Change of power in the Classic Physique
This was only the fourth time that the athletes in Classic Physique, which was introduced in 2016, were able to compete against each other. But even in this comparatively short time frame, this category has grown in popularity. Especially this year, when some of the absolute title contenders - Shawn Rhoden, Phil Heath, Big Ramy and Kai Greene - were missing from the Mr Olympia stage in the open class, one could speculate as to whether the youngest of all eight classes has outstripped the big boys in terms of popularity with the fans. Due to the dense and strong field of participants, the heated battle for the title that we have already seen in the past two years was repeated.
After the first winner of the Classic Physique Mr. Olympia crown was Danny Hester in 2016, the rush for the category, in which the maximum body weight of the athletes is calculated based on their height, picked up significantly, meaning that previously lesser-known athletes suddenly became the focus of the bodybuilding scene. This led to a fierce duel between Breon Ansley and Chris Bumstead from Canada in the following years, which the American won both times. This year, both were also in contention for the gold medal.
But before we approach the winner's podium, let's start with fifth place, which surprisingly went to an athlete named Chen Kang. While the Chinese athlete qualified for the most prestigious competition in bodybuilding last August by winning the IFBB Musclecontest Brazil Pro, he made his debut on the Olympic stage in 2019 and immediately earned himself a well-deserved place among the top five athletes in an extremely tight field of competitors. Due to his impressive leg development, his nickname is "Branch Chen", a reference to Branch Warren. Incidentally, the Chinese IFBB Pro received his visa much later than Hadi Choopan.
Keone Pearson, who was also able to present himself on the big stage in Las Vegas for the first time, also narrowly missed out on the top 3. After a strong fourth place at this year's Arnold Classic, where the field was high-calibre but only one of the remaining top 5 athletes took part, Pearson punched his ticket for the Mr Olympia by winning the New York Pro. As the winner of the Arnold Classic 2019, George Peterson underlined his position as a contender for the Classic Physique crown.
An exciting three-way battle therefore developed between the aforementioned Peterson and Breon Ansley and Chris Bumstead, who dominated the class last year. In the end, it was enough for the much-improved veteran to take third place. As always, George "Da Bull" Peterson impressed with his dominant rear view, which he was able to show off this year in particular with impressive toughness. Perhaps the decisive factor in his not making it to the absolute top so far is that, despite his narrow waist, his line is more reminiscent of a heavyweight athlete, which he was before his switch to Classic Physique.
As expected, Breon Ansley and Chris Bumstead fought for the title between themselves, as in the two previous years. While the Canadian struggled with major problems last year due to a serious autoimmune kidney disease, he got these under control with the help of his doctors as well as his competition preparer and brother-in-law Iain Valliere and triumphed over an equally strong Breon Ansley for the first time at the age of just 24.
There was disappointment for the German fans, however, as hopeful David Hoffmann did not qualify for the final of the top ten athletes despite improving on last year. Again 11th place. It has to be said that there were significantly more athletes at the start this year and the bar was set a little higher.
Mr Olympia 2019 - Top 5 Classic Physique
Chris Bumstead
Breon Ansley
George Peterson
Keone Pearson
Chen Kang
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