Andrew Jacked’s huge win
Nigerian bodybuilder Chinedu Andrew Obiekea — Andrew Jacked — won the 2026 Arnold Classic Men’s Open, taking the title at the 38th Arnold Sports Festival and pocketing a record‑setting $750,000 grand prize — one of the largest in the event’s history Andrew Jacked Wins 2026 Arnold Classic Men’s Open Title. The field included former Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan and past Arnold winner Nick Walker, and the weekend also saw Martin Fitzwater issue a public apology for conduct that drew attention during the competition Andrew Jacked Wins 2026 Arnold Classic Men’s Open Title.
The Men’s Open finals were staged March 7 at the Battelle Grand inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio [fitnessvolt.com]. Nick Walker finished runner‑up, Hadi Choopan placed third, Martin Fitzwater was fourth, Brandon Curry fifth and Rafael Brandao sixth in the official top‑six results [generationiron.com]. Martin Fitzwater posted a public Instagram apology on March 12 saying “What happened last weekend was out of character” and that he “take[s] full responsibility” [fitnessvolt.com]; within days Raw Nutrition and Elev8 Foods publicly ended sponsorship ties with him [fitnessvolt.com]. Event coverage and Arnold Schwarzenegger highlighted stage presence as decisive—Schwarzenegger called shaky posing “inexcusable” while media and clips noted a viral posing routine and onstage split that trended across social platforms [sportmanual.co.uk]. The Ed Corney Best Poser and Franco Columbu Most Muscular awards on the night each carried $10,000 in prize money [muscleandfitness.com].
