Wesley Vissers wins his first title! Overall results of the Arnold Classic 2024 Day 1.

Few bodybuilding competitions are as popular as the Arnold Classic. Great facilities for athletes, properly set financial rewards and prestige under the auspices of one of the most famous bodybuilders of all time together ensure that the biggest stars of the industry always appear at this competition. And this year, of course, is no different. The 35th anniversary edition of the event, held in Columbus, Ohio, USA, will feature seven bodybuilding divisions, as well as powerlifting, weightlifting and strongman competitions. Let's see what the first day brought.

Arnold Classic Classic Physique

Let's start with the category that was held for the seventh time this year and which is undoubtedly one of the most attractive for the spectators. Although the king of this category and five-time winner of Mr. Olympia was for this time the abstinent Cbum, the starting list was really packed with big names. The pairing that resonated the most was undoubtedly Queiroz and Kalecinski, old rivals of the aforementioned Chris Bumstead. And although Cbum had recently tipped Ramon to win, it wasn't that simple after all.

In the end, the talented Wesley Vissers, who has a seventh place from the last Olympia, managed to squeeze in between the two hot favourites rather quickly. Even though he was on the start list, nobody had high hopes for him. But this time he brought incredible muscle separation, good posing and broad shoulders to the podium, which made his physique look really good. Unfortunately for him though, the favoured Queiroz also brought great form. Although Kalecinski slightly lost in some poses, he was able to make up for everything with great posing, because later in the evening this athlete took the award for best posing.

Even though it was a close fight, the judges decided to favour the newcomer among these seasoned matadors and so Vissers took the gold. Queiroz followed, with Kalecinski in third, Breon Ansley in fourth and Michael Daboul rounding out the top five.

Top 5

The order is also interesting because of the growing speculation that the dominating Cbum will retire in the near future, which has people wondering who will replace him. The favourites so far have been Kalecinski and Queiroz, but as you can see, nothing is clear in bodybuilding and there could be many more potential candidates. It's already clear that Wesley will be a force to be reckoned with. However, Terrence Ruffin, who missed the Arnold Classic because of his plans to open his own gym, will not miss his chance to get into the limelight.

Women's Fitness

The next category was also quite attractive for the audience, the Women's Fitness category, which is known for its dynamic and interesting routines in which athletes can present themselves. Within this category there is a similar rivalry as in the aforementioned physiques and this time it was perfectly followed up. In fact, two-time champion of this division Ariel Khadr ran into rising star Jaclyn Baker, who achieved bronze in her last appearance at Olympia. And although it was an evenly matched contest this time around, Khadr drew fans and judges alike to her side with an intriguing routine inspired by the movie Predator. The top five in this category were as follows:

Top 5

Women's Wellness

While the men's categories carry Arnold's name in their title, the women's categories are usually referred to by the word International. And the Wellness International category, like the previous categories on Friday night, offered a really intense battle. It featured Francielle Mattos, who is a legend of the sport. She won this category three times at the Mr. Olympia competition. But the interesting thing is that this category has only appeared three times at the prestigious competition so far and Mattos won what she could win. This year, however, she only managed to do so by a single point, because right behind her was Isabelle Pereira Nunes, who of course also appeared at this year's Arnold. However, the judges only needed two relatively quick callouts to decide the outcome. The favored Mattos came out of this fight as the winner, leaving the other competitors behind. The standings were as follows:

Top 5

Well, that's it for Friday's competition, the remaining 4 categories, topped by the long-awaited men's open bodybuilding, will take place on Saturday evening, so we will inform you about the results tomorrow.