Joe Weider's Olympia weekend 2009 rising: Olympia prize money increased to an all-time high

Flex, July, 2009 by Allan Donnelly

American Media, Inc. and the IFBB Professional League announced that the total prize money for the 2009 Olympia, presented by MuscleTech and brought to you by Bodybuilding.com, will be increased to $800,000. Included in that total is a $200,000 purse for winning the Mr. Olympia, an increase of $45,000 from 2008. Overall, the total prize money has been increased by more than $60,000 from last year's event.

"We are thrilled to announce the increase in prize money for the 2009 Olympia," said AMI Chairman, President and CEO David J. Pecker. "The Olympia Weekend is the biggest and best event in bodybuilding, so we believe the prize money for the competitors should be a reflection of that. As far as what's at stake, the Olympia is clearly setting the standard." (The Arnold Classic is the closest to the Olympia in terms of total prize money awarded. In 2009, $466,000 in total prize money was awarded for the Arnold Classic contests.)

In addition to men's bodybuilding, the prize money has also increased for the Figure Olympia and the 202 Showdown. Also, for the first time in history, the purse for the runner-up in a men's bodybuilding contest will reach the six-figure mark, as the second-place finisher will receive $100,000.

"The partnership between AMI and the IFBB Professional League is obviously working in the direction to make the Olympia the best contest in the world, as David Pecker and Ben Weider promised," IFBB Professional League Chairman Jim Manion said. "They are giving more back to the bodybuilders than anyone ever has."

When AMI took over the Olympia in 2004, the total prize money for Olympia Weekend was $540,000. Included in that total was a $120,000 purse for the Olympia winner. The growth of the prize money since then has been due to the efforts of AMI and the IFBB Professional League with considerable help from supplement giant MuscleTech, which has been the title sponsor for four of the past five years.

"The Olympia provides bodybuilding fans immeasurable inspiration by displaying the peak of human potential," said Team MuscleTech Director of Marketing Paul Kurantsin-Mills. "The champions you see onstage year after year carry with them the utmost dedication, determination and hunger for success that all fellow hardcore trainers strive to achieve. MuscleTech shares their passion for the sport of bodybuilding and we are privileged to be the title sponsor for the 2009 Olympia."

For complete information on Joe Weider's 2009 Olympia Weekend, go to mrolympia.com.