The 2026 Arnold Classic is done — and it has a new champion. 🏆
The 38th Arnold Classic ran March 5–8, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. Seven divisions crowned champions across Friday and Saturday night, with 73 competitors — the biggest field since 2019.
Andrew Jacked won the Men’s Open on Saturday night, beating Nick Walker and former champion Hadi Choopan — and taking home $750,000, the biggest winner’s prize in bodybuilding history. 👑
The shocks came before the show even started. Defending Classic Physique champion Mike Sommerfeld missed the weight cap and could not compete — and Wesley Vissers took his second Arnold title in his place. 😮
Brandon Hendrickson won his second Arnold title in Men’s Physique. Aimee Delgado won her first in Bikini, Michelle Fredua-Mensah took Fitness, Rayane Fogal took Wellness, and James Berger won his first Arnold title in Pro Wheelchair. 💪
Derek Lunsford, the defending Open champion, and Samson Dauda, the 2023 winner, did not compete in Columbus. Jacked arrived off a third-place finish at the 2025 Olympia — and left with the biggest cheque the sport has ever paid.
2026 Arnold Classic Winners
All seven champions from Columbus:
- Men’s Open: Andrew Jacked
- Classic Physique: Wesley Vissers
- Men’s Physique: Brandon Hendrickson
- Bikini: Aimee Delgado
- Fitness: Michelle Fredua-Mensah
- Wellness: Rayane Fogal
- Pro Wheelchair: James Berger
Men’s Open Results
Andrew Jacked is the 2026 Arnold Classic champion — and $750,000 richer. 🏆
Jacked won prejudging 6–9 over Walker and held on in the finals, taking the title 13 points to 18. Choopan, the 2024 Arnold champion, finished third.
Walker, the 2021 Arnold champion, finished second and took the $10,000 Franco Columbu Most Muscular award. Martin Fitzwater finished fourth, and Brandon Curry — a two-time Arnold champion — finished fifth.
The $750,000 prize is the largest single payday in bodybuilding history — more than the $600,000 the 2025 Olympia paid its champion. With the $10,000 Ed Corney Best Poser award, Jacked took $760,000 home from Columbus.
2026 Arnold Classic — Men’s Open Top 10
- 1st Place — Andrew Jacked ($750,000)
- 2nd Place — Nick Walker ($250,000)
- 3rd Place — Hadi Choopan ($150,000)
- 4th Place — Martin Fitzwater
- 5th Place — Brandon Curry
- 6th Place — Rafael Brandao
- 7th Place — Mohamed Foda
- 8th Place — Akim Williams
- 9th Place — Hassan Mostafa
- 10th Place — Anthony Williams
Classic Physique Results
Wesley Vissers is the Arnold Classic champion again — his second title. 🏆
Vissers won with a perfect score of 5 points. Matheus Menegate finished second, and Andrea Mammoli finished third and took the $10,000 Best Poser award.
The title was open before the show began. Defending champion Mike Sommerfeld missed the Classic Physique weight cap — about seven pounds over his limit — and could not compete. Vissers, who won this title in 2024 and finished fifth in 2025, took full advantage.
Sam Sulek made his Arnold Classic debut in the division and finished eighth.
2026 Arnold Classic — Classic Physique Top 10
- 1st Place — Wesley Vissers ($100,000)
- 2nd Place — Matheus Menegate
- 3rd Place — Andrea Mammoli
- 4th Place — Joaquim Camps Angel
- 5th Place — Jorge Herrera
- 6th Place — Ethan Gohari
- 7th Place — Vahid Badpei
- 8th Place — Sam Sulek
- 9th Place — Paul Kanu
- 10th Place — Hang Niu
Men’s Physique Results
Brandon Hendrickson won his second Arnold Classic title. 🏅
Hendrickson won with 6 points. Vitor Chaves finished second on 9, and Emanual Hunter third on 16.
It is Hendrickson’s second Arnold title — the first came back in 2016 — to go with three Men’s Physique Olympia titles. Chaves pushed him all the way after finishing 10th at the 2025 Olympia.
2026 Arnold Classic — Men’s Physique Top 10
- 1st Place — Brandon Hendrickson ($50,000)
- 2nd Place — Vitor Chaves
- 3rd Place — Emanual Hunter
- 4th Place — Andrei Deiu
- 5th Place — Dilson Espindola Silva
- 6th Place — Benquil Marigny
- 7th Place — Burak Ozkul
- 8th Place — Emmanuel Jesus Oliveira Da Costa
- 9th Place — Lucas Viudes
- 10th Place — Paul Gustave
Bikini Results
Aimee Delgado is the new Bikini International champion. ✨
Delgado beat Lauralie Chapados into second and Ashlyn Little into third. It is her first Arnold trophy — she finished runner-up in both 2024 and 2025.
Ashley Kaltwasser finished fourth and Phoebe Hagan fifth.
2026 Arnold Classic — Bikini Top 10
- 1st Place — Aimee Delgado ($25,000)
- 2nd Place — Lauralie Chapados
- 3rd Place — Ashlyn Little
- 4th Place — Ashley Kaltwasser
- 5th Place — Phoebe Hagan
- 6th Place — Reyna Perez
- 7th Place — Sharon Ramos
- 8th Place — Uliana Stadnik
- 9th Place — Marie-Eve Duchesneau
- 10th Place — Xinyi Chen
Fitness Results
Michelle Fredua-Mensah won the Fitness International title. 🤸
Fredua-Mensah beat Amber Steffen into second and Allison Dominguez-Kramer into third. She was the runner-up at last year’s Arnold before winning her first Olympia title in October — and now she holds the sport’s two biggest titles.
2026 Arnold Classic — Fitness Top 10
- 1st Place — Michelle Fredua-Mensah
- 2nd Place — Amber Steffen
- 3rd Place — Allison Dominguez-Kramer
- 4th Place — Anna Fomina
- 5th Place — Jeanine Renee Taddeo
- 6th Place — Abby Bolton
- 7th Place — Tamara Vahn
- 8th Place — Stephanie Jones
- 9th Place — Michelle Gales
- 10th Place — Michaela Pavleova
Wellness Results
Rayane Fogal won the Wellness International title. 💪
Fogal beat Elisa Alcantara into second and Alexis Drury into third. It is her first Arnold win in the United States — she previously won the 2024 Arnold Classic South America in São Paulo.
Valquiria Telles Lopes finished fourth and Raeli Pereira Dias fifth.
2026 Arnold Classic — Wellness Top 10
- 1st Place — Rayane Fogal ($25,000)
- 2nd Place — Elisa Alcantara
- 3rd Place — Alexis Drury
- 4th Place — Valquiria Telles Lopes
- 5th Place — Raeli Pereira Dias
- 6th Place — Danai Theodoropoulou
- 7th Place — Giselle Machado
- 8th Place — Camile Luz
- 9th Place — Kassandra Gillis
- 10th Place — Marissa Andreou
Pro Wheelchair Results
James Berger won the Pro Wheelchair title — his first Arnold Classic win. 👏
Berger beat Josue Fabiano into second and Gaylon Grigsby into third. He is the reigning Wheelchair Olympia champion, having won the title in October 2025 — and he was the runner-up at last year’s Arnold.
Reigning two-time Arnold champion Rajesh John did not compete this year. Jan Povysil finished fourth and Will Anthony fifth.
2026 Arnold Classic — Pro Wheelchair Top 6
- 1st Place — James Berger
- 2nd Place — Josue Fabiano
- 3rd Place — Gaylon Grigsby
- 4th Place — Jan Povysil
- 5th Place — Will Anthony
- 6th Place — Jason Metcalf
Prize Money at the 2026 Arnold Classic
The Open paid the most, as always. Jacked took home $750,000, Walker $250,000 and Choopan $150,000 — the top three purses were announced by Arnold Schwarzenegger before the show, and the total purse was $1.5 million.
Vissers earned $100,000 for the Classic Physique title — a record for the division. Hendrickson earned $50,000, and Delgado and Fogal $25,000 each for their wins.
No prizes were published for fourth place or lower in the Open, or for the Fitness or Wheelchair winners, in the records checked. Jacked also took $10,000 for the Best Poser award, Walker $10,000 for Most Muscular, and Mammoli $10,000 for Best Poser in Classic Physique — taking Jacked’s Columbus total to $760,000.
What Happens Next
The 2026 season is not over. Jacked went on to win the Arnold Classic UK weeks later — another $250,000 — completing the “Million Dollar March” with over $1 million in prize money in a single month.
The road from Columbus led to Las Vegas. The 2026 Olympia results are in this series too — Walker’s first Sandow, Darwen’s shock Classic win, and the full results from all 12 divisions.
Related: 2025 Arnold Classic Results Mike Sommerfeld Wins His First Title in the Classic Physique
Related: Derek Lunsford Wins the 2025 Arnold Classic Open Bodybuilding Title
Related: Every Winner Of The Arnold Classic (2026): Complete List of Champions Since 1989
Related: Mr. Olympia 2026 Results