On Apr. 12, 2022, 2017 Arnold Classic Champion Cedric McMillan reportedly died. McMillan’s longtime sponsor, Black Skull USA posted the news on their Instagram account. The Men’s Open bodybuilder was 44 years old.
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As of this writing, there is no word on what caused McMillan’s death, and his family has yet to make a public statement. The news was first reported by Dave Palumbo of RxMuscle.
About Cedric McMillan
Cedric McMillan was born on Aug. 16, 1977, and grew up wanting to build “big muscles.” In addition to his professional bodybuilding career, the South Carolina native worked in the United States Army.
According to Muscle Memory, McMillan’s first bodybuilding show was the 2007 NPC South Carolina State contest, where he placed first overall. He reached his goal of IFBB Pro League status by winning the overall at the 2009 NPC Nationals.
His first win came at the 2011 Orlando Show of Champions. He followed that up with a victory at the 2012 New York Pro. In spite of qualifying for the Olympia both years, he opted to not compete.
2013 is what many people consider his breakout year. After placing sixth at the Arnold Classic, he won the FIBO Germany contest and made his Olympia debut. He finished 12th that year on bodybuilding’s biggest stage.
McMillan’s next win came in 2015 at the Golden State Pro. However, he skipped the Olympia that year as well. He won the Levrone Classic Poland in 2016 and placed seventh at that year’s Olympia.
McMillan’s most significant victory came at the 2017 Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH. Weighing a reported 280 pounds, McMillan placed first in dominating fashion. He is widely remembered for his entertaining victory speech and getting Arnold Schwarzenegger himself to pose alongside him.
In spite of not winning a show to qualify for the 2019 Olympia, he received a special invite to compete in the contest anyway. He would place seventh. McMillan’s final victory was at the 2019 Grand Prix Hungary, which qualified him for the 2020 Olympia. However, he skipped that contest as well as the 2021 Arnold Classic. In November 2021, he made a guest posing appearance in Alexandria, VA, and announced that he was going to compete in the 2022 Arnold Classic. However, he had to miss the contest due to health issues. (Brandon Curry went on to win that contest.)
McMillan followed his announcement up with an update about his health in an Instagram post on Feb. 28, 2022, revealing that he had been dealing with stomach problems. It’s unknown if those issues are related to his reported passing.
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BarBend will update this article if and when more information about McMillan’s reported passing is made available.
Featured Image: @cedricmcmillan on Instagram
