# Arnold Sports Festival

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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## History

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 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.

## Curiosities

* Arnold Classic Ohio is the largest multi-sport championship in the world, ahead of even the Olympics.
** There are around 20,000 athletes from more than 80 countries competing in 60 sports, while the 2024 Olympic Games brought almost 11,000 athletes in 32 sports and 48 disciplines. The Arnold is second only to the number of countries: 206 at the Olympics.
* The event also promotes several amateur sports for fans to learn about and practice.
* The Arnold Classic Ohio is the second most prestigious event in professional bodybuilding, behind only the Mr. Olympia.
* Jim Lorimer, who founded the Arnold Classic with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1989, was a special agent for the FBI.
* Like Arnold, Lorimer ventured into politics, becoming mayor of Worthington, Ohio.
* The biggest Arnold Classic Ohio champion is a woman, Iris Kyle (USA), with 7 titles (interestingly, she is also the biggest Mr. Olympia winner, with 11 titles). Among men, Dexter Jackson (USA) is the biggest winner with 5 titles.

## Champions

| Year | Arnold Classic | Arnold Classic | Arnold Classic | Arnold Classic | Arnold Classic | Ms. International | Ms. International | Ms. International | Fitness International | Figure International | Bikini International | 212 | Women's Physique | Men's Physique | Classic Physique |
| Year | Overall | Best Poser | Most Muscular | Fan's Choice Award | Most Entertaining Routine | Overall | Heavyweight | Lightweight | | | | | | | |
| 1989 | Rich Gaspari | | | | | Jackie Paisley | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | Laura Creavalle | | | Carol Semple-Marzetta | | | | | | |
| 1996 | Kevin Levrone | | | | | Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls | | | Alexandra Béres | | | | | | |
| 1997 | Flex Wheeler | | | | | Yolanda Hughes-Heying | | | Carol Semple-Marzetta | | | | | | |
| 1998 | Flex Wheeler | | | | | Yolanda Hughes-Heying | | | Susie Curry | | | | | | |
| 1999 | Nasser El Sonbaty | | | | | Vickie Gates | | | Susie Curry | | | | | | |
| 2000 | Flex Wheeler | | | | | Vickie Gates | Vickie Gates | Brenda Raganot | Kelly Ryan | | | | | | |
| 2001 | Ronnie Coleman | | | | | Vickie Gates | Vickie Gates | Dayana Cadeau | Jenny Worth | | | | | | |
| 2002 | Jay Cutler | | | | | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Valentina Chepiga | Susie Curry | | | | | | |
| 2003 | Jay Cutler | | | | | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Cathy LeFrançois | Susie Curry | Jenny Lynn | | | | | |
| 2004 | Jay Cutler | | | | | Iris Kyle | Iris Kyle | Dayana Cadeau | Adela Garcia-Friedmansky | Jenny Lynn | | | | | |
| 2005 | Dexter Jackson | | | | | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Brenda Raganot | Jen Hendershott | Jenny Lynn | | | | | |
| 2006 | Dexter Jackson | | | | | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Adela Garcia-Friedmansky | Mary Lado | | | | | |
| 2007 | Víctor Martínez | | | | | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Kim Klein | Mary Lado | | | | | |
| 2008 | Dexter Jackson | | | | | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Kim Klein | Gina Aliotti | | | | | |
| 2009 | Kai Greene | Kai Greene | Branch Warren | | | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Jen Hendershott | Živilė Raudonienė | | | | | |
| 2010 | Kai Greene | Kai Greene | Branch Warren | | | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Adela Garcia-Friedmansky | Nicole Wilkins-Lee | | | | | |
| 2011 | Branch Warren | Dennis Wolf | Branch Warren | Branch Warren | | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Adela Garcia-Friedmansky | Nicole Wilkins-Lee | Nicole Nagrani | | | | |
| 2012 | Branch Warren | Best Poser category not held. | Branch Warren | Fan's Choice Award category not held. | Branch Warren | Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Adela Garcia-Friedmansky | Nicole Wilkins-Lee | Sonia Gonzales | | | | |
| 2013 | Dexter Jackson | Best Poser category not held. | Most Muscular category not held. | Fan's Choice Award category not held. | Most Entertaining Routine category not held. | Iris Kyle | Heavyweight category not held. | Lightweight category not held. | Tanji Johnson | Candice Keene | India Paulino | | | | |
| 2014 | Dennis Wolf | Best Poser category not held. | Most Muscular category not held. | Fan's Choice Award category not held. | Most Entertaining Routine category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Oksana Grishina | Candice Keene | Ashley Kaltwasser | James Lewis | | | |
| 2015 | Dexter Jackson | Best Poser category not held. | Most Muscular category not held. | Fan's Choice Award category not held. | Most Entertaining Routine category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Oksana Grishina | Camala Rodriguez-McClure | Ashley Kaltwasser | Jose Raymond | Juliana Malacarne | Sadik Hadzovic | |
| 2016 | Kai Greene | | | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Oksana Grishina | Latorya Watts | India Paulino | Hidetada Yamagishi | Autumn Swansen | Brandon Hendrickson | |
| 2017 | Cedric McMillan | | | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Oksana Grishina | Candice Lewis-Carter | Angelica Teixeira | Ahmad Ashkanani | Daniely Castilho | Ryan Terry | |
| 2018 | William Bonac | Fred Smalls | Roelly Winklaar | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Whitney Jones | Candice Lewis-Carter | Angelica Teixeira | Kamal Elgargni | Shanique Grant | Andre Ferguson | Breon Ansley |
| 2019 | Brandon Curry | Joshua Lenartowicz | William Bonac | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ryall Graber | Cydney Gillon | Janet Layug | 212 category not held. | Natalia Abraham Coelho | Andre Ferguson | George Peterson |
| 2020 | William Bonac | Dexter Jackson | Mamdouh Elssbiay | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Missy Truscott | Natalia Soltero | Elisa Pecini | 212 category not held. | Natalia Abraham Coelho | Andre Ferguson | Alex Cambronero |
| 2021 | Nicholas Walker | Sergio Oliva Jr. | Nicholas Walker | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Missy Truscott | Figure International category not held. | Jennifer Dorie | 212 category not held. | Women's Physique category not held. | Men's Physique category not held. | Terrence Ruffin |
| 2022 | Brandon Curry | Brandon Curry | William Bonac | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ariel Khadr | Cydney Gillon | Lauralie Chapados | 212 category not held. | Women's Physique category not held. | Erin Banks | Terrence Ruffin |
| 2023 | Samson Dauda | Andrew Jacked | Nick Walker | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ariel Khadr | | Lauralie Chapados | Ariel Khadr | Women's Physique category not held. | Erin Banks | Ramón Rocha Queiroz |
| 2024 | Hadi Choopan | Samson Dauda | Rafael Brandão | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ariel Khadr | | Lauralie Chapados | | | | | Wesley Vissers |
| 2025 | Derek Lunsford | Samson Dauda | Andrew Jacked | | | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | Ms. International category not held. | | | | | | | | |

## 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 | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2012 | Shawn Rhoden | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2013 | Phil Heath | Brandon Curry | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2014 | Dennis Wolf | Steve Kuclo | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2015 | Dexter Jackson | Mamdouh Elssbiay | Dexter Jackson | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2016 | Dexter Jackson | Kai Greene | Kai Greene | Dexter Jackson | Justin Compton | Event not held. |
| 2017 | Mamdouh Elssbiay | Lukas Osladil | Brandon Curry | Johnnie O. Jackson | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2018 | Michal Krizanek | Marcelo da Cruz | Roelly Winklaar | Tomas Kaspar | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2019 | Michal Krizanek | Juan Morel | William Bonac | Michal Krizanek | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2020 | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. | Event not held. |
| 2021 | Michal Krizanek | | | | | Nathan De Asha |