Arnold Sports Festival 2023: Dates, Event Schedule and More for Arnold Classic
The 2023 Arnold Sports Festival kicks off this week, and while the bodybuilding competition might not hold as much prestige as The Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger's annual extravaganza in Columbus has much more to offer the casual fitness and sports fan.
From fitness and dance competitions to weightlifting and martial arts events, the festival has a little something for everyone. Of course, bodybuilding remains one of the top draws, and the Arnold Classic is widely regarded as the second-most prestigious International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) event behind the Olympia.
The Arnold Classic has been running strong in central Ohio since its inception in 1989. Here you'll find a look at this year's festival schedule, along with a preview of the Arnold Classic itself.
Arnold Sports Festival 2022 Schedule, Key Events
Thursday, March 2
Arnold Amateur
USA Weightlifting
IFBB Pro Meet and Greet
Guns and Hoses Boxing and MMA
Friday, March 3
Arnold Amateur
USA Powerlifting
Foosball Meet and Greet, Clinic and Competition
Pole Fitness
Arnold Expo
Armwrestling—Prelims
MAS Wrestling
Amateur Strongman—Men's and Women's Prelims
Arnold Strongman Classic
Medieval Fighting
Martial Arts Festival
Classic Physique—Prejudging
Fitness International—Prejudging
Wellness International—Finals
Fitness International—Finals
Arnold Classic—Prejudging
Classic Physique
Saturday, March 4
USA Weightlifting
USA Powerlifting
Pole Fitness—PCS Pole Open
Armwrestling—Finals
Martial Arts Festival
Cheerleading and Dance
Youth DanceSport
Arnold Expo
Scottish Highland Games
Grappling
Medieval Fighting
Pro Wheelchair—Prejudging and Finals
World Chase Tag
Arnold Strongman Classic
Pole Fitness—PCS Championships
Ninja Classic
Bikini International - Prejudging
Angel Fashion Show
Arnold Men's Physique—Finals
Bikini International—Finals
Arnold Classic—Finals
Arnold Party with the Pros
Sunday, March 5
Arnold Showcase
Arnold Expo
MAS Wrestling
Amateur Strongman—Men's and Women's Finals
Grappling
World Chase Tag
5K Pump & Run
Youth DanceSport
ROGUE Record Breakers
Martial Arts Festival—Judo and Kickboxing Championships
Full schedule and event location information can be found at ArnoldSportsFestival.com.
Arnold Classic Schedule and Competitors
Prejudging
When: Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Columbus Convention Center—Battelle Grand
Finals
When: Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Columbus Convention Center—Battelle Grand
Competitors
William Bonac
Shaun Clarida
Samson Dauda
Kamal Elgargni
Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay
Chinedu Andrew Obiekea
Patrick Moore
Justin Rodriguez
Nick Walker
Akim Williams
Arnold Classic Preview
This year's Arnold Classic will feature several of the sport's top competitors, which shouldn't come as a surprise. According to Roger Lockridge of BarBend, the event has raided the first-place prize purse from $200,000 to $300,000 this year. While that's less than the $400,000 Hadi Choopan took home from the 2022 Olympia, it's an enticing payout.
Choopan won't be at this year's Arnold Classic, and neither will 2022 champion Brandon Curry. However, 2022 runner-up and two-time Classic champion (2018 and 2020) William Bonac will be among the favorites.
The top favorite, however, is Nick Walker. The 2021 Classic winner took third at last year's Olympia, finishing behind only Choopan and Derek Lunsford—and neither will compete in Columbus this weekend.
"I think Nick is unbeatable at this show, to be honest," IFBB pro Iain Valliere said on Fouad Abiad's Bro Chat podcast (h/t Joseph Kiran of Sportskeeda). "I think Nick is gonna be better than he was at the Olympia, and I think that Olympia, he was really good."
Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay is another notable name to keep an eye on heading into this weekend. While he only finished fifth at the 2022 Olympia, he's a two-time Mr. Olympia (2020 and 2021), who took third at the 2020 Arnold Classic—his only appearance in the event.
Chinedu Andrew Obiekea, known as "Andrew Jacked" could play spoiler to some of the more established competitors, however. He won the 2022 Arnold Amateur and also won the 2022 Texas Pro. He's an up-and-coming talent with a chance to stake his claim as one of the best in bodybuilding this weekend.
Samson Dauda and Justin Rodriguez are two other names to watch, as they finished in the top five of the 2022 Arnold Classic.
The competition will be fierce, and fans who want to watch the Arnold Classic unfold live—along with select events from the Arnold Sports Festival—can stream the event via pay-per-view on Fanmio.