The 2024 Olympia Weekend will mark the 60th edition of bodybuilding’s crown jewel. The new and incredible Resorts World in Las Vegas will serve as the host for the biggest weekend in our sport’s history.
This Olympia is so big that other sports will be hosting their world championship events there as well. One such event is the Armlifting USA World Championships, set to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is located very close to the host building for the bodybuilding action.
Riccardo Magni is the President of Armlifting USA, and he also competes as an athlete. He and the sport of armlifting have been involved with the Olympia for a few years now. This year’s Olympia will be held in two locations. While the bodybuilding festivities will take place at the incredible Resorts World, the Expo will be within walking distance at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Armlifting USA will be in the Expo, and Magni thinks it is the perfect place to crown a 2024 champion, especially coming off the success they saw in 2023.
“It was our largest world championship that I’ve hosted,” said Magni. “We had 65 athletes from eight countries. World records were set, and it was a phenomenal weekend. This year is the fourth one that I’ve hosted and my sixth that I have lifted in. I’m very excited.”
Armlifting is a sport that focuses on testing grip strength, and its events are run similar to powerlifting. The athlete’s job is to use their bare grip strength to pick up weight that is attached to a various implement or bar, stand tall with it, and wait for a down command to set the weight down. One round focuses on round handles, another with a rectangular handle, and one vertical lift.
Magni explained, “there is a complete examination of grip strength. We really want to find out who has the best overall grip, not just a specialty event.”
You get three attempts for each implement, and you cannot decrease the weight if you miss a lift. The athlete that is the most successful in that weight class is the winner.
Like the IFBB Pro League does for their 11 divisions, Armlifting USA has a qualifying system that helps determine who will advance to the Olympia and compete for the world championship. The 2024 World Super Series is set to kick off this summer, and there are two stages that will help them narrow the field of athletes to the best of the best. Magni explains how the series will work in the video below.
“Stage 1 is June 1st through 30th, and Stage 2 is August 1st through 31st, “ Magni shared. “I think we can have anywhere from 35 to 40 venues this season.”
The events for those stages are as follows.
STAGE 1:
Event 1: Two Hand 2″ Country Crush DL
Event 2: 3″ x 4″ Saxon Bar DL
Event 3: Grip Genie/IronMind Hub (Freestyle) DL
STAGE 2:
Event 1: One Hand 1.75″ Raptor DL
Event 2: Two Hand DOH Blue Fat Gripz DL
Event 3: One Hand Rogue Grandfather Clock DL/Grip Genie Hilt
Magni has seen armlifting grow throughout his time running the organization, but he is always looking for more athletes and lifters to join the fray. Beginners can simply work on their grip strength by using Fat Gripz and working on their forearm strength by lifting odd objects. There are also individual handles that can be purchased. Magni also suggests finding a local gym that has the equipment so you can learn more firsthand from the people that participate in the events and have experience using the implements.
“We have a list of approved gyms that have all the equipment needed. I also have been going to clinics around the country, and we have more coming. They can look at our schedule to see when we will have one in their area, or they can reach out if they want one in their area.”
Olympia President Dan Solomon is proud that other groups like Armlifting USA have chosen the Olympia to be their arena of choice to determine world champions. He and the Olympia team have put in many hours to make bodybuilding’s biggest weekend one of the top events on the sports calendar.
If you see an Armlifting USA event in your town or state, consider competing because you may find yourself working your way up the Olympia as an athlete in the future. For more information on Armlifting USA as well as the 2024 World Super Series, go to www.armliftingusa.com, or follow @armliftingusa on Instagram. Tickets to the 2024 Olympia Expo are available at www.mrolympia.com.