2012 FLEX Pro Bodybuilding: Beyeke Wins!

A year ago, Lionel Beyeke emerged as one of the up-and-comers in the IFBB Professional League. On Saturday night at the 2012 FLEX Pro, he took the next step.
 

Displaying his traditional full, round muscle bellies and unparalleled shape, Beyeke improved upon his conditioning just enough to win the first contest of his three-year pro career with straight firsts on the scorecards. The 30-year-old Frenchman stepped on stage weighing 260 pounds, five more than he did last year. Beyeke also became the first competitor of the year to qualify for the 2012 Olympia. Under the revised IFBB rules, only one competitor from the FLEX Pro qualified to compete at the Mr. Olympia.

“I qualified for the Olympia last year to put on more size and come back better, and I did it,” Beyeke said. “This was the first step, and now I’m focusing on the Arnold [Classic].”

The race for second proved to be one of the marquee matchups of the contest, between Canadians Ben Pakulski and Fouad Abiad. Abiad held a three-point lead after the morning prejudging, but seemed to fade by the finals. Pakulski, on the other hand, got harder from the morning to night and beat out Abiad by two points for the runner-up spot.

Shawn Rhoden (4th) and Eduardo Correa (5th) rounded out the top five. Moving up from the 212 division, Correa was the most conditioned competitor in the contest. But his 217 pounds weren’t enough to outmuscle Rhoden.

 
Go here to see the galleries and final results!