It was a great time in Columbus, Ohio, where they pulled out all the stops for the 30th anniversary of the Arnold Classic. Arnold started it off by introducing all of the living past winners of the Classic, bringing them out on stage to great applause. The stage was reminiscient of the Roman Coliseum, with a reproduction of the iconic Arnold statue overseeing it all. Meanwhile the real Arnold was taking Snapchats and selfies during some of the competitors' posing routines. William "The Conqueror" Bonac was eventually declared the winner of the Mens' Bodybuilding Finals. It was his first professional appearance there, having competed in the Arnold Amateur in 2011. William is a Ghana native now living in the Netherlands. In second was long-time Arnold competitor (and winner) Dexter Jackson, and in third was Cedric McMillan.
Bonac received congratulations from Arnold Schwarzenegger, a check for $130,000, a Tony Nowak Official Champions Jacket and the champion’s trophy from Catherine Colle of Midway Labs USA and Eric Hillman of Optimum Nutrition.
Hafthor Bjornsson of Iceland (known as the actor who plays "Mountain" in Game of Thrones) won the Arnold Strongman Classic for the first time after he'd been competing for 8 straight years. Bjornsson set a new world record in the ROGUE Elephant Bar Deadlift by locking in an amazing 1,041 pounds.
Other highlights of the evening included some amazing acrobatic/balance performers, and of course the Lifetime Achievement award, which went to Dr. Robert Goldman. "Dr. Bob" is a longtime friend of Arnold and founder of the International Sports Hall of Fame, who have their own awards during the weekend (which we also attended). He is also the one to thank for donating the funds for the famous Arnold Statue which is now outside the convention center in Columbus. It was great to see Dr. Bob getting this prestigious recognition for his lifetime of promoting fitness and giving back.
After the Finals wrapped up its epic 3.5 hour run time, the competitors, fans, and Arnold partied the night away at the Party With the Pros, which this year came back to Express Live! near the baseball stadium in Columbus.