Julia Cabarcos is a Spanish Women’s Physique professional who announced herself to the sport in a single remarkable year. 🏆 She turned professional in November 2025, won her first pro title seven months later, and finished fourth at the Mr. Olympia in September 2026.
Six weeks after that Olympia debut, she won the 2026 Romania Muscle Fest Pro in Bucharest with a perfect score of 3. Her rise is even more striking for how late it came — she was 41 when she won her pro card, and 42 when she won in Romania.
She had prepared for years before ever stepping on a competition stage, working with the same coach since 2017. This biography covers her background, her coach, her sponsors, and her full contest record — nine contests, four wins, and no finish outside the top five.
| Quick Facts | Julia Cabarcos |
|---|---|
| Full name | Julia Cabarcos |
| Born | 4 November 1984 |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Division | Women’s Physique |
| Status | IFBB Professional |
| Coach | Arturo Castañeda (since 2017) |
| @julz_ifbbpro | |
| Height | Not published in any reliable source |
| Weight | Not published in any reliable source |
Early Life and Background
Julia Cabarcos was born on 4 November 1984. She turned 42 on 4 November 2026, three days before her Romania win. She is Spanish, and she competes for Spain — though her birthplace has not been published in any reliable source.
Her height and weight have not been published either. No reliable source states them, so this article does not guess them. She trains in A Coruña, in Galicia, at the GT Training Center, and she has thanked the gym publicly for its support.
What is known is that she spent years building her physique before competing. She began preparing with her coach, Arturo Castañeda, in 2017, and she did not enter her first competition until November 2025 — eight years later.
Turning Professional
Cabarcos made her competitive debut at the NPC Worldwide Spanish Championship on 1 November 2025, winning the Women’s Physique open class. Two weeks later she travelled to Milan for the NPC Worldwide European Masters Championships, known as the Euro Masters.
There she won the Women’s Physique Masters 40+ class, then won the Masters 40+ overall and earned her IFBB Pro Card. She was 41 years old — most new pros are a decade younger, but her age never held her back.
Eight days after turning pro, she made her professional debut at the Mr Big Evolution Portugal Masters Pro in Lisbon. She finished second there, behind Caroline Alves Dos Santos of Canada, in a ten-woman field — the start of a remarkable run.
The 2026 Season
Cabarcos opened 2026 with a long, hard preparation. In April she wrote that she was in week six of prep, with nine months of near-continuous dieting behind her. She was hungry and tired, she admitted, but disciplined — and the work paid off within weeks of her first show of the year.
Between June and November 2026 she competed six times as a professional. She won twice, never finished outside the top five, and qualified for two Olympias — and her season ended with a win in Bucharest that qualified her for the 2027 Mr. Olympia.
First Pro Win: Empro Classic 2026
Her first pro win came at the Empro Classic Spain Pro in Alicante on 21 June 2026. It was a home show, and she made it count — winning the Women’s Physique open class with a perfect score of 3, wearing tag 143, in a ten-woman field.
Susan Mathison of the United States was second, and Silvia Cuartero Martinez of Spain was third. The win qualified her for the 2026 Mr. Olympia, and her post that night said it all: “Nos vamos a Las Vegas, primos!!!!”
She thanked her coach in the same post. “Todo el mundo tiene al mejor preparador… yo tengo a Arturo,” she wrote.
Photo: NPC News Online
Tampa Pro and Lenda Murray
Two weeks after Alicante, Cabarcos competed at the Mr Big Evolution Portugal Pro in Estoril on 5 July 2026. She finished second there, behind Silvia Cuartero Martinez, in a nine-woman field. Her score was 6, wearing tag 129.
On 1 August she flew to Florida for the Tampa Pro, one of the biggest Women’s Physique line-ups of the year. She placed fifth in a 24-woman field, wearing tag 207 with a score of 25. Amanda De Carvalho Machado won the show.
Fifth was her worst finish as a professional — and it was still a top-five result in the deepest field she had faced. A week later she was fourth at the Lenda Murray ATL Pro Supershow in Atlanta, on 8–9 August 2026.
Lenka Ferencukova won that show. Cabarcos wore tag 105 and scored 12 in a 16-woman field.
Photo: NPC News Online
Mr. Olympia Debut
The 2026 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas was the biggest stage of her life. She had watched it for years from afar. The night before the show she wrote: “Mañana compito en el Olympia… He visto este campeonato durante años desde lejos… Esta vez soy yo.”
She placed fourth in Women’s Physique on 26 September 2026, wearing tag 2 with a score of 20, and earned $7,000. Natalia Abraham Coelho won the title, with Zama Benta second and Sarah Villegas third. Fifteen athletes placed on the scorecard.
Her post afterwards thanked her coach first. “Este resultado habla de mĂ como atleta pero, tambiĂ©n habla de ti como preparador,” she wrote. She called it “un f*cking top 4 en el Olympia” — and admitted she still could hardly believe it.
Days later she wrote that she had followed the women she shared the stage with for years, and never thought she would stand beside them. You can see the full Olympia placings in our 2026 Mr. Olympia results article.
Photo: NPC News Online
Romania Muscle Fest Pro Win
Cabarcos turned 42 on 4 November 2026. Three days later she was on stage in Bucharest, and she won. She took the Women’s Physique title at the 2026 Romania Muscle Fest Pro on 7–8 November, with a perfect score of 3 and tag 29.
Lidia Dichiera of Australia was second, and Silvia Cuartero Martinez of Spain was third, in a 15-woman field. The win was her second pro title, and her second perfect score of the season. She had won the Empro Classic the same way.
It also qualified her for the 2027 Mr. Olympia, barely a year after she turned professional. She won in the same show where Anastasia Korableva won Women’s Bodybuilding and Roman Iushchenko won the 212 division.
You can read the full results in our 2026 Romania Muscle Fest Pro results article, and meet the other winners in our Anastasia Korableva biography and Roman Iushchenko biography.
Coaching and Training
Arturo Castañeda has coached Cabarcos since 2017. He is also her partner; they have been together since 2019. She credits him with everything. “Le debo mi fĂsico a Arturo,” she wrote in October 2025. “Arturo hace magia.”
Her own words say it best: “ÉL ME CREÓ… de un trozo de madera, me hizo un violĂn.” He created her, she says, from a piece of wood. She trains at the GT Training Center in A Coruña, where she has thanked the gym and its coaches for their support.
No diet plan or training split from her own words has been published in any reliable source found. A standalone diet-plan article is now live, and it prints only what she has said herself.
Sponsors
Protech Lab backs Cabarcos, and the support began before she won anything. She thanked the brand the day after her Romania win. “Antes de ganar absolutamente nada empezaste a ayudarme, sin tĂtulos, sin nombre… y apostaste por mĂ!” she wrote.
Star Suits Fitness Bikini makes her competition bikinis. She thanked the maker after Romania for the care in every suit. “Detrás de cada bikini hay unas manos que trabajan con muchĂsimo cariño,” she wrote. She wears their bikinis on every stage.
Contest History
Her full contest record is nine contests, four wins, six top-three finishes, and no finish outside the top five. Every row below is verified from the official scorecards and the NPC contest pages.
| Show | Date | Division | Place | Tag | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPC Worldwide Spanish Championship | 1 Nov 2025 | Women’s Physique Open | 1st | — | — |
| NPC Worldwide European Masters Championships, Milan | 15 Nov 2025 | Women’s Physique Masters 40+ | 1st | — | — |
| Mr Big Evolution Portugal Masters Pro, Lisbon | 23 Nov 2025 | Women’s Physique Masters 40+ | 2nd | — | — |
| Empro Classic Spain Pro, Alicante | 21 Jun 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 1st | 143 | 3 |
| Mr Big Evolution Portugal Pro, Estoril | 5 Jul 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 2nd | 129 | 6 |
| Tampa Pro, Tampa | 1 Aug 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 5th | 207 | 25 |
| Lenda Murray ATL Pro Supershow, Atlanta | 8–9 Aug 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 4th | 105 | 12 |
| Mr. Olympia, Las Vegas | 26 Sep 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 4th | 2 | 20 |
| Romania Muscle Fest Pro, Bucharest | 7–8 Nov 2026 | Women’s Physique Open | 1st | 29 | 3 |
Pro record: 7 contests, 2 wins, 4 top-three, 7 top-five, 7 top-ten. Amateur record: 2 contests, 2 wins. Combined: 9 contests, 4 wins, 6 top-three, 9 top-five.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Julia Cabarcos?
Julia Cabarcos is a Spanish Women’s Physique professional. She won the 2026 Romania Muscle Fest Pro and placed fourth at the 2026 Mr. Olympia in her first year as a pro.
How old is Julia Cabarcos?
She was born on 4 November 1984, so she was 41 when she turned professional and 42 when she won the Romania Muscle Fest Pro in November 2026.
When did Julia Cabarcos turn professional?
She earned her IFBB Pro Card at the NPC Worldwide European Masters Championships in Milan on 15 November 2025, winning the Women’s Physique Masters 40+ overall.
Who coaches Julia Cabarcos?
Arturo Castañeda has coached her since 2017. He is also her partner; they have been together since 2019. She credits him with her whole physique.
What is Julia Cabarcos’s diet plan?
No diet plan from her own words has been published in any reliable source found. A standalone diet-plan article is now live, and it prints only what she has said herself.
Did Julia Cabarcos compete at the Mr. Olympia?
Yes. She qualified by winning the 2026 Empro Classic, then placed fourth at the 2026 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas on her debut, earning $7,000. Her Romania win qualified her for the 2027 Olympia.
Related
More Romania 2026 winners: Piotr Wojtowicz won Classic Physique, and Ahmed Juraybi won the Men’s Open. Her full results are in our 2026 Romania Muscle Fest Pro results article.