Milos Sarcev breaks down the top five biggest threats on the bodybuilding stage in 2021.
Often times after a big competition like the Arnold Classic or Mr. Olympia, we focus on the top five or six placings. These are usually the top tier biggest threats aiming to break ahead for a big win. But it’s important to not discount lower placing pro bodybuilders, especially younger athletes, who show promise and massive room to grow. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Milos Sarcev analyzes the top five biggest up-and-coming threats in 2021 that you may be overlooking.
When looking aheads at 2021 and beyond, it’s often more important to not look at the placings now but where they could be in the future. The best coaches, analysts, and managers see potential before anyone else does. That’s why we asked Milos Sarcev to look past the top placings at the Olympia 2020 and shares his picks for the biggest possible threats in 2021.
While some of these names do end up in the top five placing at this past Olympia, it also opens up to some athletes that are often overlooked by large swaths of bodybuilding fans. An example of this is Shaun Clarida, a Men’s 212 bodybuilder who was often discounted from consideration as a true Olympia threat. After years of retooling his contest prep, he finally shocked audiences with a near-perfect physique and big win at Olympia 2020.
So who can we look towards to bring big upsets in 2021? Milos Sarcev loves this question as he often is looking one or two years ahead rather than who is dominating now. To him the biggest bodybuilders to keep an eye on are Akim Williams, William Bonac, Iain Valliere, Hunter Lebrada, and Maxx Charles.
Most specifically, Milos Sarcev believes that Akim Williams has the most immediate potential to leave a big impression this year. Sarcev finally saw Williams bring in a package that improved in every single way. Not only that – but Williams’ size seems unlimited. After years of ups and downs, it seems Akim Williams might be finally entering a phase of focused improvements. If he can keep it up – he will be one of the biggest threats at the Olympia 2021.
That’s not to say that the other athletes on his list should be slept on. Much has been made about Hunter Labrada. He’s young and might still have some work to do before building the necessary muscle maturity to turn heads. Still, Milos Sarcev points out that Labrada has the genetic build of his father but seems to pack on more size. That’s perfect for the current generation of bodybuilding – and can take him places in the coming year.
Iain Valliere and Maxx Charles are two other athletes that seem to slip and slide through middle placements. But the big thing that Milos Sarcev noticed about both of these athletes are the large strides and improvements they made in 2020. All it takes is one good year to flip the switch on the public consciousness about an athlete. Sarcev believes 2021 might just be that year for these two promising bodybuilders.
Lastly there’s William Bonac. This one goes without saying. Out of everyone on Milos Sarcev’s list, Bonac has already been a consistent threat at the Olympia. He’s placed in the top 5 multiple times. He simply needs that edge to take him over to the finish line. It would be foolish to grow complacent and assume he will forever be a second or third place athlete. With the landscape still changing over these transition years – William Bonac is still someone to watch closely.
You can watch Milos Sarcev go into detail about each of these five threatening bodybuilders in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
