner here not only makes HERstory, but will set the tone for this new division going forward, and that is definitely something to get excited about.

So there you have it, a condensed version of how I think the Olympia will go down this year. Since the Olympia will be FREE to stream this year (shoutout to the sponsors who made that possible) I will definitely be watching and making post-show posts on here sometime next week. To sign up for the free Olympia livestream if you haven't done so already, go to OlympiaProductions.com. It will take you less than 30 seconds to do it. Best of luck to everyone competing this year in Vegas!

Christine Pomponio: The Return of the Original Petite Giant?

2026 has been an eventful year for Christine Pomponio...good and not-so-good. We won't post them here out of respect for her, but they are serious enough for her to not do Petite USA (a pageant she has done since 2022) nor will she defend her Ms. Elite Universal Global USA title. However, on her social media post on July 7, she mentioned that she was not done with the pageant world...but also alluded to stepping back on the IFBB stage for the first time in 2 decades. She has KINDA brought it up here and there but for the first time in YEARS, Christine has really sounded more willing to dust off the clear heels and run it back one more time. We've been rooting for this for a while, as you can see in a previous post we made, but it looks like in 2027 or 2028, we might be getting our wish to see one of the original figure queens back on a physique stage. 

Here is what she said on her Instagram and Facebook regarding a potential run-back on the IFBB stage as well as also continuing to be part of the pageant world as well:

To be honest, I am highly considering also getting on stage once again returning to Fitness competitions. Being an IFBB professional fitness competitor, I am getting the desire to return, it has been 19 years since I became pregnant and thought that my winning streak and fitness journey for years was over. However, I am not yet finished with the pageant side of my career either.

Christine in her three Olympia appearances (2004-2006)

Let's be real...who says she can't do both? Definitely not us! There have been quite a few pageant women that have also stepped on physique stages in the same year and have done quite well in both. They didn't choose one or the other. They were wise in how they trained depending on if they were doing traditional pageants or physique competitions. And Christine?! She has had YEARS of training experience, so she knows what she needs to do, depending on where she wants to step on stage at. And as far as Christine stepping on stage, she has more choices to compete in. She can remain in figure, or she can go for bikini, wellness, or fit model. If the IFBB is something she really wants to do next year, expect her to get her training going at some point this year once she is able to get her ordeals in order. 

Christine's Petite USA appearances (2022-2025)

And for those that have followed us for years, you know we have been Team Christine long before FitGems Nation was even a thing, so best believe we will be keeping you all informed on what she plans to do in 2027 and beyond. For those that can remember, Christine was the first petite woman to dominate the figure division, where being small was a disadvantage, but she was determined to make her height a strength, which she successfully did with a pro win, 2 Figure International appearances (both top 6), and 3 Olympia appearances (top 6 in all of them, with her last one in 2006 being in the top 4). How cool would it be to see the Original Petite Giant return to the IFBB one final time and also how cool would it be for her sons to see how their mother got her name in the first place?! That ALONE is motivation to step back on stage. All we know is 2027 could turn out to be a VERY interesting year one of the First Ladies of Figure...and we can't wait to see how all of this unfolds!

Christine winning the 2005 IFBB Tournament of Champions Pro Figure and 2025 Elite Miss Universal Global USA

For more on Christine, make sure to follow her on Facebook (main page and fan page), Instagram, and Threads.