This is the largest field on the men’s side of the stage.
Last updated on October 1st, 2024
The 2024 Classic Physique Olympia, set for Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, as part of the 2024 Olympia Weekend, will be the ninth edition of the contest. The single-day contest will begin at the Las Vegas Convention Center as part of the 2024 Olympia World Fitness Expo and finish inside Resorts World that evening.
The 63-man roster is the largest on the men’s side of the stage and in the division’s history. The full lineup is below, starting with the defending champion and followed by the challengers in the order they qualified.
2024 Classic Physique Olympia Roster
- Chris Bumstead (Canada) — Defending Champion
- Fanni Fuadi (Indonesia)
- Nathaniel Joiner (USA)
- Chen Kang (China)
- Antoine Loth (Spain)
- Everson Costa Melo (Brazil)
- Damien Patrick (USA)
- Ramon Rocha Queiroz (Brazil)
- Urs Kalecinski (Germany)
- Gabriel Zancanelli (Brazil)
- Jihoon Bang (South Korea)
- Wesley Vissers (Netherlands)
- Han Jin Choi (South Korea)
- Logan Franklin (USA)
- Mike Sommerfeld (Germany)
- Daryn Shirbayev (Kazakhstan)
- JaeHun Park (South Korea)
- Michael Daboul (United Kingdom)
- Emanuele Ricotti (Italy)
- Fabiony Sylvain (USA)
- Fabio Junio (Brazil)
- Jeremiah Willies (USA)
- Tomas Adame (USA)
- Shicheng Jin (China)
- Richard Nagy (Hungary)
- Eric Lisboa (Brazil)
- Hyun Seok Lee (South Korea)
- Jose Manuel Munoz (Spain)
- Livingstone Livinho (Brazil)
- Matthew Greggo (USA)
- Luca Reger (Germany)
- Mikhail Timoshin (Russia)
- Lamar Shaw (USA)
- Robert Timms (USA)
- Abdullah Al-Sairafi (Kuwait)
- Niall Darwen (United Kingdom)
- Tyler Johnson (Canada)
- Zhivko Petkov (Bulgaria)
- Gabriel Pereira (Brazil)
- Osmar Alanis (Mexico)
- Stephane Matala (France)
- Shitian Wang (China)
- Bjay Carswell (USA)
- Ahmed Hameed Aleidani (United Arab Emirates)
- Kellen Wilson (Canada)
- Vahid Badpei (Iran)
- Carlos Dommar (Venezuela)
- Junior Javorski (Brazil)
- Andres Eduardo Taveras (Dominican Republic)
- Breon Ansley (USA)
- Diego Alejandro Galindo Garavito (Brazil)
- Justin Badurina (USA)
- Andrei Kozhokar (Russia)
- Matheus Menegate (Brazil)
- Kim Angel (Spain)
- Soomin Yoon (South Korea)
- Jorge Herrera (Mexico)
- Mauro Fialho (Spain)
- Jian Gao (China)
- Breno Freire (Brazil)
- Adrian Cyronek (Poland)
- Tony Taveras (USA)
- Julio Simoes (Brazil)
Terrence Ruffin was qualified for this contest but withdrew from the lineup.
[Related: 2024 Mr. Olympia Preview]
[Related: 2024 Men’s Physique Olympia Preview]
How to Qualify
Past Olympia champions have lifetime eligibility to compete within their division. If it has been over five years since their last Olympia win, they must obtain permission from the IFBB Pro League office to compete in the Olympia.
The top three finishers from the 2023 Olympia are automatically qualified for the 2024 contest. The rest of the lineup was filled by competitors who won a pro show during the qualifying season, which concluded on Sept. 15, 2024.
The only other path to the Olympia stage is a special invite from the IFBB Pro League or the Olympia promoters. No special invites have been announced at the time of this article’s publication.
Past Champions
Five-time and defending champion Chris Bumstead is the early favorite to extend his record for most Olympia wins in this division. “CBum” has dominated this division since 2019 and is considered by many to be the most popular bodybuilder in the world. Many feel that as long as he is not off the mark, he will retain his title.
The only other champions in this lineup are 2017 and 2018 winner Breon Ansley, who is the last athlete to have defeated Bumstead in competition. After contemplating moving to the 212 division in 2023, Ansley remains in Classic Physique.
Despite of being a past Olympia champion, Ansley won the 2024 Dubai Pro to clinch a qualification for this contest as a show winner. Ansley aims to be the first to win back the Classic Physique Olympia title after losing it onstage. He ranked fourth in this contest in 2023.
Top Contenders
If neither Bumstead nor Ansley wins, whomever does will be the fourth champion in the division’s history. The group of top contenders for this title has never been as large as it is in 2024.
Wesley Vissers emerged as the number one contender this season after his win at the 2024 Arnold Classic Physique over two-time champion Ramon Rocha Querioz. “The Dutch Oak” was in his best shape ever at that contest, and won the Arnold Classic Physique UK contest two weeks later.
Vissers is seen as an athlete who can match Bumstead’s size. If Vissers can bring a big, ripped, he and Bumstead could put on a show for the judges and fans. If Vissers wins, he would join Ansley as the only athlete to win both major Classic Physique titles in the same season.
Queiroz finished second to Bumstead in 2023 and 2022. Queiroz seeks redemption against Vissers and hopes to finally dethrone Bumstead after failing to do so twice.
Urs Kalecinski has been as high as third on the Olympia stage, but has yet to crack the top two. He has beaten Vissers in the past but needs to move past Querioz and be compared against Bumstead.
Dark Horses
Classic Physique is rich in new talent and seasoned competitors looking to climb the rankings.
Michael Daboul ranked sixth in 2023 and scored an early 2024 qualification. However, he was the victim of a reported attack by multiple security guards at a contest in London, England, which affected his year. Daboul has since returned to the stage and qualified for the 2025 Olympia via winning the 2024 Titans Grand Prix Pro in Anaheim, CA, on Sept. 21, 2024.
Other top 10 contenders from 2023 returning in 2024 include Mike Sommerfeld, Vahid Badpei, and Jae Hun Park. Other athletes who could potentially move into the top 10 include Robert Timms, Damien Patrick, Eric Lisboa, and Matthew Greggo.
Other Notes
Both rounds of this contest, all 11 pro divisions, and the 2024 Amateur Olympia will be available to watch live on the 2024 Olympia pay-per-view, which can be purchased on the Olympia website. BarBend will also share updates leading up to the Olympia and provide coverage of all the contests in Las Vegas throughout the weekend.
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Featured Image: @cbum on Instagram
