Big Ramy responds to those who believe he should retire from competition.
Two time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay recently responded to the many fans and critics suggesting he should retire after his performance at the 2023 Arnold Classic. Coming in fourth place at the show, many believe Big Ramy should hang it up and leave competitive bodybuilding behind.
Competitive sports can be truly unforgiving. An athlete puts in countless hours of training and preparation in order to perform at their best at game time. They do all of this grueling prep in order to show fans and pundits alike that they are the very best at what they do. However, if they fall short of greatness they are criticized and at times ridiculed for their efforts. It can be extremely demoralizing.
And it’s exactly where Big Ramy finds himself now.
Arnold Classic Fallout
After taking fourth place at the 2023 Arnold Classic Big Ramy has been told by many fans and critics that he should retire from competition. They believe his drop in placing gives them justification to tell an athlete what they should do with their career. The hubris is truly incredible.
While Big Ramy may not be at his best at recent shows, there’s no right for anyone to tell the two, count ‘em, two-time Mr. Olympia champion what to do. He has beat some of the best bodybuilders in world including fellow Olympia champions Brandon Curry and Phil Heath. Yet dropping a few places means that Big Ramy has no chance at improving and should retire.
Suffice it to say Big Ramy had his own opinion on all the calls of retirement. The former reigning Mr. Olympia shared his thoughts on the criticism in a recent post to social media.
“Hey guys, I need to talk about something today, I had somebody, he – he needs to me to be retired from the bodybuilding world – need me to stop doing any shows anymore. I don’t know this advice for what, I think I did well with shows this year. I think I respected everyone the last 10 years when doing this game, and in the end, I don’t hear about this advice to come to any bodybuilder before. I don’t know why. I don’t know for any reasons. But I think I did well all my life. I think the last show, I did my best and I come in the best version for me. I just need to say that because already I believe in myself and I think that I did well.”
It’s clear that Big Ramy still believes in his own abilities and has every right to.
Not Done Yet
“In the end, I don’t know why this advice comes just – in the end, I respect everyone, but I need to say something: I did this sport because I love it. If someone don’t like me to compete, why didn’t you give this advice for some people before? I don’t know why. But anyways, I will stay – love everyone because it’s my personality like this. I never change it to nobody else because I’ve always said in that way, that is the only way to have a nice life and love the people and respect everyone, thank you.”
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Big Ramy was very classy in his response though it’s obvious the criticism left him a bit perturbed. It’s great that he’s taking it all in stride and is choosing to continue his career on his own terms.
Do you think Big Ramy should retire?
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
