Hadi Choopan is the 2024 Arnold Classic UK Men’s Open champion. The competition was held on the weekend of March 15-16, 2024, at the NEC in Birmingham, England.
Choopan beat six other Men’s Open competitors to win the title, including runner-up and home country favorite Samson Dauda and bronze medalist Akim Williams of the United States, to clinch the $130,000 prize and trophy from promoter Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This is Choopan’s second straight win in the past month, having already won the 2024 Arnold Classic US competition in Columbus, OH.
2024 Arnold Classic UK Results
- Hadi Choopan (Iran)
- Samson Dauda (UK)
- Akim Williams (USA)
- Jonathan Delarosa (USA)
- James Hollingshead (UK)
- Mohamad Shaaban Elimbaby (USA)
- Antoine Vaillant (Canada)
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Prejudging Highlights
This show took place over two nights, with pre-judging on Friday night, March 15, 2024. The judges compared all seven athletes after the numerical comparisons and individual introductions.
As many expected, Choopan and Dauda were the top two athletes in the eyes of the judges. Choopan and Dauda were put through two rounds of posing on their head-to-head final callout — a repeat from Columbus, OH, two weeks prior.
Based on the rest of the callouts, third place appeared between Jonathan Delarosa and the UK’s James Hollingshead.
Finals Highlights
The judges made final comparisons on Saturday night, March 16, 2024. The first callout featured Delarosa, Choopan, Dauda, and Williams in that order from left to right. Choopan first hit most of the poses, but Dauda appeared to stay in the pose longer.
Vaillant, Hollingshead, and Elimbaby were compared next, followed by Williams and Delarosa in their own callout to determine third and fourth place. Head judge Steve Weinberger put them through two rounds of posing.
Last, but obviously not least, Dauda and Choopan were the final pair called to centerstage. Weinberger put them through their paces with Schwarzenegger filming them on his phone before the round concluded via posedown.
After a dramatic pause, Choopan was announced the winner and presented the trophy by Schwarzenegger and eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. Schwarzenegger told the champion he looked even better in Birmingham than in Columbus.
[Related: Wesley Vissers Wins 2024 Arnold Classic Physique UK]
Choopan is set to compete at the 60th edition of the Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas, NV, on the weekend of Oct. 10-13, 2024, where he hopes to reclaim that title from 2023 champion Derek Lunsford.
Fans who missed any of the action from Birmingham can catch replays of all seven divisions and the other events from the weekend on the live streams available by registration on the Arnold Sports UK website.
Featured Image: @arnoldexpouk on Instagram
