The Olympia stage is the place dreamers change into contenders, contenders evolve into champions, and champions transition to legends. The sixtieth version of Joe Weider’s Olympia Health and Efficiency Weekend featured all of the above after which some. Followers that watched the motion dwell on pay-per-view or in attendance from the superb Resorts World Theater have been lucky sufficient to see previous champions be honored, current champions personal the large stage, and future champions have been impressed by all the above. Many issues stand out concerning the 2024 Olympia, however listed below are among the greatest takeaways from Las Vegas.
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THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER CBUM
There may be nothing that might be written right here about Chris Bumstead that hasn’t already been stated by many others. The now six-time Basic Physique Olympia champion has been his division’s model of Michael Jordan, who additionally has six championships in his sport. Bumstead has transcended the game and had change into part of mainstream tradition.
1000’s of followers are keen to attend hours in traces to see him, school age youngsters and even older followers have mustaches due to him, and many individuals around the globe see the person from Canada because the true primary ambassador of the game. He introduced that the 2024 Olympia was the tip of his run on prime of his division, however his impression will stay for many years to come back.
BODYBUILDING IS AS COMPETITIVE AS EVER
The fruits of the weekend was Samson Dauda being topped the 2024 Mr. Olympia in addition to the nineteenth champion within the division’s historical past. 2022 winner Hadi Choopan positioned second, and final yr’s winner Derek Lunsford positioned third.
Previous to 2020, no decade noticed greater than 4 champions be topped. The 2020’s already has 4, and we’re solely midway via the last decade. Lunsford and Choopan confirmed that they might actually reclaim the title, however there are many athletes trying to snag the Sandow for themselves, together with Nick Walker, who was out of this contest, fourth-place finisher Martin Fitzwater, and Andrew Jacked, who rounded out the highest 5.
The followers that take pleasure in bodybuilding now will be capable to inform their youngsters and grandkids that they noticed essentially the most aggressive period within the sport’s historical past, and clearly that’s not going to alter anytime quickly.
BODYBUILDING HAS ALSO BECOME MORE POPULAR THAN EVER
Followers who have been in Las Vegas can affirm that bodybuilding is not a sport that resides within the shadows. It has change into part of mainstream tradition. In case you want proof of this, look no additional than the World Health Expo stage, the place NFL legends Shannon Sharpe and Shawne Merriman have been watching the Basic Physique Olympia prejudging.
Stars from different energy sports activities have been in Las Vegas as effectively, together with four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw, powerlifting legend Ed Coan, and lots of extra. Add in a few of Sin Metropolis’s most notable native celebrities and influencers, and also you get a weekend that has change into a must-see occasion.
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THE OLYMPIA IS ABOUT MORE THAN BODYBUILDING
It’s straightforward to affiliate the Olympia with bodybuilding because of a six-decade legacy of greatness, however people who have been within the Las Vegas Conference Heart can affirm that the Olympia is now about greater than the game, it has change into a gathering of your complete health neighborhood.
The 2024 World Health Expo was so massive that it wanted two flooring to carry all of the motion, together with occasions like Grid League, Sumo Wrestling, Pickleball, powerlifting, strongman, the 2024 Olympia Mannequin Search, and far, far more. It was unimaginable to depart Las Vegas with out being impressed by what you noticed in any respect the competitions and occasions.
Erica Shultz
JAKE WOOD RAISES THE BAR
Jake Wooden has confronted a number of challenges since turning into the proprietor of the Olympia, but he has discovered methods to not solely make the Olympia profitable however memorable. The 2024 version was the fifth beneath his management, and Wooden’s crew did an unimaginable job of paying tribute to the legends of the previous, within the former of Mr. Olympia championship rings, offering a correct stage for the celebrities of the present period to showcase their greatness, and giving future generations incentive to be part of the rising sport of bodybuilding.
All of that was capped when he got here onto the stage within the last moments of the Mr. Olympia to introduced that the brand new prize cash for the Males’s Open winner was bumped up from $400,000 to $600,000, and the second-place finisher would get $250,000 as effectively. The recipients of these checks have been Dauda and Choopan. It is going to be tough to prime the usual that the sixtieth Olympia set, however Wooden, Olympia President Dan Solomon, and the remainder of the crew will very probably discover a means.
EVEN THE PRESS CONFERENCE IS BIGGER
The Olympia Press Convention is an annual custom, but it surely has been knocked for not having sufficient leisure worth prior to now. That’s not the case. The Pavilion at Resorts World had over 1,500 followers jam packed to see what the celebrities needed to say earlier than the weekend started. There was no scarcity of chatter and buzz about it, both. The athletes confirmed they’d greater than spectacular physiques; they’d highly effective voices, and the followers have been hanging onto each phrase.
THE MS. OLYMPIA IS ON A NEW LEVEL
There was plenty of drama across the newest version of the Ms. Olympia. Champion Andrea Shaw had misplaced the 2024 Rising Phoenix to Angela Yeo, who was the 2023 Ms. Olympia runner-up. A number of individuals in attendance thought Yeo was going to drag off one other win in Las Vegas, however Shaw in the end left the stage final because the five-time Ms. Olympia.
Shaw and Yeo have been the 2 main stars of a lineup that featured 15 superior athletes, together with bronze medalist Ashley Lynnette Jones, the good Helle Trevino, and others. The followers have been watching each pose with bated breath, eager to see who would transfer up the placings. It’s clear that Ladies’s Bodybuilding is seeing a brand new stage of success, and followers nonetheless need extra.
WHEELCHAIR BODYBUILDING IS GROWING
The 2024 version of the Wheelchair Olympia had a quite common conclusion. Harold Kelley received his sixth title in Las Vegas, and he bought redemption following his 2023 loss to Karol Milewski.
This occasion was completely different than the others, although. That’s as a result of 12 males have been within the lineup, a brand new report. Wheelchair Bodybuilding chairman Nick Scott has been working tirelessly to develop this division, and it has paid off. There at the moment are professional qualifiers and OIympia qualifying exhibits all around the world, and “The Beast” has led the cost. Seeing so many champions on one stage was each inspiring and entertaining, and it’ll probably get larger and higher sooner or later.
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CYDNEY GILLON LEAVES A LEGACY
The 2024 Olympia have been the ultimate aggressive appearances of two bona-fide legends. Eight-time Determine Olympia champion Cydney Gillon was essentially the most dominant competitor in her division’s historical past. Previous to her run, the report for many wins was three by Nicole Wilkins. Gillon practically tripled that mark, and she or he joined Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney, and Iris Kyle as the one opponents to win eight consecutive Olympia’s (Kyle has 10 total and 9 in a row). Whoever turns into the brand new champion could have a tall job filling her heels,
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
You’ll be able to take a look at any of the 11 IFBB Skilled League divisions and see two widespread themes. The athletes on that stage each need to be there and present that bodybuilding is a world sport not like some other. The game can also be rising at a tempo by no means earlier than seen in its historical past, which suggests that there’s far more success to come back. The sixtieth version of Joe Weider’s Olympia Health and Efficiency Weekend is now behind us, however 2025 isn’t that far-off, and meaning we will now flip our consideration to what lies forward for subsequent yr. Nobody is aware of what the following Olympia Weekend will seem like, however we do know that athletes might be coaching for it, followers might be waiting for it, and people on the prime will attempt to push the bar another time to realize new heights.
The street to the sixtieth has ended. Right here’s to the beginning of the 61st.
