Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro Contributer
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There was a time when the Arnold Classic was a major event for female bodybuilding. The Ms.International title was only second in prestigiousness to Ms. Olympia and it became one of the hottest events during the big weekend in Columbus it was held since the very beginning in 1989. But the last year that female bodybuilding was included was 2013 when Iris Kyle won her seventh title in Ohio. The sport was certainly in a transitionary period with the creation of the women's physique division and even Ms. Olympia would only have one more year before it, too, was put on the shelf by the promoters.
That all began to change a few years ago when Jake Wood purchased the Olympia and brought back the big title to Olympia Weekend. He had kept female bodybuilding alive with the Wings of Strength series and that is still a big part of the calendar year for the ladies of The Iron Game. But it still has not been back at the Arnold Classic even though Wood has proven that the fans have welcomed it back into the fold with open arms.
As a matter of fact, women's physique isn't even on the docket in March, with the only women's divisions being fitness, bikini, and wellness.
The WPD division was part of the Arnold from 2015 through 2020, but it has not been since then. It appeared that physique had replaced bodybuilding during those years and it seemed to coincide with Schwarzenegger's open opinion about the larger physiques of the men not being what the sport is all about and that classic physique is the future of the industry. So it kind of went hand-in-hand that he would accentuate the same opinion as far as the women go.
But by Schwarzenegger foregoing both WPD and female bodybuilding now after both have had a strong foothold at the Olympia can be easily read into that Schwarzenegger is going to focus on the male divisions (this year, there is open bodybuilding, classic physique, and men's physique, as well as a wheelchair) and the 'eye candy' female categories. The lone exception is fitness, which has been a big part of the Arnold for quite some time and is truly the only athletic division in all of 'bodybuilding.'
That all began to change a few years ago when Jake Wood purchased the Olympia and brought back the big title to Olympia Weekend. He had kept female bodybuilding alive with the Wings of Strength series and that is still a big part of the calendar year for the ladies of The Iron Game. But it still has not been back at the Arnold Classic even though Wood has proven that the fans have welcomed it back into the fold with open arms.
As a matter of fact, women's physique isn't even on the docket in March, with the only women's divisions being fitness, bikini, and wellness.
The WPD division was part of the Arnold from 2015 through 2020, but it has not been since then. It appeared that physique had replaced bodybuilding during those years and it seemed to coincide with Schwarzenegger's open opinion about the larger physiques of the men not being what the sport is all about and that classic physique is the future of the industry. So it kind of went hand-in-hand that he would accentuate the same opinion as far as the women go.
But by Schwarzenegger foregoing both WPD and female bodybuilding now after both have had a strong foothold at the Olympia can be easily read into that Schwarzenegger is going to focus on the male divisions (this year, there is open bodybuilding, classic physique, and men's physique, as well as a wheelchair) and the 'eye candy' female categories. The lone exception is fitness, which has been a big part of the Arnold for quite some time and is truly the only athletic division in all of 'bodybuilding.'
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