On May 27, 2024, Four-time Mr. Olympia winner Jeremy Buendia announced across social media that he’d re-injured his Achilles tendon, doubling down on trauma suffered earlier in the spring. More importantly, it derails his bodybuilding plans for the remainder of 2024.

“The 2024 competition season looks like a wrap for me,” Buendia told his fans online. “I’m going to focus on setting myself up for a good year next year.”

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Buendia’s reign over the Men’s Physique bodybuilding division ended in 2018. Buendia placed fourth at that year’s Olympia and then took a five-year hiatus from the competition stage — until recently.

In Sept. 2022, Buendia announced his official comeback to the Men’s Physique division. Buendia finished eighth overall at the 2023 Mr. Olympia. It looked like the California native’s star shone again until tragedy struck.

Buendia’s Achilles Heel

On April 18, 2024, Buendia ruptured his Achilles tendon during a “running accident” — “I’m just gonna fight through this,” he remarked at the time. Buendia ultimately received surgical intervention in which doctors attached a portion of a tendon from his toe onto his heel.

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“I’ve been on the couch for the last 40 days,” Buendia said on YouTube. While you might think a torn tissue in a bodybuilder’s lower body might not prohibit them from strength training altogether, the pathology of Achilles injuries varies dramatically:

“The Achilles is the most frequently-ruptured tendon in the human body, yet the [cause or causes] remain poorly understood,” a 2013 article in the journal Musculoskeletal Surgery remarked. (1)

Incidence statistics on the re-rupture rate vary, with the same article noting a four-to-eight percent chance of re-injury in patients who undergo surgery vs. those who don’t.

More recent data from 2022 suggest that some athletes may “return to play” as soon as 16 to 20 weeks after the initial injury. However, that timeline may stretch depending on various recovery factors and the athlete’s sport. (2)

Who Will Win the 2024 Men’s Physique Olympia?

Buendia went to the weight room during his announcement video despite the setback. He performed a modified “pull” workout, including common back exercises like lat pulldowns and modified moves like seated biceps curls with dumbbells. “I haven’t been in the gym in three or four weeks,” he said.

Buendia won’t battle at the 2024 Olympia on Oct. 10 to 13 in Las Vegas, NV. With Buendia down for the count (though he’ll surely keep an eye on his colleagues), reigning Men’s Physique Olympia champion Ryan Terry’s task of defending his title just got a bit easier but not by much.

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Terry finally bagged his first Olympia title in 2023 after eight previous attempts and is the Men’s Physique athlete to beat in Vegas this autumn. Expect Buendia to watch from the audience as Terry contends with the likes of Brandon Hendrickson, Erin Banks, and the many other top bodybuilders who would rather see the Olympia title in their hands than Terry’s — or Buendia’s, for that matter.

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References

Thevendran, G., Sarraf, K.M., Patel, N.K. et al. The ruptured Achilles tendon: a current overview from biology of rupture to treatment. Musculoskelet Surg 97, 9–20 (2013).

LaPrade CM, Chona DV, Cinque ME, et al. Return-to-play and performance after operative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture in elite male athletes: a scoping review. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2022;56:515-520.

Featured Image: @jeremy_buendia on YouTube

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