Classic Physique kingpin, Chris Bumstead announced his retirement in his victory speech following an historic sixth Olympia win less than three weeks ago, but rather than hang up his wrist straps, Bumstead has already confirmed that he will be returning to the stage at least one more time, and it is literally his biggest challenge to date.
A regular in the Classic Division, it seems that just like Rocky Balboa, CBum still has some “stuff in the basement” that he needs to be cleared before all is said and done: by ending his career in the Open Division. The new first was first announced by the EVLS Prague Instagram account, with a post sharing that Bumstead was a confirmed athlete for the Men’s Open Bodybuilding event at the PVA Expo in Prague, Nov. 16-17.
“6-time Mr. Olympia winner in the Men’s Classic Physique category, @Cbum, will be competing for the first time in his career in Europe at EVLS PRAGUE!” read the shocking post. For those wondering, the Open Division has no weight limit, meaning that the biggest bodybuilders on earth walk this stage.
Chris Bumstead Has Wrestled with Appearing in the Open Division his Entire Career
The news was quickly confirmed by Bumstead himself via his own IG account. “Y’all said I had a decent physique and should try competing (in Open)… so I figured I’d give it a shot,” he wrote. “One more run just for fun, giving the people what they want”. The EVLS Prague Pro event will also boast a $105,000 prize pool. And, Bumstead doubled down on his European appearance via a YouTube video, stating: “No sense beating around the bush, something has been posted, it’s already been announced: I’m finally doing an open show. I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life.”
Bodybuilding fans have long wondered how Bumstead would fair in Open after dominating the Classic Division for so long. It’s a question that Cbum has wrestled with himself, weighing up the health implications against his lofty ambitions. The canny Canadian has been completely honest about this subject many times, including in a YouTube Q&A made after his second Classic Olympia title win.
“I don’t know why people can’t just be happy with me winning Classic Physique. I’m happy with it,” he said at the time. “And, I’m still just trying to win a third title. People are talking about me moving to Open already. To answer the question, would I ever? I might. It depends what goes on in the future, how my health holds up. It’s up in the air. It depends on how my body holds up, but I don’t even like thinking that far ahead because my only goal right now, my only dream is to be a longstanding Classic Physique champion, to build a legacy in this. This (Classic) division’s new, it’s young, and I want to be the person at the forefront that people look back and remember like ‘F**k, Chris won like five years in a row when it started. I want to look like that.’ That’s my only goal right now, so I’m not even thinking of switching classes anytime soon.”
With an incredible six Olympia titles now under his belt in 2024, Bumstead has every right to chase the “stuff in the basement.”
