Founded | 1989 |
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Country | United States |
Venue(s) | Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio |
Most recent champion(s) | Hadi Choopan (2024) |
Tournament format | Multi-event competition |
The IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (Arnold Classic), strongman ( Arnold Strongman Classic ), armlifting, fitness, figure, bikini and several others as a weekend expo. It was established in 1989 and is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. The main event is held annually around late February or early March in Columbus, Ohio, by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League (IFBB Pro League). It is considered the second-most-prestigious event in professional men's bodybuilding, physique, figure and bikini after Joe Weider's Olympia. When the Ms. International competition was hosted, until 2013, it was the second-most-prestigious event in professional female bodybuilding (after Ms. Olympia).
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Bodybuilding and business career | ||
A lucrative sports competition, the ASF offers a number of large prizes. Most notably, first prize in bodybuilding consists of a $130,000 check, a Hummer vehicle, and an Audemars Piguet watch. Since the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title pre-dates and offers higher prize money than the ASF, a rivalry in prestige and popularity [ citation needed ] has sprung up. The ASF is always hotly contested, often with one or two competition points separating the winners.
All-star cheerleading competitions span a two-day period (usually all day Saturday, and to midday Sunday). More than 4,000 competitors entered the cheerleading event in 2014. Each team (of 15–30 cheerleaders) prepares to perform a two and one-half minute routine. After the teams' routines are complete, they are scored by a panel of judges, each judge being an expert on one area of cheerleading (jumps, tumbling, stunting, etc.). Once scoring is complete, every team entered in the competition is called to the mat for awards, during which each team has a chance of winning multiple times. The ASF's awards consist of the following: National Champion jackets, trophies for every team, custom medals, limited edition patches and Grand Champion banners, and possible partial or full paid bid to Cheerleading World contests. [1]
On June 7, 2013, the ASF's event promoter, Jim Lorimer, announced that from 2014 on, the ASF's "212" (a professional, men's bodybuilding division) would permanently replace the Ms. International women's bodybuilding competition. Lorimer, in a statement, said "The Arnold Sports Festival was proud to support women's bodybuilding through the Ms. International for the past quarter century, but in keeping with demands of our fans, the time has come to introduce the Arnold Classic 212 beginning in 2014. We are excited to create a professional competitive platform for some of the IFBB Pro League's most popular competitors." [2]
On March 3, 2020 Ohio governor Mike DeWine cancelled most of the Arnold Sports Festival due to the oncoming COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio, before any cases or deaths had been reported. The cancellation was widely regarded as 'radical' at the time. [3] [4]
Arnold Classic branding is also used for:
Year | Europe [14] | South America [15] | Australia [16] | Africa [17] | Asia [18] | UK |
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2011 | Victor Martinez [19] | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
2012 | Shawn Rhoden [20] | |||||
2013 | Phil Heath [21] | Brandon Curry [22] | ||||
2014 | Dennis Wolf [23] | Steve Kuclo [24] | ||||
2015 | Dexter Jackson [25] | Mamdouh Elssbiay [26] | Dexter Jackson [27] | |||
2016 | Dexter Jackson [28] | Kai Greene [29] | Kai Greene [30] | Dexter Jackson [31] | Justin Compton [32] | |
2017 | Mamdouh Elssbiay [33] | Lukas Osladil [34] | Brandon Curry [35] | Johnnie O. Jackson [36] | Event not held. | |
2018 | Michal Krizanek [37] | Marcelo da Cruz [38] | Roelly Winklaar [39] | Tomas Kaspar [40] | ||
2019 | Michal Krizanek [41] | Juan Morel [42] | William Bonac [43] | Michal Krizanek [44] | ||
2020 | Event not held. | |||||
2021 | Michal Krizanek [45] | Nathan De Asha [46] |
Henri Christophe Dickerson was an American professional bodybuilder.
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider'sOlympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanctioned by the IFBB Professional League. Joe Weider created the contest to enable the amateur Mr. Universe winners to continue competing and to earn money. The first Mr. Olympia was held on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, with Larry Scott winning his first of two straight titles. The equivalent female title is Ms. Olympia.
Frank Zane is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author. He is a three-time Mr. Olympia, and his physique is considered one of the greatest in the history of bodybuilding due to his meticulous focus on symmetry and proportion. He was inducted in the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.
The International Fitness and BodyBuilding Federation (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international events, notably the World and Continental Championships.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Jason Isaac Cutler, known professionally as Jay Cutler, is an American retired professional bodybuilder. An IFBB Pro League bodybuilder, Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up, the most in history. He also won consecutive Arnold Classic titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004. During his career, he was known for his rivalry with Ronnie Coleman. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders, from its inception in 1986 through to its final staging in 2013. It was first held in 1986 by the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). In 1987, the IFBB allowed the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to sanction the Ms. International as an amateur event. In 1988, the contest was again sanctioned by the IFBB. From 1989 the contest was part of the Arnold Sports Festival.
Iris Floyd Kyle is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful, female or male, professional bodybuilder ever. She has a total of twenty professional bodybuilding titles, with ten overall and two heavyweight Ms. Olympia titles and seven overall and one heavyweight Ms. International titles.
Dexter "The Blade" Jackson is an American retired IFBB Pro League professional bodybuilder and the 2008 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding and 2012 Masters Mr. Olympia champion. With 29 wins, Jackson has the most professional men's bodybuilding titles. He has the distinction of winning the Arnold Classic a record five times. After winning the Arnold Classic in 2015, he placed second in the 2015 Mr. Olympia. He is from Jacksonville, Florida. He retired from professional bodybuilding following the 2020 Mr. Olympia.
Víctor Martínez is a retired International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder, and the second Dominican bodybuilder to turn professional. His career highlights were winning the Arnold Classic in 2007 and finishing runner-up at the 2007 Mr. Olympia. He signed a contract for a sponsorship deal with Maximum Human Performance which also sponsors Michael Kefalianos.
Phillip Jerrod Heath is an American IFBB Pro League professional bodybuilder. Known as 'The Gift', he is a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won the competition every year from 2011 to 2017. Heath is tied with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the joint-second number of all-time Mr. Olympia wins, behind Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney, who are joint-first with eight wins each. He was known for his rivalry with Kai Greene.
Brandon Curry is an American professional bodybuilder who competes in the men's open bodybuilding division in the IFBB Pro League. He is a former Mr. Olympia, having won the title in the 2019 Mr. Olympia competition, and two-time Arnold Classic US winner.
Michael Kefalianos, first name also spelt Michalis and Mihalis, is a Greek bodybuilder with Greek and Australian dual citizenship who is an International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder. He is widely considered to be the best Greek bodybuilder. In 2009 at the IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix he placed fourth and became the first Greek bodybuilder to ever qualify for the Mr. Olympia competition, which is held in Las Vegas once a year in September. He has since competed in more than 35 professional bodybuilding shows, with his career highlight the 2012 Mr. Europe win in Madrid, Spain.
Lisa Cross is a professional British female bodybuilder.
Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia is a Venezuelan-American retired professional bodybuilder.
Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay, also known as Big Ramy, is an Egyptian professional bodybuilder who competes in the men's open bodybuilding division in the IFBB Pro League. Known for his size and conditioning, he is a two time Mr. Olympia champion, winning in 2020 and 2021.
Cedric Kennan McMillan was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder and United States Army Instructor. His last victory was the 2017 Arnold Classic.
Wesley Vissers is a Dutch IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the Arnold Classic physique 2024 Competition and earlier in his career the IFBB Romanian, the IFBB Poland and IFBB France Pro competition in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Andrea Shaw is an American professional bodybuilder. She holds five Ms. Olympia title wins and four Ms. Rising Phoenix title wins.
Christopher Adam Bumstead, also known as CBum, is a Canadian retired professional bodybuilder. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Bumstead made his competitive debut in 2014 and obtained his IFBB pro card after claiming the 2016 IFBB North American Bodybuilding Championship. After placing second in the Mr. Olympia Classic Physique category in 2017 and 2018, he earned six consecutive wins from 2019 to 2024, the most wins since the creation of the category. He is widely considered as the greatest Classic Physique bodybuilder of all time.