Bodybuilding legend Craig Licker dead aged 57 with heartbreaking tributes paid
The former IFBB Pro passed away earlier this week, according to reports.
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His cause of death has yet to be announced.
Fans and fellow bodybuilders paid a heartbreaking tribute to Licker.
"He had a really gifted structure and discipline for bodybuilding," said retired rival Dave Palumbo.
"He earned his IFBB Pro card during an era where very few pro cards were awarded.
"He dominated the super competitive middleweight class at the 1994 NPC Nationals (the year Paul DeMayo won the HW and Overall).
"I will miss our always interesting conversations and his great sense of humor … RIP my friend!"
The news comes just days after it was announced champion Hayley McNeff had died aged just 37.
Her passing is understood to have been unexpected but "peaceful", according to tributes.
Licker made his IFBB debut in 1995.
He competed at the Niagara Falls Pro Invitational and the Houston Pro Championship.
The athlete then took a break from the bodybuilding circuit, before returning in 2015.
He placed 12th in the Chicago Pro and 16th in the Tampa Pro.
His death comes in a tragic year for deaths for some of bodybuilding's greats.
Guilherme Henrique passed away at the age of 30 in May.
Just a month later, Zulina Hoyos Mendez was killed in a hammer attack at the age of 43.
Meanwhile, Vito Pirbazari died after collapsing on a treadmill.
And Jodi Vance, 20, suffered a fatal heart attack.
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