Arnold Classic Through the Years: A List of Every Winner

The Arnold Classic was first held in 1989 with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer acting as co-promoters of the show. At the time, Schwarzenegger was the all-time winning-est Mr. Olympia champion with a grand total of seven wins and he was undoubtedly the greatest bodybuilder at the time, and he is arguably still the best ever. His involvement in co-promoting the contest attracted top bodybuilders from around the globe to compete in the show and, over the years, firmly established the Arnold Classic as the second biggest annual competition, behind Mr. Olympia.

Since the inception of the contest, a total of 14 bodybuilders have captured the main Arnold Classic title. Among the winners are Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson and Flex Wheeler. The latter two bodybuilders currently co-hold the record for most wins with four victories each.

In 2011, as a result of the massive and unprecedented growth of the contest and its accompanying expo, Schwarzenegger and Lorimer expanded the Arnold Classic to the continent of Europe. The expansion was successful and, two years later in 2013, they expanded the contest to yet another continent, this time in South America. There is no doubt that this expansion will continue to other continents over the years thanks to the great success of the shows.

The following is a list of each of these champions from the Arnold Classic USA, Europe and Brazil competitions.