The historic 60th anniversary of Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend lived up to its expectations. A day after winning his sixth Classic Physique Olympia title, Chris Bumstead took part in an athletes seminar on October 13, 2024, to discuss who might take his place after retiring. In addition, ‘Cbum’ revealed his plan to increase the Classic Physique Olympia prize money in 2025.
The latest Classic Physique Olympia contest in Las Vegas, Nevada left fans on the edges of their seats. In a shocking turn of events, Chris Bumstead endured his biggest challenge from a contender that wasn’t on many people’s radar — Mike Sommerfeld. The German-born bodybuilder brought a well-rounded look, pushing Bumstead at his last Olympia.
Meanwhile, Ramon Queiroz and Wesley Vissers, who were both considered top rivals of Bumstead, missed the mark. However, Urs Kalecinski displayed major improvements and secured third place behind Sommerfeld. After presenting the best physique of his career, Bumstead finally decided to retire from the sport, leaving fans to wonder who might take the reins on the horizon.
Chris Bumstead Talks Retirement, Who Could Be Next Champion, and Says He’s Boosting 2025 Classic Physique Olympia Prize Money
Initially, Bumstead heavily considered stepping away from the sport last year. However, he didn’t want to leave bodybuilding from a place of fear.
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“Honestly, the truth is last year was almost my last year. And there’s a whole story behind that which everyone will learn eventually but I almost walked away from the sport last year and it was from a place of a bit of fear, a bit of resentment, and not the place of love like I know that I have for the sport. I questioned with myself whether I would do this one or not.
Last year, getting through a tough prep, going through a lat tear and a bunch of things, and falling out and almost stepping away for a minute, I felt like I was walking away from the sport in a way that I didn’t want to and I finished on such a beautiful note. I was like what if I could have done it better, what if I could have enjoyed the whole process more, done it lighter, had peace in it, and I felt like I had more in me. I decided to go for another year.”
At peace with being done, Bumstead underlined that the 2024 Mr. Olympia prep was the best of his life.
“It was probably my favorite prep that I’ve ever had in my life,” adds Bumstead. “It was such a great prep. I believe I brought my best look ever and the whole year just feeling good, body coming together, everything coming together, I was just at peace with being done.”
He said he mulled over the decision to retire for a year.
“Im grateful I get to step away on my own terms, on a victory, getting to say goodbye to the crowd in my final speech, it was an honor and it just felt right,” said Cbum. “It was well over a year ago [that I decided I would retire]. I almost didn’t even do this one. I stopped training for like four or five months after Olympia last year.”
As for who could take his spot on the prestigious stage, Bumstead emphasized that it’s an open field. He believes Mike Sommerfeld, Urs Kalecinski, Ramon Queiroz, and Wesley Vissers could all step up in his absence.
“Every year it’s been swapping around. I’m really excited that I’m hoping me stepping away is going to put a fire under everyone’s ass to come back even better and better.
I think it’s going to be a tight show. It could be Ramon coming back up. Wesley could prove what everyone wanted to see this year next year. Mike could take it, Urs could take it, it could be anyone.”
In honor of the division that turned him into a global superstar, Bumstead revealed his plan to increase the 2025 Classic Physique Olympia prize money.
“I haven’t said this anywhere else but I want to talk to Dan about spicing up the prize a little bit for Classic, coming from myself,” said Bumstead. “That’s going to be some Cbum money, that’s coming from me.
It’s truly been a privilege to be a part of this division and I really want to give back. Next year, they’re going to be getting a fatter check than I got this year. Hopefully, that lights a fire under their ass and who knows who’s going to win but I hope it’s a worthy champ, I know it will be.”
Understanding what is truly important in life changed Bumstead’s outlook on competing. He intends to cherish his memories as a champion in the years to come.
“Just understanding in life what’s truly important to you. We work hard for a lot of things. We have a lot of external internal motivations and bodybuilding is a rather selfish sport with some external motivation and there’s a lot of internal things I get from it. Over the years, I’ve grown a lot from the sport.
In the last year since having a daughter and a family now, my perspective has changed a lot about what’s most important for me. I’ve had a lot of amazing victories here on stage and a lot of beautiful things in my life. Sometimes more isn’t always more.”
With a vacant title atop the Classic Physique Olympia show, contenders have a unique opportunity in front of them moving forward. Attention is quickly turning to the 2025 Arnold Classic in March. Whoever picks up the Classic Physique Olympia title in Ohio, will be one step closer to becoming the next champion on the Olympia stage.
As one of the most recognizable and popular faces of bodybuilding, the sport will miss Chris Bumstead. Thankfully, this won’t be the last we see of him given that he intends to increase prize money at the Classic Physique Olympia in 2025.
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