Andrew Jacked wins the main event and the biggest purse in bodybuilding history.
By Roger “Rock” Lockridge, Managing Editor
The 2026 Arnold Classic weekend is in the record books, and the sold-out crowds and worldwide audience saw bodybuilding history be made. Andrew Jacked took home the biggest cash prize in the sport’s history, $750,000. That was one of seven major championship events that was held in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, though. Let’s take a brief look back at all the action in Ohio.
Men’s Open Bodybuilding (Arnold Classic)
It was clear from the first callout in prejudging that the title would come down to Jacked, Nick Walker, and Hadi Choopan. However, experts in the audience noticed that none of them appeared to be their best. That said, all three men still looked impressive enough for the judges to put them through multiple comparisons in both rounds of judging on Friday and Saturday night.
Martin Fitzwater and 2019 Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry rounded out the top five in that order. Choopan appeared disappointed but accepted his third-place finish, then announcer David Baye announced Walker as the runner-up, which led Jacked to celebrate onstage. Jacked has confirmed that he will go to the United Kingdon for the 2026 Arnold Classic UK event with hopes of winning the $250,000 prize there to complete the “Million Dollar March.”
- Andrew Jacked
- Nick Walker
- Hadi Choopan
- Martin Fitzwater
- Brandon Curry
Classic Physique
Following the surprising news that Mike Sommerfeld failed to make weight for the Classic Physique division, leading him to bow out, Wesley Vissers emerged as the favorite to take the Classic Physique title, and he did that in dominating fashion. He also set a record for his category for being the first $100,000 winner in the division. Matheus Menegate Piccioli and Andrea Mammoli took silver and bronze, respectively. Vissers will now look ahead and ultimately see if he can match his Arnold performance with his first Olympia title later this year.
- Wesley Vissers
- Matheus Menegate Piccioli
- Andrea Mammoli
- Joaquim Camps Angel
- Jorge Herrera
Men’s Physique
There was very little doubt that Brandon Hendrickson was going to win the Men’s Physique title, and he fulfilled that prediction by holding off Vitor Chaves (second) and Emanual Hunter (third) to be the last man standing in the Battelle Grand. This is his second career Arnold win.
- Brandon Hendrickson
- Vitor Chaves
- Emanual Hunter
- Andrei Deiu
- Burak Ozkul
Men’s Wheelchair Bodybuilding
2025 Wheelchair Olympia champion James Berger now has an Arnold win to match that and is now clearly established as the number one man in his category. Josue Fabiano put up a great effort and physique in the Arnold Expo, but Berger was deemed the victor by three points on the scorecards. Berger confirmed the goal now is to see how many of both titles he can rack up in a row.
- James Berger
- Josue Fabiano
- Gaylon Grigsby
- Jan Povysil
- Will Anthony
Bikini International
Aimee Delgado has been knocking on the door of her first major title for two years now. Following a close matchup with three-time Arnold winner Lauralie Chapados, Delgado finally walked through the other side and is your 2026 Bikini International champion. Delgado will now also set her sights on Las Vegas later this year and try to become Ms. Bikini Olympia for the first time as well.
- Aimee Delgado
- Lauralie Chapados
- Ashlyn Little
- Ashley Kaltwasser
- Phoebe Hagan
Fitness International
Ms. Fitness Olympia is now also Ms. Fitness International. Michelle Fredua-Mensah won the posing round and took third in the routine round to take the title back to the United Kingdom. Amber Steffen won the second round of the contest, but her eighth-place finish in the first round is what kept her from winning the championship. Allison Kramer rounded out the top three.
- Michelle Fredua-Mensah
- Amber Steffen
- Allison Kramer
- Anna Fomina
- Jeanine Renee Taddeo
Wellness International
Last, but not least, was the Wellness International, and Rayane Fogal showed why Brazil is the dominant country of this division. She was the clear victor on the scorecards over runner-up Elisa Alcantara of the Dominion Republic and American Alexis Drury. Fogal can now also concentrate on the Olympia thanks to this big victory.
- Rayane Fogal
- Elisa Alcantara
- Alexis Drury
- Valquiria Telles Lopes
- Raeli Pereira Dias
Beyond the new and returning champions mentioned above, there were three other significant awards to be recognized at this year’s Arnold Classic. First off, Andrew Jacked received the Ed Corney Best Poser Award. This award came with an extra $10,000 payday.
While Nick Walker finished as the Arnold Classic runner up, he was presented with the Franco Columbo Most Muscular Award., and there was no question that he definitely earned this title. This award also presented Walker with $10,000 in bonus prizes.
The other standout moment was when Dexter “The Blade Jackson” was honored with the 2026 Arnold Schwarzenegger Lifetime Achievement Award. It was an emotional moment for Jackson, as well as all of us long time fans of his, when he was presented with the award.
Muscle Insider has a massive amount of coverage from the Arnold Classic on our social media pages, interviews with several champions and legends on the Muscle Insider YouTube channel, and on muscleinsider.com.
Coverage of the 2026 Arnold Classic is proudly sponsored by MUTANT. Check out their full lineup of high-performance supplements at mutantnation.com and on Instagram @mutantnation.
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