From Olympic champions and rugby players to fighters, bodybuilders and celebrities, 100 contestants entered the arena in Physical 100: Italy hoping to prove they had the ultimate physique.
After eight episodes of gruelling tests of strength, endurance, speed, agility and strategy, the competition has crowned its first winner.
The Italian spin-off of Netflix’s hit South Korean reality competition Physical: 100, locally titled Physical Italia: da 100 a 1, premiered on September 11 and concluded on October 2 with a final battle for the €100,000 prize.
Along the way, some of the competition’s biggest names were eliminated, including Olympic gymnastics champion Jury Chechi, CrossFit star Elisa Fuliano and actor and former rugby player Alvise Rigo.
So who won Physical 100: Italy and what happened in the final challenge?
What is the format of Physical 100?
In the show, 100 men and women known for their physical prowess compete in a series of challenges. There are no separate men’s and women’s categories, meaning contestants can compete directly against each other regardless of gender.
For Physical 100: Italy, the contestants range in age from 22 to 60 and come from a variety of sporting backgrounds. Netflix said more than 1,000 potential contestants were interviewed before the final 100 were selected.
The line-up takes in Olympians, MMA fighters, bodybuilders, CrossFit and Hyrox athletes, as well as competitors from swimming, rugby, gymnastics, kickboxing, triathlon, wrestling and American football.
Contestants are eliminated as the challenges progress.
What’s at stake?
The participants are competing for a €100,000 ($118,000) prize. Winners of the original South Korean series, which has completed two seasons, received 300 million won ($210,000).
What happens in the first challenge?
The competition begins with all 100 contestants entering the Hall of Busts, where each is represented by a sculpture of their torso.
The first challenge tests one of the central ideas behind Physical 100: different body types can have very different advantages depending on the task.
In the endurance test, contestants are suspended above a swimming pool and must support themselves on a structure for as long as possible, testing their grip and upper-body strength as well as their stamina.
It is a challenge seemingly tailor-made for former gymnast Chechi. Nicknamed the Lord of the Rings after dominating the still rings discipline during his career, he sails through the test on Physical 100: Italy. Breakdancer Mattia Schinco also makes it look easy, even doing push-ups as others struggle to hold on.
But it is CrossFit athlete Elisa Fuliano who emerges victorious, outlasting the entire field by staying on the bar for more than one hour and 27 minutes.
At the other end of the leader board, the challenge proves particularly difficult for 156kg strongman Andrea Invernizzi, powerlifter Mauro Oldani, bodybuilder Gabriele Di Via and skeleton racer Valentina Margaglio, who are among those to fall into the pool early on.
Unlike similar preliminary challenges in previous editions of Physical 100, this one carries immediate consequences. The bottom 20 contestants are eliminated, leaving 80 to continue in the competition.
What is the one-on-one challenge?
The second major test will be familiar to fans of Physical: 100. The remaining 80 contestants are divided into two groups, with those in the top 40 given the chance to choose their opponents for a one-on-one duel in one of two arenas. One tests speed and agility, while the other focuses on strength and endurance.
The rules are simple: the contestants have three minutes to fight for possession of a ball. Whoever has it when the timer runs out wins, while the loser is eliminated.
The duels produce some surprising results. Olympic champion Chechi, for example, makes a costly choice when he picks MMA fighter Ivano Salerno for a showdown in the agility arena. Salerno proves nimble on his feet and eventually wears down Chechi, bringing one of the show’s most decorated sporting careers to an unexpectedly early end.
In a controversial move, gymnast Andrea Cingolani chooses bodybuilder Beatrice Beni as his opponent. The physically smaller Beni proves no match for Cingolani, whose victory earns him boos and “villain” status from the other contestants.
Content creator Luis Sal and TV personality Elisabetta Canalis suffer a similar fate after being chosen by considerably bigger opponents. Sal proves no match for powerlifter Filippo Pici, while Canalis loses to CrossFit champion Fuliano in another lopsided duel.
By the end of the one-on-one contests, 60 of the original 100 competitors are eliminated, leaving just 40 still in the competition.
What is the Forgotten Temple challenge?
The competition then moves from individual battles to its first major team challenge.
The contestants are divided into eight teams of five for the Forgotten Temple. Each team must build a bridge between two elevated platforms before carrying bags of sand across it. After 12 minutes, the team that transports the most sand wins, while the losing team is eliminated.
The first contest pits a team led by powerlifter Pici against one led by MMA fighter Daniele Scatizzi. Pici’s team loses, sending all five members out of the competition.
Calcio Storico Fiorentino champion Sebastian Rodwell’s team then takes on a team led by CrossFit star Fuliano. Despite having won the opening endurance challenge, Fuliano is unable to lead her team to victory, and all five are eliminated.
CrossFit athlete Emanuele Biviano’s team is the next to fall, losing to the team led by butcher and bodybuilder Paolo Masella.
The final contest sees actor and former rugby player Rigo’s team take on one led by Olympic wrestling champion Andrea Minguzzi. Rigo’s team loses, apparently bringing his run in the competition to an end.
However, the four losing teams are soon given one final chance to return.
What is the Pillars of Hercules challenge?
The eliminated teams face a redemption challenge that will be familiar to fans of Physical: Asia: the Pillars of Hercules.
Each of the four teams must nominate one contestant to represent them, meaning the fate of all five members rests on a single athlete.
The four chosen contestants must each hold on to two pillars, one in each hand. As the challenge progresses, the pillars gradually fill with water, becoming increasingly heavy. The last contestant to maintain their grip wins and restores their team to the competition.
Fuliano is the first to let go, ending her team’s hopes of returning. Paolo Innocenti is next to fall, followed by Pici.
That leaves Rigo as the last contestant standing. His victory brings him and his four teammates back into the competition and leaves 25 contestants remaining.
But there is another twist.
Rigo’s victory comes with a catch. He is immediately told that he must eliminate one member of the team he has just saved. He chooses windsurfing champion Marco Begalli, with whom he clashed during the team challenges, reducing his team to four.
The leaders of the four teams that survived the Forgotten Temple are then given the same brutal task: each must eliminate one of their own five members.
It adds a new strategic dimension to Physical 100: Italy. Strength and athletic ability are no longer the only considerations, with team leaders also having to decide which contestants they want beside them – and, potentially, which rivals they would rather not face later in the competition.
Judo champion Emanuele Bruno, former Mr Universe Tommaso Fragassi, stuntman-influencer Pietro Checchi and personal trainer Sara Del Prete are the four contestants sacrificed by their respective team leaders.
But the show throws in more curveballs.
Rather than being sent home, the four rejected contestants are brought together to form a fifth team, with Bruno chosen as their leader.
That leaves 24 contestants officially remaining in the competition. But the formation of a new team made up of four athletes rejected by their own teammates sets up an intriguing dynamic for the next stage – and the prospect of some sweet revenge.
What is the chariot race?
The next challenge takes inspiration from ancient Rome, with the six teams competing in a chariot relay race.
Each of the four team members must take a turn pulling a chariot, with the load becoming heavier on every trip. The six teams are divided into two groups of three, with the fastest team in each race automatically advancing to the next stage.
For the four losing teams, however, overall time becomes crucial. Only the two teams with the fastest times are given a chance at redemption, while the slowest two are eliminated.
Judo champion Bruno, who was rejected by his original team before being made leader of a new team of cast-offs, is given the first choice of opponents. He chooses former rugby player Rigo’s team and Olympic wrestling champion Minguzzi’s team, leaving the other three teams to compete against each other.
CrossFit athlete Biviano’s team is the first to secure a place in the next stage after winning its race.
Then comes a remarkable turnaround for Bruno and his teammates. Having been discarded by their original teams only one challenge earlier, the four win the chariot race to advance automatically.
Team Rigo and Team Scatizzi record the two slowest times and are eliminated, while Team Minguzzi and Team Rodwell are given a chance at redemption.
But there is another twist. Minguzzi and Rodwell are each forced to eliminate one member of their team, reducing the field to 14 contestants.
Only two women remain at this stage: judo champion Assunta Scutto and personal trainer Prete.
The team stage then comes to an end, with the remaining contestants each competing individually for the top prize.
What happens in the hanging challenge?
The next contest brings back a challenge that has appeared in other versions of Physical: 100.
The 14 remaining contestants are suspended above a pool and must hang on for as long as possible. There is little room for error: the first eight to fall into the water are eliminated, with only six places available in the next round.
CrossFit athlete Biviano is the first to fall. Scutto and Del Prete, the only two women remaining in the competition, are also eliminated, ending the prospect of a female winner.
Fitness influencer Claudio Sona and stuntman and influencer Checchi are also among the eight eliminated.
The six contestants who survive are judo champions Manuel Lombardo and Bruno, surfing champion Edoardo Papa, DJ Giulio Domi, footballer Matteo Sartori and firefighter Tommaso Nisi.
Their survival takes them one step closer to the final – but another gruelling challenge awaits.
What is the obstacle course challenge?
The final six will be given 20 minutes to complete five laps of an obstacle course designed to test strength, agility and endurance.
With the competition now entirely individual, there are no teammates to rely on and no team leaders making strategic decisions. Each contestant’s place in the competition rests solely on how they perform against the five athletes alongside them.
In the first group of three, Papa bows out only seconds into the challenge, leaving Bruno and Nisi fighting to complete the course. Nisi powers through to secure his place in the semi-final, while Bruno struggles but manages to finish within the allotted time.
In the second group, Sartori puts in a commanding performance to advance.
Papa is eliminated after withdrawing from the challenge, while Domi and Lombardo are also knocked out after failing to complete the course within the time limit.
That leaves just three contestants: Bruno, Sartori and Nisi.
What happens in the pull-up challenge?
The three remaining contestants face an escalating pull-up endurance test for a place in the final.
During the first minute, they must complete four pull-ups. The required number then increases by two with every passing minute, continuing until they can no longer keep up.
Nisi outlasts his rivals to win the challenge and becomes the first contestant to secure a place in the final.
That leaves Sartori and Bruno fighting for the remaining spot in a sudden-death challenge, with one minute to complete as many pull-ups as possible.
Bruno wins, setting up a final showdown with Nisi.
Who won Physical 100: Italy?
The final pits judo champion Bruno against firefighter Nisi in one last gruelling test of strength and endurance.
The two men stand on opposite sides of a movable wall of top of an aqueduct, with each trying to push the wall towards their opponent and force them off the structure.
The battle lasts nearly two hours, with Bruno gradually gaining ground and Nisi refusing to give in as both are pushed to their physical limits.
Eventually, Bruno overcomes Nisi and is crowned the first winner of Physical 100: Italy, taking home the €100,000 prize.
The win completes a remarkable comeback for Bruno, who was earlier rejected by his own team and appeared to have been eliminated before returning as leader of a team of discarded contestants.
