It was just a few years ago that Roelly Winklaar was being spoken about as the next great pro bodybuilder. The youngster burst onto the scene by placing seventh at the 2010 Arnold Classic in his first show on the big stage. Then he took third at the Australian Grand Prix and won the New York Pro, putting himself on the map in a bold way heading into the Olympia.

But Winklaar seemed to be way overmatched two years ago in Las Vegas and placed 14th. That set him in a downward spiral that the native of the Netherlands has yet to fully recover from.

In 2011, he fell to eighth at the Arnold and then had three consecutive top-three placings, albeit against much lighter line-ups, at the British Grand Prix, Mr. Europe and FIBO Power Pro. A true test awaited in Manhattan, and the defending champion went out without a bang and a ninth place finish.

So far this year, Winklaar has placed fourth at both the PBW Tampa Pro and Europa SuperShow, with both shows being wide open and ripe for the taking. So now it comes down to one last opportunity to make things right and get an automatic qualification for the Olympia by winning the last contest before the main one in September.

On Saturday, September 8, the IFBB Nordic Pro Championships take place in Lahti, Finland and the line-up is one that will be very competitive. In addition to Winklaar, Ronny Rockel and Todd Jewel will also be vying for the winner’s check. Here are the complete line-ups:

Tagged with: Arnold Classic, Australian Grand Prix, Automatic Qualification, Bodybuilder, British Grand Prix, Burst, Defending Champion, Downward Spiral, Europa Supershow, ifbb, Jewel, Lahti Finland, Last Chance, Line Ups, Olympia, Pbw, Ronny Rockel, True Test, Ups, Youngster

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