The Cbum era has ended. Just after wining his sixth straight Olympia Classic Physique title, Chris Bumstead, the world’s most popular competitive bodybuilder, announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilding to focus on his family and new challenges. He received a standing ovation from the Las Vegas crowd.
Here’s what Chris Bumstead said:
“I was an ignorant kid just chasing after a dream, and here we are six years later, six of these around my neck, and I hope I have done that. I hope I have done that in a different way than I meant in the moment where I wasn’t so much about my physique and what I’ve done, but how I did it, and who I was, and who I became came along the way. It’s a really bittersweet feeling that this is gonna be my last time up on the stage. The past eight years have been the most amazing journey of my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I really hope I’ve set the standard to the point where people are inspired to take up their own things. I’ve tried to share what is truly important to me on the journey. I talked about feeling the highs, feeling the lows, feeling it all. If you numb the bad, you numb the good….I have put myself out there, and I’ve sacrificed a lot over the past few years, and a lot of that’s been mental peace. You know, I put a lot of pressure and expectation on myself, and it’s been rewarded and I’m so grateful, but I’m ready to step down from this and let someone take this spot.…It’s been the most beautiful journey, beyond anything I could have ever asked for. Please, I hope you guys learn something from my journey. It wasn’t just about winning; it was the champion mentality, which means having no quit, feeling it all, and just enjoying the moment.”
2024 MR. OLYMPIA CLASSIC PHYSIQUE NOTES
- Canada’s Chris Bumstead, the GOAT of classic physique, was not a unanimous choice for victory this time. He received six points to Mike Sommerfeld’s nine, meaning one of the five scored judges voted for Sommerfeld to win (a perfect winning score would be five).
- The surprise of Sommerfeld in second and Urs Kalecinski in third (both Germans) heralds a bright future for the classic division post-Cbum. Miraclebear Kalecinski (only 26) did a great job over the last year of adding some much-needed size, especially to his arms and legs. And Sommerfeld sported the best X-frame in the show.
- The other surprise was the drops of Ramon “Dino” Queiroz (2nd last year) to fourth and, especially, Wesley Vissers (2024 Arnold Classic champ) all the way to eighth. Dino needs to bring up his back. Vissers needs to bring up his lower body.
- Classic physique is truly an international division. There were a whopping 54 classic competitors in Vegas from all around the globe, but only seven were born in the USA, and there was only one American (Breon Ansley) in the top nine.
- For as popular as classic physique is, thanks in large part to Bumstead, the Olympia needs to boost this division’s prize money. Cbum received $60,000 for winning, which, this year is only one-tenth as much as Samson Dauda, the open Mr. Olympia winner. Just after the contest, the newly retired Bumstead announced that he would be contributing funding to up the division’s prize money next year.
2024 MR. OLYMPIA CLASSIC PHYSIQUE TOP 10
1. Chris Bumstead ($60,000)
2. Mike Sommerfeld ($25,000)
3. Urs Kalecinski ($10,000)
4. Ramon “Dino” Queiroz ($5000)
5. Breon Ansley ($3000)
6. Jose Manuel Munoz
7. Michael Daboul
8. Wesley Vissers
9. Matheus Menegate
10. Matthew Greggo
