Who is Ms Olympia bodybuilder Ava Melillo? Meet the IFBB Pro and past North American overall FBB champion

BODYBUILDER Ava Melillo mightiness beryllium a newcomer but she is making waves successful the athletics already.

The IFFB Pro volition vie for the rubric of Ms Olympia aft qualifying successful the summer.

Ms Olympia hopeful

The 2024 Toronto Pro Super amusement took spot connected Sunday, June 9, 2024, successful Toronto, ON, Canada.

The lawsuit saw 147 nonrecreational bodybuilders vie crossed each 10 divisions.

Rookie Ava Melillo made an unforgettable pro debut astatine the lawsuit by bagging herself the Women’s Bodybuilding Winning title, beating runner-up Sheena Ohlig.

She besides earned herself the 2024 Ms Olympia qualification.

The 2024 Olympia 60th day volition instrumentality spot connected October 10-13, successful Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Olympia is regarded arsenic 1 of the biggest and astir prestigious events successful the bodybuilding calendar.

And aft large changes were made to the qualifying strategy successful 2023, galore of the athletes had to look stricter rules to unafraid their spot.

Ava volition beryllium competing against 15 different Olympia hopefuls, including the Ms Olympia 2023 victor Andrea Shaw.

Growing up

Most bodybuilders don’t get into the athletics astatine a young property owed to the subject and sacrifice it requires to enactment connected a strict fare and grooming schedule.

But Ava started preparing herself for the athletics from a young age.

Speaking connected the Female Bodybuilding YouTube Channel Ava explained what inspired her to get into bodybuilding: "I was precise overweight arsenic a kid.

"I got to precocious school, college...and I saw a photograph of immoderate bodybuilder chic.

"I saw her and I was similar damn I privation to beryllium similar that.

"I knew what I wanted and I knew what I wanted to look like.

"I had nary thought what I was doing, truthful I archetypal aimed with close I request to beryllium thinner.

"I was conscionable successful the shadows doing it. I wasn't outwards with thing until I knew I was ready.

For Ava, this was successful 2022 erstwhile she made her archetypal debut astatine the NPC North American Championships.

It was present she won the Women's Bodybuilding Overall Winner and became an IFBB Pro astatine conscionable 25-years-old.

Ava, antecedently lived successful Connecticut, but present lives successful Pennsylvania with her partner, Zach Merkel, who is besides an IFBB Pro Bodybuilder.

The 2 bid unneurotic and are some coached by IFBB pro Morgan Rice.

When she's not training, Ava liked to bent retired with her dog, Molly until August, 2020 erstwhile she posted a last photograph of them unneurotic with the caption: "My pugnacious cookie, I'll miss you forever."