The Arnold Classic is back! Well, of course, it’s never left since its inaugural event in 1989, but it went through some doldrums in which it had trouble attracting bodybuilding’s top talent.
Look at 2013, for example, when the top three finishers had been, respectively, fourth, eleventh, and seventh at the previous Mr. Olympia. In 2015, they’d been fifth, sixth, and absent. Year after year, you could sometimes get the third-place finisher from the previous Olympia to do the Arnold, but never a second top-three bodybuilder to challenge him. But money talks. For years, the Arnold prizes were about half as much as the Olympia’s. But last year, the Arnold Classic boosted the prize money substantially, so the top three spots pay 70-80% as much as the Olympia and fourth place is virtually the same.
Assuming the Arnold maintains those payouts, the comparison between the 2023 Mr. Olympia and the 2024 Arnold Classic breaks down like this:
| Place | Mr. Olympia | Arnold Classic | A.C. percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | $400,000 | $300,000 | 75% |
| 2. | $150,000 | $120,000 | 80% |
| 3. | $100,000 | $70,000 | 70% |
| 4. | $40,000 | $37,500 | 94% |
| 5. | $35,000 | $20,000 | 57% |
| 6. | $25,000 | $12,500 | 50% |
| 7. | $16,000 | $2000 | 12.5% |
The potential $300,000 payday drew in Nick Walker and two-time Mr. Olympia Big Ramy to go against Samson Dauda last year. This year, it’s pulled in the 2022 Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan (2nd place in last year’s Olympia) and 2023 Arnold Classic champ Samson Dauda (3rd place in last year’s Olympia) for what should be an epic duel.
And as for the classic physique division, which focuses on more aesthetic male bodies, you might be surprised to learn that the Arnold Classic pays more than the Olympia. The winner of the Arnold received $60,000 last year; the Olympia winner took home $50,000. The Arnold runner-up gets $30,000; the Olympia runner-up $25,000. Third and fourth place were identical at both contests: $20,000 and $7000. So it’s no surprise that the 2024 Arnold classic physique contest has also attracted the second- and third-place finishers from last year’s Olympia. In fact, the whole top five will be there, except for perennial Olympia winner Chris Bumstead.
The Arnold Classic lineups were released on December 15 and have undergone some revisions since then for the March 1-2 contests in Columbus, Ohio. With updates, we’ve predicted how the men’s bodybuilding and classic physique divisions are most likely to shake out.
2024 ARNOLD CLASSIC PREVIEW: BODYBUILDING
Among the 11 open bodybuilding competitors are an intriguing blend of familiar names and up-and-comers. On paper, this should be a battle between Hadi Choopan and Samson Dauda, and based on November’s Olympia, we have to slightly favor Choopan, who many believe should’ve won his second consecutive Olympia title but was instead edged out by Derek Lunsford. While the taller Nigerian-Brit, Dauda, is trying to repeat in Ohio, this will be the first Arnold for the perpetually peeled Iranian, Choopan. If both men are on-point, this will be an epic duel!
Coming off his fifth-place finish in the Mr. Olympia, Andrew Jacked, with his aesthetic X-frame, was looking to take a major leap forward by winning bodybuilding’s second most prestigious title. However, he pulled out of this contest on January 15, perhaps because he knew it would be difficult to get beyond Choopan and Dauda.
Facing visa issues, Colombia’s Rubiel Mosquera pulled out of this contest on January 30. We were looking forward to seeing how Neckzilla and his monster truck wheels stacked up against some of bodybuilding’s best. He’s currently aiming to compete in the New York Pro on May 18. They love the freaky bodybuilders at that contest, but it’ll be tough to get a victory there, because “The Mutant” Nick Walker is also planning to conquer New York.
But back to this year’s Arnold Classic. Who will be the third man in the top three? It’s wide open. James Hollingshead? Antoine Valliant? Our vote is for Brazil’s Rafael Brandao. With his classical proportions, he was an eye-opening 10th at the 2022 Mr. Olympia (his last contest) and, by taking last year off stages, he’s made some significant size additions since then. We’ll soon see if Bandao can bring the right combination of mass and class to make this a three-man contest.
2024 ARNOLD CLASSIC: BODYBUILDING LINEUP
Remeco Bose
Rafael Brandao
Hadi Choopan
Samson Dauda
Marcello De Angelos
Jonathan De La Rosa
James Hollingshead
Justin Rodriguez
Mohamed Shaaban
Antoine Valliant
Akim Williams
2024 ARNOLD CLASSIC PREVIEW: CLASSIC PHYSIQUE
There were only seven classic physique competitors here in 2023. In 2024, there’ll be a dozen. No, Cbum won’t be competing. But the next four finishers from the Olympia will be: Ramon “Dino” Rocha Queiroz, Urs Kalecinski (a.k.a. Miraclebear), Breon Ansley, and Terrence Ruffin.
Brazil’s Dino wasn’t just second in last year’s Olympia, but he also won the Arnold Classic. Though he’ll be tough to beat in Columbus, the Miraclebear may be able to finally overtake him. He’s been right behind Dino four times in a row: 2022 Arnold, 2022 Olympia, 2023 Arnold, 2023 Olympia, three thirds, and (at last year’s Arnold) a second. Based on those last four contests, these are indisputably the second (Dino) and third (Kalecinski) best classic physique bodybuilders in the world.
Can that change on March 1? Nobody will have a better vacuumed V-taper than the German Kalecinski, but his limbs have lagged Dino’s. Dinosaur versus bear, round 5. It’s on!
Breon Ansley, who won the Classic Physique Olympia in 2017 and 2018 and Arnold Classic in ’18, is still in contention, as he proved via his fourth-place finish in last November’s Olympia. Terrence Ruffin won this contest over Dino and Kalecinski in 2022. Can he do it again, or have those two progressed too far beyond him over the last two years? One thing is certain, this class is stacked, with a dozen of the world’s most aesthetically developed bodybuilders vying for $60K.
2024 ARNOLD CLASSIC: CLASSIC PHYSIQUE LINEUP
Breon Ansley
Eric Brown, Jr.
Michael Daboul
Darren Farrell
Urs Kalecinski
Antoine Loth
Courage Opara
Damien Patrick
Ramon “Dino” Rocha Queiroz
Emanuele Ricotti
Terrence Ruffin
Wesley Vissers
