Arnold Sports Festival

Logo of the Arnold Sports Festival

The IFBB 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), fitness, figure and bikini 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, United States by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB). It is the second most prestigious event in professional men's bodybuilding, physique, figure and bikini; as well as formerly the second most prestigious event in professional female bodybuilding.

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.[1]

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.”[2]

Champions

Year Arnold Classic Ms. International Fitness International Figure International Bikini International Pro Arnold Classic 212 Arnold Classic Women's Physique Arnold Classic Men's Physique
Overall Best Poser Most Muscular Fan's Choice Award Most Entertaining Routine Overall Heavyweight Lightweight
1989 United States Rich Gaspari United States Jackie Paisley
1990 United States Mike Ashley Canada Laura Creavalle
1991 United States Shawn Ray United States Tonya Knight
1992 United States Vince Taylor Germany Anja Schreiner
1993 United States Flex Wheeler United States Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls
1994 United States Kevin Levrone Canada Laura Creavalle United States Carol Semple-Marzetta
1995 United States Mike Francois Canada Laura Creavalle United States Carol Semple-Marzetta
1996 United States Kevin Levrone United States Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls Hungary Alexandra Béres
1997 United States Flex Wheeler United States Yolanda Hughes-Heying United States Carol Semple-Marzetta
1998 United States Flex Wheeler United States Yolanda Hughes-Heying United States Susie Curry
1999 Serbia and Montenegro Nasser El Sonbaty United States Vickie Gates United States Susie Curry
2000 United States Flex Wheeler United States Vickie Gates United States Vickie Gates United States Brenda Raganot United States Kelly Ryan
2001 United States Ronnie Coleman United States Vickie Gates United States Vickie Gates Canada Dayana Cadeau Canada Jenny Worth
2002 United States Jay Cutler Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Ukraine Valentina Chepiga United States Susie Curry
2003 United States Jay Cutler Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Canada Cathy LeFrançois United States Susie Curry United States Jenny Lynn
2004 United States Jay Cutler United States Iris Kyle United States Iris Kyle Canada Dayana Cadeau United States Adela Garcia-Friedmansky United States Jenny Lynn
2005 United States Dexter Jackson Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia United States Brenda Raganot United States Jen Hendershott United States Jenny Lynn
2006 United States Dexter Jackson United States Iris Kyle Heavyweight category not held. Lightweight category not held. United States Adela Garcia-Friedmansky United States Mary Lado
2007 Dominican Republic Victor Martinez United States Iris Kyle United States Kim Klein United States Mary Lado
2008 United States Dexter Jackson Venezuela Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia United States Kim Klein United States Gina Aliotti
2009 United States Kai Greene United States Kai Greene United States Branch Warren United States Iris Kyle United States Jen Hendershott Lithuania Živilė Raudonienė
2010 United States Kai Greene United States Kai Greene United States Branch Warren United States Iris Kyle United States Adela Garcia-Friedmansky United States Nicole Wilkins-Lee
2011 United States Branch Warren Germany Dennis Wolf United States Branch Warren United States Branch Warren United States Iris Kyle United States Adela Garcia-Friedmansky United States Nicole Wilkins-Lee United States Nicole Nagrani
2012 United States Branch Warren Best Poser category not held. United States Branch Warren Fan's Choice Award category not held. United States Branch Warren United States Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia United States Adela Garcia-Friedmansky United States Nicole Wilkins-Lee United States Sonia Gonzales
2013 United States Dexter Jackson Most Muscular category not held. Most Entertaining Routine category not held. United States Iris Kyle United States Tanji Johnson United States Candice Keene United States India Paulino
2014 Germany Dennis Wolf None Russia Oksana Grishina United States Candice Keene United States Ashley Kaltwasser United States James Lewis
2015 United States Dexter Jackson Russia Oksana Grishina United States Camala Rodriguez-McClure United States Ashley Kaltwasser United States Juliana Malacarne United States Sadik Hadzovic United States Jose Ramond

Arnold Classic International

Arnold Classic is also held as:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Greater Columbus Convention Center. "2013 Arnold Cheerleading & Dance Championships". Arnoldsportsfestival.com. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  2. ↑ "Ms. International Dropped from 2014 Arnold Sports Festival". Hard Body News. June 7, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Arnold Classic for 2016". The Mercury (South Africa). August 20, 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Breaking News: Arnold Australia Webcast Comes to Digital Muscle!". digitalmuscle.com. Digital Muscle. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Schwarzenegger sports fests now in Africa, Asia for 6 total". AP Online. March 4, 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

External links

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