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 & Fitness Professional League (IFBB Pro League). It is considered one of the most prestigious events 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 one of the most prestigious events in professional female bodybuilding (after Ms. Olympia).
History A 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 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.
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."
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.
Champions
Year Arnold Classic Ms. International Fitness International Figure International Bikini International 212 Women's Physique Men's Physique Classic Physique Overall Best Poser Most Muscular Fan's Choice Award Most Entertaining Routine Overall Heavyweight Lightweight 1989 Rich Gaspari rowspan=20 colspan=2 align="center" rowspan=22 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=23 colspan=1 align="center" Jackie Paisley rowspan=11 colspan=2 align="center" rowspan=5 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=14 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=22 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=25 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=26 colspan=2 align="center" rowspan=29 colspan=2 align="center" 1990 Mike Ashley Laura Creavalle 1991 Shawn Ray Tonya Knight 1992 Vince Taylor Anja Schreiner 1993 Flex Wheeler Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls 1994 Kevin Levrone Laura Creavalle Carol Semple-Marzetta 1995 Mike Francois 1996 Kevin Levrone Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls Alexandra Béres 1997 Flex Wheeler Yolanda Hughes-Heying Carol Semple-Marzetta 1998 Susie Curry 1999 Nasser El Sonbaty Vickie Gates 2000 Flex Wheeler Vickie Gates Brenda Raganot Kelly Ryan 2001 Ronnie Coleman Dayana Cadeau Jenny Worth 2002 Jay Cutler Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Valentina Chepiga Susie Curry 2003 Cathy LeFrançois Jenny Lynn 2004 Iris Kyle Iris Kyle Dayana Cadeau Adela Garcia-Friedmansky 2005 Dexter Jackson Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Brenda Raganot Jen Hendershott 2006 Iris Kyle rowspan="8" rowspan="8" Adela Garcia-Friedmansky Mary Lado 2007 Víctor Martínez Kim Klein 2008 Dexter Jackson Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Gina Aliotti 2009 Kai Greene Kai Greene Branch Warren Iris Kyle Jen Hendershott Živilė Raudonienė 2010 Adela Garcia-Friedmansky Nicole Wilkins-Lee 2011 Branch Warren Dennis Wolf Branch Warren Nicole Nagrani 2012 rowspan=4 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=4 colspan=1 align="center" Branch Warren Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Sonia Gonzales 2013 Dexter Jackson rowspan=3 colspan=1 align="center" rowspan=3 colspan=1 align="center" Iris Kyle Tanji Johnson Candice Keene India Paulino 2014 Dennis Wolf rowspan=13 colspan=3 align="center" Oksana Grishina Ashley Kaltwasser James Lewis 2015 Dexter Jackson Camala Rodriguez-McClure Jose Raymond Juliana Malacarne Sadik Hadzovic 2016 Kai Greene Latorya Watts India Paulino Hidetada Yamagishi Autumn Swansen Brandon Hendrickson 2017 Cedric McMillan Candice Lewis-Carter Angelica Teixeira Ahmad Ashkanani Daniely Castilho Ryan Terry 2018 William Bonac Fred Smalls Roelly Winklaar Whitney Jones Kamal Elgargni Shanique Grant Andre Ferguson Breon Ansley 2019 Brandon Curry Joshua Lenartowicz William Bonac Ryall Graber Cydney Gillon Janet Layug rowspan=4 align="center" Natalia Abraham Coelho George Peterson 2020 William Bonac Dexter Jackson Mamdouh Elssbiay Missy Truscott Natalia Soltero Elisa Pecini Alex Cambronero 2021 Nick Walker Iain Valliere Steve Kuclo rowspan=1 align="center" Jennifer Dorie rowspan=3 align="center" rowspan=1 align="center" Terrence Ruffin 2022 Brandon Curry William Bonac Steve Kuclo Ariel Khadr Cydney Gillon Lauralie Chapados Erin Banks 2023 Samson Dauda Andrew Jacked Nick Walker Ariel Khadr Ramon Dino 2024 Hadi Choopan Samson Dauda Rafael Brandão Wesley Vissers 2025 Derek Lunsford Samson Dauda Andrew Jacked Mike Sommerfeld 2026 Andrew Jacked Andrew Jacked Nick Walker Michelle Fredua-Mensah Aimee Delgado Brandon Hendrickson Wesley Vissers
Arnold Classic International Arnold Classic branding is also used for: Arnold Classic Europe in Spain (since 2011) Arnold Classic South America in Brazil (since 2013) Arnold Classic Australia in Australia (since 2015) Arnold Classic Africa in South Africa (since 2016) Arnold Classic Asia in Hong Kong (only 2016) Arnold Classic UK in England (since 2021) Arnold Classic Russia in Russia
Winners Year Europe South America Australia Africa Asia UK 2011 Victor Martinez rowspan=2 align="center" rowspan=4 align="center" rowspan=5 align="center" rowspan=5 align="center" rowspan=9 align="center" 2012 Shawn Rhoden 2013 Phil Heath Brandon Curry 2014 Dennis Wolf Steve Kuclo 2015 Dexter Jackson Mamdouh Elssbiay Dexter Jackson 2016 Dexter Jackson Kai Greene Kai Greene Dexter Jackson Justin Compton 2017 Mamdouh Elssbiay Lukas Osladil Brandon Curry Johnnie O. Jackson rowspan=3 align="center" 2018 Michal Krizanek Marcelo da Cruz Roelly Winklaar Tomas Kaspar 2019 Michal Krizanek Juan Morel William Bonac Michal Krizanek 2020 colspan=6 align="center" 2021 Michal Krizanek Nathan De Asha
See also Statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Strongman Classic Ms. International Rogue Invitational
References
New Pittsburgh event is a Big problem for Arnold and Columbus