Nashville's Brandon Curry hopes to win second Mr. Olympia contest

Mike Organ, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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Former Hunters Lane and Middle Tennessee State football player Brandon Curry hopes to win his second Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding title Saturday in Las Vegas.

The 58th annual competition will take place at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas strip and broadcast on pay-per-view. Prejudging begins at 9 a.m. with the finals set for 7 p.m.

Curry, 40, won the world's biggest bodybuilding competition in 2019, then finished second in 2020 and 2021.

Former Hunters Lane and MTSU football player Brandon Curry, who lives in Murfreesboro, won the 2019 Mr. Olympia and finished runner-up in 2020 and 2021.
Former Hunters Lane and MTSU football player Brandon Curry, who lives in Murfreesboro, won the 2019 Mr. Olympia and finished runner-up in 2020 and 2021.

"I'm feeling good, been pretty chill since I've been here," Curry said Thursday. "It's been a good prep so far. For me it's about time. This year I put more time in for this preparation just to make sure I come in with a better package than in previous seasons."

Curry said the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to limit his preparation in the last two Olympias. He was able not only to get back to his regular routine, but add to it.

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"I've been able to put in more offseason time, been able to put on more muscle, more quality," Curry said. "So we're going to bring that to the stage and dance with (Mamdough "Big Ramy" Elssbiay)."

Elssbiay, 38, won the last two Mr. Olympias. He finished runner-up in 2017.

"I try to come better every year," Elssbiay said. "To me that's the most important goal."

Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford from Iran, Nick Walker from Pine Hill, New Jersey and William Bonac from Ghana, are also expected to contend. Bonac finished second behind Curry in 2019 and fifth in 2020. Choopan finished third in 2021.

Curry is 5-foot-8, 255 pounds with a 48-inch chest, 21-inch biceps and 34-inch waist. Elssbiay is 5-9, 295 pounds with a 54-inch chest, 24-inch biceps and 36-inch waist.

Curry lives in Nashville and trains in Kuwait.

He was a 145-pound wingback and cornerback at Hunters Lane who won the 2000-01 Hume Award, which the Nashville Kiwanis awards to the area's top high school football player.

He walked on the football team at MTSU and left after his freshman season to concentrate on bodybuilding career. He graduated from MTSU with a degree in exercise science.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Brandon Curry hopes to win second Mr. Olympia contest