Niall Darwen won the 2026 Classic Physique Olympia on September 25 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, claiming the first Olympia title of his career.
Mike Sommerfeld finished second for a third consecutive year, and defending champion Ramon Rocha Queiroz placed third. Wesley Vissers moved into fourth, while two-time Arnold Classic winner Terrence Ruffin completed the top five.
Darwen entered the final after placing fifth at the 2025 Olympia. His jump from fifth to first produced the biggest change in the leading group and made him the fifth champion in the division’s 11-year history. The official scorecard gave him seven points, three fewer than Sommerfeld and seven fewer than Queiroz.
The result ended Queiroz’s reign after one year. The Brazilian became the first athlete from his country to win the Classic Physique Olympia in 2025, but Darwen and Sommerfeld both moved ahead of him in the 2026 decision. Sommerfeld again came close without taking the title, adding another runner-up finish after placing second in 2024 and 2025.
2026 Classic Physique Olympia Results And Prize Money
- Niall Darwen — $100,000
- Mike Sommerfeld — $40,000
- Ramon Rocha Queiroz — $20,000
- Wesley Vissers — $10,000
- Terrence Ruffin — $6,000
- Piotr Wojtowicz
- Anton Ratushnyi
- Diego Alejandro Galindo Garavito
- Fabio Junio
- Andrea Mammoli
- Luca Reger
- Chen Kang
- Tom Stanley
- Jaehun Park
- Murat Can Karahasanlar
Kyrylo Khudaiev headed the group recorded at 16th, receiving 79 points. The remaining athletes outside the top 15 were also listed in the 16th-place group with 80 points on the official IFBB Pro League scorecard.
The top-five purse totaled $176,000. Darwen earned $100,000 for the championship, Sommerfeld received $40,000, and Queiroz collected $20,000. Vissers and Ruffin were awarded $10,000 and $6,000, respectively.
Darwen Breaks Through In A Close Three-Man Decision
The score spread illustrates the shape of the contest. Darwen’s seven points put him first, but Sommerfeld remained within three points at 10. Queiroz followed at 14, keeping all three medalists inside a seven-point range. The gap then widened to Vissers at 21 and Ruffin at 24.
The official totals continued with Wojtowicz at 30, Ratushnyi at 35 and Galindo Garavito at 40. Junio scored 47 in ninth, Mammoli had 50 in tenth, and Reger received 54 in eleventh. Kang followed at 60, Stanley at 67, Park at 68 and Karahasanlar at 75. Khudaiev led the athletes tied at 16th with 79, one point ahead of the larger 80-point group.
Classic Physique uses height-based weight limits to control overall mass, with judges rewarding proportion, symmetry, muscularity, conditioning and presentation. Darwen’s structure and stage presence kept him at the center of the leading comparisons, and the final tabulation confirmed that he had displaced both the reigning champion and the division’s repeated runner-up.
Darwen’s three-point edge over Sommerfeld was narrower than the four-point separation between Sommerfeld and Queiroz. Seven points then separated Queiroz from Vissers, showing that the scorecard divided the leading trio from the rest of the top five. Ruffin remained three points behind Vissers, before a six-point gap to Wojtowicz in sixth.
His win also continued the change that followed Chris Bumstead’s retirement after a sixth consecutive championship in 2024. Queiroz became the new champion in 2025, and Darwen has now produced another change at the top one year later. The division has therefore had three different champions across its last three contests.
Below the medal positions, Vissers returned to fourth and Ruffin stayed among the elite five. Wojtowicz secured sixth, Ratushnyi took seventh, and Galindo Garavito placed eighth. Junio and Mammoli rounded out the top 10, with Reger, Kang, Stanley, Park and Karahasanlar filling positions 11 through 15.
The 2023 Classic Physique Olympia belonged to Bumstead during his record run. Darwen’s 2026 victory came on the same Friday program as the Men’s 212 final and the Women’s Physique championship.
The September 24-27 Olympia weekend was carried through the official free livestream. Darwen leaves Las Vegas as a first-time champion, with Sommerfeld again the nearest challenger and Queiroz facing a path back after surrendering the title.
