Arnold Strongman Classic LIVE — Rob Kearney sets new PR as Samson Dauda secures Men’s Open victory ahead of final day

Ramon Dino's heartwarming speech

Ramon Dino, a Brazilian bodybuilder, will never forget the feeling of winning the 2023 Arnold Classic trophy.

The bodybuilding champion was overjoyed as Arnold Schwarzenegger handed him the prize.

Dino gave a touching speech in which he expressed his gratitude to everyone who had helped him achieve this victory.

His moving winning speech was described in a recent Instagram post by a media outfit called Bisandtris.

The recent Instagram post reported how Dino felt this win was crazy: “Sh*t is crazy my man. Sh*t is crazy. My English is bad. But, I thank God, I thank everybody. I thank My dad, my mother. Thank you for your inspiration, your motivation.” 

Classic Physique results

In the prejudging round of the 2022 Mr. Olympia, Chris Bumstead, and Ramon Dino squared off.

He ultimately came in second place, with Chris Bumstead taking home the win for the fourth time in a row.

• First position – Ramon Rocha Queiroz
• Second position – Urs Kalecinski
• Third position – Alex Cambronero
• Fourth position – Mike Sommerfeld
• Fifth position – Courage Opara
• Sixth position – Junior Javorski

Inside the Wellness division

Kassandra Gillis took home the title in the Wellness category.

This is a new division, having only been introduced to the Arnold Classic last year.

Last year's champion, Isabelle Nunes wasn't able to compete this year due to a knee injury, turning attention to new names.

Kassandra Gillis, Yarishna Ayala, Sunny Andrews, and Angela Borges were the top names to watch, but Kassandra proved unbeatable.

Classic Wellness results

At the prejudging, Kassandra Gillis stood out and had the ability to leave a lasting impact.

The Wellness market is still expanding, and for the past two years, Gillis has been the strongest rival.

She currently has an Arnold Classic victory to add to her list of accomplishments.

• First position – Kassandra Gillis
• Second position – Angela Borges
• Third position– Rayane Fogal
• Fourth position– Alexis Adams
• Fifth position – Marissa Andrews
• Sixth position – Andrea Hrenko

2023 Arnold Classic divisions

The divisions participants in the Arnold Classic are judged on include:

• Classic Physique
• Fitness
• Wellness
• Men’s Open
• Men’s Physique
• Bikini
• Pro Wheelchair

Get to know Kyle Landi

The motivational bodybuilder Kyle Landi was born with down's syndrome, a genetic condition that impairs a person's ability to learn due to improper cell division.

But, he never let that get in the way of how he lived.

Landi decided to focus his efforts on bodybuilding, fitness, and martial arts and put a lot of effort into each of them.

Kyle received a stage appearance invitation from Arnold Sports a few weeks prior to the event as a result.

Bodybuilder with Down Syndrome stuns at the Classic

The inspiring bodybuilder shared a glimpse of his flexing performance in Arnold Classic 2023 on his TikTok and later re-shared it on Instagram.

The exemplary work put behind his physique can be clearly spotted in the video, which was captioned:

"Working to be my best. Huge thanks to @davidbaye79 and @arnoldsports for allowing me to practice on one of the biggest stages in the world. Tomorrow I get to watch @nick_walker39 become the double champ on the same stage."

Statue v. raw muscle

Many of the fan favorites fit into two categories, a statue frame versus raw muscle.

Some competitors have statuesque physiques which gives them an edge in posing while those with raw muscle have an advantage in the conditioning component of bodybuilding.

More on Ariel Khadr

Ariel is a veteran bodybuilder, winning the NPC Team Universe Fitness competition at just 17 years old.

She was the youngest competitor to ever hold the title.

Ariel competed in bodybuilding and gymnastics throughout college before transitioning to bodybuilding full-time.

She made her professional debut at the 2015 Europa Phoenix Pro finishing in third place.

Ariel is now a reigning champion in the Fitness division.

Meet Ariel Khadr

Ariel Khadr is the reigning champion of the Fitness division.

She is 30 years old and started gymnastics at the age of 11.

She also participated in Taekwondo and received her blackbelt.

Ariel competed on the gymnastics team at Rutgers University, according to her Fitness Volt bio.

She began competing in the Figure competition before transitioning to Fitness.

Meet Roman Queiroz

Roman Queiroz is a rising star in bodybuilding, taking home the title for this year's Classic Physique division.

He placed runner-up last year and came in second place at the 2022 Mr Olympia behind Chris Bumstead.

Ramon is from Brazil and was raised in Portugal.

After high school, Ramon set out to become a professional bodybuilder starting his professional career in 2018 at the Olympia Amateur Brazil.

He has been steadily rising to the top and appeared in his first Arnold Classic last year.

Most Mr Olympia wins ever

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger may have won the most Mr Olympia competitions, but Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman have both eclipsed his total of seven victories.

In 2017, Phil Heath matched Schwarzenegger's record.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won Mr Olympia 7 times

The most well-known and one of the most successful bodybuilders in Mr Olympia history is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Seven Mr Olympia contests were won by Schwarzenegger, including six straight championships from 1970 to 1975. In 1980, he would add a seventh Mr Olympia victory to his resume.

Lee Haney tied Schwarzenegger’s record in 1990, then the following year, he broke it.

Later, Ronnie Coleman would exceed Schwarzenegger’s record and tie Haney, and in 2017, Phil Heath would tie Schwarzenegger with his seventh championship.

As the sponsor and namesake of the annual Arnold Sports Festival, Schwarzenegger continues to be interested in bodybuilding despite his fame as an actor who later transitioned into politics as the governor of California.

Mr Olympia 2022 winner

Iranian bodybuilder and veteran competitor Hadi Choopan was crowned the Mr. Olympia champion in 2022.

In a surprise turn of events, the defending champion, “Big Ramy” Elssbiay fell to fifth place and Hadi Choopan took over the Mr. Olympia throne.

Along with a new title, Choopon took home a staggering $400,000 out of the events impressive $1.6 million prize purse.

The Arnold Classic, explained

One of the most famous events in bodybuilding, the Arnold Classic was the inaugural event.

There were only two competitions in the first Arnold Classic: the Arnold Classic for professional men's bodybuilding and Ms. International for professional women's bodybuilding.

There were a total of 30 competitors in the events.

The Arnold Sports Festival hosts a number of different competitions, including the Arnold Classic.

This year, there are more than 60 sports and activities during the festival, and 12,000 participants from more than 80 nations are expected to compete.

Beginnings for "Big Ramy"

The bodybuilder was born near Baltim City in northern Egypt, but later moved to Kuwait with his six brothers where he worked as a fisherman.

It was in Kuwait that he joined the world-famous Oxygen gym, where Ramy met his mentor Bader Boodai.

After dedicating his life to bodybuilding in exchange for a job at the gym, he became a world champion within a matter of years.

More on "Big Ramy's" achievements

The Mr Olympia competition is the Super Bowl of bodybuilding, and has built the legacy of famous bodybuilders including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronnie Coleman.

After a number of years with disappointing finishes, Big Ramy finally became the best in the world in 2020 and repeated his win in 2021.

"Big Ramy" bulking up

At his biggest in the "off-season" - the period of time bodybuilders bulk-up to gain extra muscle - Big Ramy tips the scales at a colossal 330lbs.

Trimming down to a lean 295lbs when he competes, the Egyptian is almost always the biggest bodybuilder on stage.

Amazingly, when he first started training in Oxygen gym in 2010 he weighed just 200lbs.

But the champion's incredible genetics were on show for all to see, as he ballooned up to a huge 280lbs within a year.

More on "Big Ramy"

Born September 16, 1984, Big Ramy's real name is Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay.

The 37-year-old started out as a fisherman, before being introduced to weight training in 2009.

He rapidly built his hulking physique, and within three years he was a champion bodybuilder.

Ramy has continued to go from strength to strength ever since, picking up world titles and millions of fans along the way.

More on Arnold Schwarzenegger, continued

Leagues ahead of his Austrian competition and with a Mr Universe win under his belt, Arnold moved to California in 1968 to compete in world-renowned bodybuilding competitions.

There, he won four more Mr Universe titles and then the prestigious Mr Olympia title six years in a row.

But Schwarzenegger didn't stop there.

He had always wanted to be an actor and finally landed his first role in 1970 movie Hercules in New York.

But his acting career was really consolidated with his roles in The Terminator franchise.

More on Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold was born on July 30, 1947, making the muscly star 73 years old.

Born in Thal, near Graz, Austria, Arnold started out as a bodybuilder.

He was known as Austrian Oak due to his incredible size and height - standing at 6 foot 2 inches.

Results from last night’s events, part V

The top three in Men’s Open Bodybuilding included:

• 3rd place – Chinedu “Andrew Jacked” Obieka
• 2nd place – Nick Walker
• 1st place – Samson Dauda

Results from last night’s events, part IV

Nick Walker won the most muscular award last night in the 2023 Arnold Classic.

He also earns himself a guaranteed payday of $10,000.

Results from last night’s events, part III

Chinedu "Andrew Jacked Obieka" won the best poser award last night.

He will earn himself a nice payday totaling $10,000.

Results from last night’s events, continued

The Men's Physique Top 3 was:

• 3rd place – Emanual Hunter
• 2nd place – Diogo Montenegro
• 1st place – Erin Banks