Lionel Beyeke Out of 2021 Arnold Classic Due to Travel Restrictions
With 1 week to go before the 2021 Arnold Classic, one of the Men's Open competitors revealed that he will not be a part of this year's contest in Columbia, Ohio. 2016 San Marino Pro winner Lionel Beyeke announced on Instagram that he will have to miss the show due to travel restrictions in his home country of France. Part of his reasoning is below:
"Unfortunately, the scourge of the virus has prevented French citizens from gaining entry into the US in time for me to compete and achieve my objectives. One of these objectives that I have not been able to fulfill is to be able to participate in the Arnold Classic 2021 this year. This is a regret that I must put behind me as I continue to work hard to be even better for the upcoming competitions which I hope to be be able to attend."
This will make the second straight year that the French competitor will miss the Arnold Classic. He also missed the 2020 Arnold Classic contest after being invited to compete due to personal reasons. He had previously graced the Arnold USA stage four times. His highest placing was fourth in 2017.
As of this writing, Beyeke had yet to announce when he plans to step onstage again. Beyeke is the second man in the lineup to pull out of the contest. 2017 Arnold Classic winner Cedric McMillan also announced that he will be out due to recovering from injuries he sustained in a bike accident. However, he will be in Columbus to work as part of the webcast announcement team. That leaves 12 men to pose down for this year's title as well as the final qualification for the 2021 Mr. Olympia.
- William Bonac
- Maxx Charles
- Mohamed El Emam
- Steve Kuclo
- Seung Chul Lee
- Hassan Mostafa
- Sergio Olivia Jr.
- Justin Rodriguez
- Iain Valliere (Team Canada)
- Nick Walker
- Akim Williams
- Roelly Winklaar