When Will the Arnold Classic 2024 Start and Who Are the Athletes Competing This Year?

With the 2023 Mr. Olympia behind us, excitement for the next big event in bodybuilding, the Arnold Classic, has started building. The Arnold Classic 2024 will take place in Columbus, Ohio, from March 1st to 3rd, 2024. While the second most prestigious show in bodybuilding after Mr. Olympia is over two months away, the organizers have announced the official line-up.

Unlike the Mr. Olympia, the Arnold Classic gives a stage to sports like strongman and powerlifting. However, the Arnold Sports Festival has only announced the entire bodybuilding line-up for the upcoming show at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio. The competition founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger, features seven categories with over 80 contestants.

Men’s Bodybuilding at the Arnold Classic

Every year, the second most prestigious international competition in bodybuilding tries to rival the Mr. Olympia line-up. Besides the Open division’s defending champion, Smason Dauda, 2022 Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan will also compete at the 2024 Arnold Classic.

The organizers have spiced up the line-up further with Andrew Jacked (last year’s best poser award winner). Besides these famous names, the roster also features newcomer Rubiel ‘Neckzilla’ Mosquera. Mosquera made quite a splash with his freakish size and placed third in his first IFBB pro show featuring Smason Duada.

However, Choopan, Jacked, and Mosquera’s confirmations remain pending due to visa issues. The full list of Men’s Open division competitors includes:

Remeco Bose

Rafael Brandao

Hadi Choopan

Samson Dauda

Marcello De Angeles

Jonathan De La Rosa

James Hollingshead

Andrew Jacked

Rubiel Mosquera

Justin Rodriguez

Mohamed Shaaban

Antoine Valliant

Akim Williams

The Classic physique roster is also stacked. It’s even more stacked than the Open division, because the top 10 Olympians, except champion Chris Bumstead, will compete. Ramon Dino will defend his title, while the first Arnold Classic Physique champion, Breon Ansley, will make a return. 2022 champion Terrence Ruffin will also return in 2024.

The Classic Physique roster will feature:

Breon Ansley

Eric Brown Jr.

Michael Daboul

Darren Farrell

Urs Kalecinski

Antoine Loth

Courage Opara

Damien Patrick

Ramon Rocha Queiroz

Emanuele Ricotti

Terrence Ruffin

Wesley Vissers

Interestingly, no defending Men’s Physique champions are returning for the upcoming edition of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding contest. Instead, a new Men’s Physique champion will emerge in 2024. The 12 contenders of the Physique division include:

Mahmood Al-Maghrabi

Vitor Chaves

Emmanuel Costa

Jeffrey Darko

Ismael Martinez Dominguez 

Emanual Hunter

Jonas Jamena

Vinicius Mateus Vieira Lima

Diego Montenegro

Corey Morris

Andres Ramos

Emile Walker

A special division for differently-abled bodybuilders 

The Wheelchair division continues to be an attraction at the Arnold Classic. In 2024, defending champion Harold Kelley will compete. Former champion Gabriele Andriulli will also look to become a two-time champion at Ohio next year. The 10 competitors for the Wheelchair division include:

Gabriele Andriulli

Bradley Betts

Tyler Brey

Gaylon Grigsby

Josue Fabiano

Leonard Harmon

Rajesh John

Harold Kelley

Antoni Khadraoui

Chad McCrary

Watch this story | From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Chris Bumstead – Here Are the Top 5 Most Aesthetic Bodybuilders to Ever Compete in Mr. Olympia

Women’s bodybuilding at the Arnold Classic

The Arnold Sports Festival also announced three Women’s bodybuilding divisions for the 2024 edition of the Classic. 36 bodybuilders will take the stage, with Bikini International, Fitness International & Wellness International each having 12 constants.

Two-time Bikini International champion Lauralie Chapados will defend her title in 2024 at Columbus. Among the 12 competitors will be 4x Classic champion Angelica Teixeria. However, the 2023 Bikini Olympia winner Jennifer Dorie is not part of the line-up. The Bikini International roster includes:

Rhoda Allie

Vania Auguste

Tamekia Carter

Lauralie Chapados

Aimee Delgado

Ivanna Escandar

Eli Fernandez

Phoebe Hagan

Ottavia Mazza

Elisa Pecini

Amanda Marques Pereira

Angelica Teixeira

Fitness International is also a standout division for its unique posing routines. Reigning champion and two-time winner Ariel Khadr will attempt to extend her championship run. The Fitness International roster includes:

Jaclyn Baker

Jodi Boam

Abby Bolton

Tiffany Chandler

Danielle Chikeles

Ariel Khadr

Michelle Fredua-Mensah

Anna Fomina

Minna Pajulahti

Nikolett Szabo

Aurika Tyrgale

Tamara Vahn

2023 Wellness Olympia winner Francielle Mattos will look for back-to-back success at the 2024 Arnold Classic. However, she’ll have to contend with 2023 runner-up Isabelle Nunes and 10 other competitors:

Sandra Colorado Acal

Amanda Burnett

Johanna Calcano

Lili Dong

Anne-Marie Gobiel

Andrea Hrenko

Hye Yoon Kim

Francielle Mattos

Isabelle Nunes

Tefani-Sam Rahzi

Bruna Seredich

Courtney Starr

Besides 2023 Mr. Olympia winner Derek Lunsford, reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead, and Bikini Olympia champ Jennifer Dorie, nearly all the top bodybuilders will compete at the 2024 Arnold Classic. The second most prestigious bodybuilding contest will offer $300,000 to the men’s open winner, the same as last year. Are you excited for the 2024 Arnold Classic? Tell us in the comments.

Read more | Who Has Won the Most Arnold Classic Titles?