Arnold Classic Background
It might not come us a surprise to many of you that the Arnold Classic was named after the legendary professional body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger who has also performed powerful roles in movies like the Terminator. This was originally launched in Columbus, Ohio as a four-day extravaganza focused around bodybuilding and fitness. It is actually a sports festival comprising of a multisport event where different sporting codes are celebrated. It has fitness and bodybuilding competitions as well as a 3-day fitness expo to help motivate people to improve their fitness level and have well-toned bodies as well as healthy lifestyles. This year, however, Arnold Classic has come up with something beyond its own geographical as well as creative limits. It has launched the Arnold Classic Africa 2016 in Johannesburg, Africa which promised to be a more exciting and fantastic event set into the end of this May. The event was a major hit and turned out to be more fun-filled and thrilling than promised. The multiple sport and exhibition pageants had some of the hardest competitions with the most unpredictable results this spring. The location for the Arnold Classic may be new but the fervor and zest of the competitors, judges and audience was as good as it has always been in Ohio. It was one power-packed event with amazing news that you definitely would be interested to know about.
The major attractions of the event are undoubtedly the different kinds of sports competitions and exhibitions but nothing can beat the excitement of meeting the legend himself Arnold Schwarzenegger. The professional body builder kept the fans thrilled and happy by giving an amazing motivational speech where he began in a very casual way interacting with his fans as if they are his own family. He disclosed in his speech the hardships he faced throughout his life and how he managed to handle everything with an iron fist. He started as a bricklayer for the fulfillment of his dreams and today he is an inspiration for millions around the world. His famous quotes from the speech were also uploaded on the official social media accounts to boost the morale of fans that could not make it to the event. The most exciting part was when he ended the speech with his world famous dialogue “Hasta la vista, baby” and then he bowed to say he will be back. He interacted with different fans along with a handicapped sixteen-year-old to make his birthday wish come true. This tradition of interacting with fans was followed by the star competitors who did not dare to disappoint their fans. The winners like Dexter also shared the stage with the hosts of the events to give their point of views specifically about the events inaugurated under this sports festival and generally about life and the difficulties one faces during attainment of one’s dreams. Thus, this event was not only about excitement and thrill but also about inculcating positive attitude in the minds of millions seeking to accomplish their goals.
Arnold Classic Africa Men’s Body Building Competition
Coming to the competitions it would be justice enough to firstly talk about the men’s bodybuilding competition as it was surely the heart of the event. It was an amazing event which kept the audience drop their jaws at the sight of well maintained and amazingly toned bodies of each competitor. The competitors gave a tough time to the judges especially Dexter Jackson and Roelly Walker who are both champions in the field of bodybuilding. Roelly was ready to flaunt the best body of his entire career so everyone did have a soft corner in their hearts for him. However, Dexter had the maximum support of live as well as online audience as he was already not participating in the Mr. Olympia competition so fans from all over the world wanted him to win. The wishes of his fans were fulfilled and Dexter was crowned as the inaugural champion of the men’s bodybuilding competition.
Arnold Classic Africa Ladies Fitness Challenge
Another amazing competition in this sports extravaganza was the ladies fitness challenge. The obsession of women with well-toned bodies is always greater than that of men so this competition was quite motivating for the female fans as well where the bikini clad competitors flaunted their awe-inspiring abs, toned biceps and worth dying for triceps with confidence. This challenge is a very powerful depiction of women empowerment showing women cannot be left behind, in literally any field, rather they outdo men at times when it comes to fitness. The competition was quite tough as every contestant was sporting a very well-maintained physique and showing dedicated athleticism but after taking various aspects into consideration the judges were finally able to reach a consensus. The final verdict went into the favor of the beautiful and strong Betty Wagner while Regiane Da Silva was declared as the first runner-up.
Arm Wrestling
It is not only a quest for overall fitness but also focuses on smartly utilizing this fitness to beat your rivals in any sort of contest. A quite interesting part of the sports festival was the infinite thrill-packed arm wrestling competition. The final match of the men’s over 100kg arm wrestling was contested between Hanco Nel and Terence Opperman. Both the rivals were quite well prepared and committed to winning however the final title went to Hanco Nel as he beat Opperman after a tough competition.
Pro Strongman Competition
This was a very exciting pageant where the professionals displayed their strength by pulling a truck in the least possible time. The best performance in this competition was by Thor Bjornsson who made the herculean task look like a piece of cake by finishing it in a time span of just 31.41 seconds.
2016 Arnold Classic Africa Results!
1st Place – Dexter Jackson
2nd Place – Roelly Winklaar
3rd Place – Lionel Beyeke
4th Place – Victor Martinez
5th Place – Fred Smalls
6th Place – Michael Kelafianos
2016 Arnold Classic Africa Fitness Results!
1st – Bethany Wagner
2nd – Regiane Da Silva
3rd – Marta Aguiar
4th – Myriam Capes
5th – Kristine Duba
Final Verdict on the 2016 Arnold Classic Africa
Thus, this amazing festival restored the fame and fan following of many well-established heroes while giving birth to new legends who went beyond their limits to set new records. The efforts of the management, the strength of competitors and the loyalty of fans all need to be applauded.
