OLYMPIA PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN RICHEST OLYMPIA EVER
On the chart at the foot of this posting is detailed the breakdown of the prize money being paid out at Joe Weider's 2005 Olympia Weekend. The total on offer is $711,000, an increase of 31% from the $540,000 paid out last year. The prize money is only one of the reasons that this 2005 Olympia Weekend will be the best ever. To recap what's lined up for this year event, here's a quick checklist of ten reasons not to miss the 2005 Olympia Weekend.
1.
Orleans Arena - So its name doesn't begin with the letter “M.” It is unquestionably the best venue ever to host a bodybuilding event. WWE star Triple H will be on hand to emcee the Mr. Olympia Finals proceedings.
2.
The Expo - The move to the Las Vegas Convention Center means that this will be the biggest Olympia expo ever. Big enough, even, to house an octagon ring filled with UFC fighters.
3.
The Bucks Stop Here
2004 Olympia Weekend Prize Total Money - $540,000.
2005 Olympia Weekend Total Prize Money - $711,000.
‘Nuff said.
4.
Wildcard Showdown - An entirely new show on Friday night with $10,000 and entry into the Olympia at stake means twice the entertainment for fans of men's bodybuilding.
5.
Wild, Wild Friday - The gyrations of the Fitness Olympia competitors and the curves of the Figure Olympia line-up make for a hot, hot night in Vegas.
6.
Challenge Round - Yes, it's still in. No, its scoring won't have an impact on the Olympia 's outcome. But being judged by former Mr. Olympians it's bound to be full of drama and excitement. Plus, $50,000 in prizes will be divided among its five contestants.
7.
Big Bench - Bench press world record holder Gene Rychlak will attempt to shatter his own mark with an attempt of an incredible 1015 pounds during the Mr. Olympia Finals on Saturday night. That's like pressing Ronnie, Jay, Gunter and Nicole Rollolazo all at once!
8.
Exposed Women - Yeah, yeah, we know; the Ms. Olympia has been moved to the expo this year and some people don't like it. But with a boost in prize money of a cool $10k over last year's purse, there's a lot to celebrate.
9.
Fan Follows Function - Battle of the Biceps,
Gakic Bench Press Challenge, Meet the Olympians, the Olympia banquet, Superstar Training Seminar and a rip-roaring press conference. There will be more ways than ever for Olympia attendees to get involved in the action.
10.
PPV – If you can't get to Vegas October 15 th , don't worry. This year AMI and the IFBB, along with IMG, the world's largest sport's production company, is producing the PPV event, to be broadcast on iN DEMAND, meaning a quick-paced, entertaining TV show.
For tickets and more information on the 2005 Olympia weekend please go to
www.2005olympia.com ,
www.flexmagazine.com or
www.muscleandfitness.com and look for upcoming articles detailing the event in both FLEX and Muscle & Fitness magazines.
MR OLYMPIA PRIZE MONEY
2005 2004 1st
$150,000 $120,000
2nd
$85,000 $75,000
3rd
$55,000 $50,000
4th
$45,000 $40,000
5th
$35,000 $30,000
6th
$27,000 $25,000
7th
$16,000 $15,000
8th
$15,000 $14,000
9th
$14,000 $12,000
10th
$12,000 $10,000
11th
$2,000 $1,000
12th
$2,000 $1,000
13th
$2,000 $1,000
14th
$2,000 $1,000
15th
$2,000 $1,000
16th
$2,000 $1,000
17th
$2,000 $1,000
18th
$2,000 $1,000
19th
$2,000
20th
$2,000
21th
$2,000
22th
$2,000
23th
$2,000
Challenge Round
$50,000
Vyo Tech's Best Whells Prize
$10,000
Wild Card Showdown $10,000
TOTAL MEN's
$550,000 $399,000
MS OLYMPIA PRIZE MONEY
2005 2004 1st
$30,000 *
2nd
$18,000 *
3rd
$10,000 *
4th
$7,000 *
5th
$4,000 *
6th
$2,000 *
TOTAL WOMEN's
$71,000 $61,000 * Comparison not applicable due to there being two weight classes
in 2004, as against just one class this year.
FITNESS OLYMPIA PRIZE MONEY
2005 2004 1st
$22,000 $20,000
2nd
$14,000 $12,000
3rd
$9,000 $8,000
4th
$6,000 $6,000
5th
$4,000 $4,000
TOTAL FITNESS's
$55,000 $50,000
FIGURE OLYMPIA PRIZE MONEY
2005 2004 1st
$18,000 $15,000
2nd
$7,000 $6,000
3rd
$5,000 $4,000
4th
$3,000 $3,000
5th
$2,000 $2,000
TOTAL FIGURE's
$35,000 $30,000
08/16/2005 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
IFBB NEWS RELEASE 2005-005 MR. OLYMPIA CHALLENGE ROUND
Montreal, Canada, August 9, 2005: The International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness (IFBB) and American Media, Inc (AMI), co-promoters of Joe Weider’s 2005 Olympia Weekend, which will take place in Las Vegas from October 13 through 16, have announced the latest in a series of historic changes to the Mr. Olympia competition.
The new initiative involves a revamping of the Challenge Round, which will entail a $50,000 increase in the Mr. Olympia prize money within a format that will pay full homage to the 40th Anniversary rendition of Joe Weider’s legendary event.
The Challenge Round, which was instituted at the 2004 Mr. Olympia contest, will this year have no bearing on the scoring of the Olympia itself, instead becoming its own “contest within a contest,” with cash prizes totaling $50,000.
With this increase, the prize money for the Mr. Olympia contest is now $550,000 compared to $400,000 in 2004, with the total prize money for all of the Weekend’s events rising from $541,000 to $711,000; an increase of 31%.
To add to the excitement of the reconfigured Challenge Round and to celebrate the contest’s glorious history, the judging panel will be comprised entirely of former Mr. Olympia winners. As we go to press, Sergio Oliva, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, Samir Bannout and Dorian Yates are expected to judge the Challenge Round and it is certain that other former Mr. Olympia will be recruited very soon.
The Challenge Round will be contested by the leading five athletes determined after the four rounds of official Olympia competition. Their specific placings, as decided by the IFBB judging panel, will not be revealed and at the commencement of the Challenge Round they will be placed on their pods in competitor number order. They will all start the Challenge Round with zero points. Starting with the competitor with the lowest number, each competitor will call one individual mandatory pose of his choice against the other four finalists. The winner of each pose, as scored by the Mr. Olympia panel, will score two points. After the first competitor has completed his four challenges, the next competitor will begin his four challenges, and so on until all competitors have completed all their challenges. At the end of the round the athletes’ total points will be tallied and prizes awarded as follows:
1st place: $25,000
2nd place: $10,000
3rd place: $8,000
4th place: $5,000
5th place: $2,000
The new format of the Challenge Round will bring even more drama and debate to an Olympia Weekend already packed with excitement and this year’s program is on course to eclipse by a wide margin the outstanding success of the 2004 event.
For more information on the 2005 Olympia weekend please go to
www.2005olympia.com,
www.flexmagazine.com or
www.muscleandfitness.com and look for upcoming articles detailing the event in both FLEX and Muscle & Fitness magazines.
All inquiries regarding the IFBB Professional Division should be directed to:
Jim Manion
Chairman
IFBB Professional Division
P.O. Box 3224
Pittsburgh , PA 15230
Toll Free: 1-866-304-4322
Tel: (412) 276-5027
Fax: (412) 281-0470
E-mail:
ifbbprodivision@aol.com 06/30/2005
JOE WEIDER’S 2005 OLYMPIA WEEKEND REPORT Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., SBStJ, Ph.D.
IFBB President
IFBB Celebrates the 40th Anniversary
of the Mr. Olympia Competition
For the seventh year in a row, bodybuilding and fitness fans from around the world will convene in Las Vegas, Nevada to witness the highlight of the bodybuilding and fitness industry, the Joe Weider Olympia Weekend. Beginning on Thursday, October 13, through Sunday, October 16, this year is especially significant as it marks the 40th anniversary of the Joe Weider Mr. Olympia competition which first started on September 18, 1965 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York.
The Joe Weider Olympia event will take place at the Orleans Arena, one of the most impressive arenas in the country and worthy of our outstanding IFBB Olympia competitors. The Orleans Arena offers superior staging, lighting, and television capabilities that will provide the background for the finest, most competitive Olympia of all time.
The Orleans Arena:
The Orleans Arena is considered the “Rolls Royce” of theaters with a seating capacity of approximately 8,000. Constructed in 2003, the $85 million dollar Orleans Arena was specifically designed for sporting events, so that every seat offers superior viewing of the stage. The acoustics, audio-visual technology, and numerous screens spread across the arena are state-of-the art and will greatly enhance the live experience of attending the event.
“The Orleans Arena is the most popular arena in Las Vegas and offers a high-tech sound system and great seating,” said Mr. Andy Olson, President, Magna Media International.
“In the 25 years I’ve been associated with the Olympia, this is the absolute best location for the premier bodybuilding event in the world,” Olson said.
For our athletes, the Orleans Arena provides spacious and comfortable private locker rooms, training facilities, and meeting rooms.
The Orleans Arena is directly accessible from the street and does not require a trip through the casino floor to enter. There is also ample parking near the arena.
The Convention Center:
The Las Vegas Convention Center, the second largest convention facility in the country, will be the site of the Olympia Expo and IFBB women’s bodybuilding, fitness and figure competitions on Friday, October 14, beginning at 12:00pm.
Make sure to visit your favorite vendors, so you don’t miss out on their product samples and exciting exhibitions. Also, the Olympia Expo is the ideal place for you to meet the best bodybuilding, fitness and figure athletes in the world. Don’t forget to bring a camera.
As a free courtesy for our loyal sponsors and fans, a fleet of luxury buses will be running all day (Friday and Saturday, October 14 and 15) to shuttle fans between the Orleans Hotel-Arena and the Las Vegas Convention Center. Each bus will be stocked with samples and sponsor products and will be scheduled to depart every 15 minutes.
The Orleans Hotel:
The Orleans Hotel provides a superb value for fans relative to any other hotel in Las Vegas. Located just a few minutes off the Las Vegas strip, the hotel is adjacent to the Orleans Arena which makes it very convenient for fans. The rooms at the Orleans Hotel are very affordable with room rates starting at $75.00 per night on October 13 to $150.00 per night on October 14 and 15.
Offering the best in comfort and in service, the Orleans Hotel is family-friendly and is the home to many fine and reasonably priced restaurants, a 70-lane bowling alley, fitness spa, and an 18-screen movie theater.
The 40th Mr. Olympia promises to be the most highly contested competition of all time as all the competitors focus on preventing Ronnie Coleman from taking his 8th consecutive title. While in Las Vegas, I encourage you to get out and take advantage of the many popular sites and events the city has to offer. On behalf of the IFBB, I thank you for your support and hope to see you there.
For more information on the 2005 Olympia weekend, please visit
www.ifbb.com or
www.2005olympia.com.
