IFBB Wings of Strength PBW Tampa Pro An Important Show For Victor Martinez

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: August 8, 2014

For a veteran bodybuilder like Victor Martinez, it is all or nothing unless you compete at the Mr. Olympia. And the Dominican Dominator can qualify for the sport’s most prestigious show with a win this weekend at the Wings of Strength/PBW Tampa Pro, one that he is the heavy favorite to do just that.

The field of 23 competitors also includes the likes of Bill Wilmore, Ben White and Max Charles but none of them are in the same category as Martinez, who at 43 is still a name bantered about as one of the greats. He has only competed once so far in 2014 and placed fourth at the Arnold Classic. Yes, he may even have enough qualification points to make it to Vegas that way, but Martinez certainly doesn’t want to get there as a wild card, per say, and it would be a springboard of sorts if he can pick up the expected win in the Sunshine State.

A year ago, he was coming off a 24-month layoff and placed second to Big Ramy at the New York Pro. Martinez entered the Toronto Pro looking to punch his ticket for the O and did just that with a win. But he was not sharp at The Orleans Arena and did not even make it into the top-10 for the first time in his career.

So looking at it objectively, Martinez’s first step towards correcting that comes on Saturday and he has an impressive Olympia mark with making the pose down in five of the eight trips. With such a top-heavy line-up already committed to the Olympia in its 50^th anniversary year, doing so again will be quite the challenge. But Martinez has been counted out before and always bounces back. No surprise if he does it again.