Khazaei, who is the first and only professional bodybuilding judge of NPC in Iran, officiated at the Basra event at the official invitation of the Mr. Olympia authorities.
Two Jordanian judges were among the two other members of the panel of judges in the event held in Iraqi city of Bara on September 12-13, 2026.
This is Khazaei’s 15th judgment in NPC bodybuilding competitions.
According to invitations, Khazaei will officiate at NPC Worldwide Tbilisi on September, 25. He will officiate in a NPC event in Armenia on October 3, then in Oman on October 22, 2026.
The Iranian judge will officiate in Tunisia on November 14, 2026. All of these event are prerequisite for prestigious event Mr. Olympia.
Akbar Khazaei started his journey as a champion athlete and was a coach of numerous champions at the professional global level. His career saw him rise to positions such as one of the coaches of the Iranian national fitness team, advisor to Yazdan Rad (the federation’s first head and secretary), board member of the Bodybuilding Federation’s Judges Commission, and judge for both the IFBB (global) and ABBF (Asian) federations; ultimately, in 2022, he became the first and only professional bodybuilding judge from Iran within the Mr. Olympia organization.
