2019 Bikini Olympia champion and 2020 Bikini International winner Elisa Pecini is out of the 2024 Bikini International contest, slated for the weekend of March 1-3, 2024, as a part of the Arnold Sports Festival (ASF) and the 2024 Bikini International UK event on March 15-17, 2024. Pecini revealed on her Instagram that she was recently hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain that was determined to be caused by appendicitis.
The IFBB Pro Bikini competitor underwent emergency surgery that appears to have been successful. Pecini’s Instagram post, which included a photo of her from her hospital bed, can be seen below. Despite no longer competing in either 2024 Arnold contest, Pecini remains optimistic about her competitive future:
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To focus on recovery and health, unfortunately, I won’t be at Arnold’s anymore, but now I’m sure I won’t have any more pain in other preps.
Pecini’s most recent onstage appearance was at the 2023 Bikini Olympia in Orlando, FL, where she placed fifth. Jennifer Dorie won her second Bikini Olympia title on that stage.
Pecini is a past Olympia champion within the last five years (2019), so she is automatically qualified to compete in the 2024 Olympia Weekend on Oct. 10-13, 2024, in Las Vegas, NV. There was no word on if or when she will be cleared to compete again at the time of this article’s publication.
With Pecini out of the lineup for both Arnold contests, 11 athletes remain on the roster to compete in Columbus and 19 to take the stage in Birmingham two weeks later. The updated rosters for both contests are below:
Bikini International (USA) Roster
Rhoda Allie
Vania Auguste
Tamekia Carter
Ivanna Escandar
Eli Fernandez
Ottavia Mazza
Amanda Marques Pereira
Angelica Teixeira
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Bikini International UK Roster
Vania Auguste
Tameika Carter
Marie-Eve Duchesneau
Ivanna Escandar
Eli Fernandez
Tara Grier
Phoebe Hagan
Tatiana Lanovenko
Lucia Malavaze
Alice Marchisio
Ottavia Mazza
Ndeye Ndour
Lisa Reith
Priscila Rodrigues
Angelica Teixeira
Cristobalina Pajares Torres
All seven pro divisions of the Arnold Classic will be streamed live for free, courtesy of ADL Live.
Featured Image: @isapecini on Instagram
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