Men’s Classic Physique at the 2024 Arnold becomes the most anticipated class of the show
The 2024 Arnold Classic is coming up, and aside from the Arnold Classic Men’s Open Bodybuilding contest, one of the most popular events to take place at the festival will be the Classic Physique show. This year is the division’s seventh edition at the Arnold Classic. Generation Iron will be covering this year’s show which is scheduled for Friday, March 1, 2024, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH, and it is going to be one for the books, as these athletes are battling it out for a spot at the 2024 Mr. Olympia contest.
The Arnold Classic contests are invite-only, and athletes have to apply for entry, which is not a process that occurs in any other non-Olympia shows in the IFBB Pro League. This year, twelve athletes were invited to compete in Classic Physique in Columbus. The roster is below, with names in alphabetical order:
2024 Arnold Classic Physique Roster
- Breon Ansley
- Eric Brown Jr.
- Michael Daboul
- Darren Farrell
- Urs Kalecinski
- Antoine Loth
- Courage Opara
- Damien Patrick
- Ramon Rocha Querioz
- Emanuele Riccotti
- Terrence Ruffin
- Wesley Vissers
Past ChampionsÂ
This year, there are three former champions in the lineup for, including the 2023 champion who is coming back to defend his title, Ramon Rocha Querioz. The Brazilian Bodybuilder had quite the season, all the way up to the Mr. Olympia where he came in a close second place to the 5x champion, Chris Bumstead.
Ramon Dino is the early favorite to take home another title in Columbus. If he does this successfully, he will join Terrence Ruffin as the only Classic Physique athletes to defend their titles successfully at the Arnold Classic.
Now, Terrence Ruffin took home his two Arnold Classic wins back in 2021 and 2022. He sat out of the 2023 lineup but will compete in 2024, as he is hoping to win and become the first three-time Arnold Classic champion since the contest’s first started in 2018.
The third winner coming back to try and win it is the inaugural winner of the Arnold Classic, Breon Ansley, who nearly left the Classic Physique for the 212 division. However, Ansley opted to stay in Classic Physique after the IFBB weight caps were increased and he was able to put on some more muscle mass. Ansley also ranked fourth in the 2023 Olympia.
Top Contenders
There are also plenty of fitness stars that will be competing at the 2024 Arnold Classic in the Classic Physique Division. The first one to name is Urs Kalecinski, who came in third place at the 2023 Olympia, right behind- Ramon in 2023. Urs is a two-time Olympia bronze medalist. Kalecinski has a good shot at winning his first Arnold Classic this year.
Another top contender is Michael Daboul who has been steadily rising to the top of the industry. Michael Daboul is considered to be one of the division’s elite, and this is thanks to his fifth-place finish at the 2023 Olympia in Orlando, FL. He also won the 2023 New York Pro and 2023 Pittsburgh Pro, and he last competed in Columbus in 2022, taking home a fifth place title.
The third contender to watch out for is a man known for his vintage genetics, is Wesley Vissers. Wesley is coming off a win at the 2023 Romania Muscle Fest Pro show. Vissers also took home a 7th place placing at the 2023 Olympia. Though it has been awhile since Vissers’ most recent Arnold Classic appearance, as his last time on this stage was in 2019, where he finished in 10th place, he is still someone that can make a statement.
Debuting Athletes
There are five athletes that will be stepping onto the Arnold stage for the first time:Â
- Eric Brown Jr.
- Darren Farrell
- Damien Patrick
- Antoine Loth
- Emanuele Riccotti
Antoine Loth just earned his pro card in 2023, and had an awesome year as he won two pro shows out of the gate. Patrick also won two pro shows in 2023. These are some top notch athletes looking to take the title.
How to Watch the 2024 Arnold Classic
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The prejudging for the Arnold Classic will be on the Arnold Expo stage in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The finals will be in the Battelle Grand Ballroom in the same building.
If you want to attend in person, you can purchase tickets on the website, but you can also stay home. People who will stay home can catch all the action live on the FREE LIVE STREAM, and you can find the details for that right on the Arnold website.
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