The bad news continues with Cedric McMillan dropping out of the 2022 Arnold Classic next month in Columbus, Ohio. Milos Sarcev dropped the information on Jay Cutler's podcast that McMillan isn't competition-ready due to ongoing health issues.
CEDRIC MCMILLAN DROPS OUT OF 2022 ARNOLD CLASSIC
News broke of Cedric McMillan not competing at the 2022 Arnold Classic first on Cutler's podcast, where Milos Sarcev spoke about the situation and said that McMillan is suffering from health issues and he might be getting to the age where competitive bodybuilding isn't a viable option as the body starts going through physiological changes as we age.
We then got more information from Nick Trigili at Bodybuilding & BS, where he cleared the air about Cedric's withdrawal. He said he spoke to McMillan and the reason for dropping out of the competition was due to ongoing esophagus issues. McMillian has been dealing with some health problems, including bad acid reflux, and medical specialists haven't been able to solve the problem. With these issues, he couldn't stay on a diet and eat properly, so he won't be stage ready.
We'd love to see McMillan come back from this as he was so close to competing once again. McMillan was also set to be featured in the Rise of a Champion, a series that was highlighting athletes who are scheduled to compete at the Arnold Sports Festival from March 3-6th in Columbus, Ohio.
WHO IS CEDRIC MCMILLAN?
Cedric McMillan is an IFBB pro bodybuilder that was born in 1977. He started weight training at the young age of 13 when he realized that he had the potential to be great in the sport of bodybuilding.
After high school, McMillan joined the US Army. In 2007 McMillan competed in his first show at the NPC South Carolina, where he ended up winning the super heavyweight division. The following year in 2008, he won the NPC Junior USA Championship then took first at the NPC Nationals the following year in 2009.
McMillan racked up several wins over the past 10 plus years with some of his big wins in 2011 Europe Orlando Pro, 2012 New York Pro, 2015 Golden State Pro, and 2017 Arnold Classic.
Cedric has always been a contender throughout his career, and in 2019 he won two shows; Fitparade Hungary Pro - Grand Prix and Romania Muscle Fest Pro. Unfortunately, in 2020, things started going south for McMillan when he dropped out of the Olympia due to injuries, including a broken collarbone and a broken hand.
Last year wasn't much better for him when he dropped out of the 2021 Arnold Classic because of ongoing injuries; then, he contracted a bad case of Covid 19, which almost took him out completely. We hope Cedric can get healthy so he can walk the stage at least one more time before he hangs it up.
2022 Arnold Classic Lineup
This year has been wrought with bad news concerning the Arnold Classic. First, we heard of Rafael Brando dropping out, then news of Nathan De Asha and Mohamed Shaaban dropping out on the same day due to injuries.
The rough news hasn't stopped; just last week, Akim Williams bowed out, and now McMillan is following suit.
The competition was slated for 14 athletes to compete on the stage. Now we're down to the 9 athletes you see below. If any athletes are added to the roster, we'll let you know.
- William Bonac - Netherlands
- Maxx Charles - USA
- Brandon Curry - USA
- Samson Dauda - United Kingdom
- Regan Grimes - Canada
- Steve Kuclo - United States
- Fabio Giga Rezende - Brazil
- Justin Rodriguez - USA
- Brett Wilkin - USA
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It's never nice to see athletes suffering from health issues. We can only hope everyone that has dropped out of the competition gets better soon; with the lineup shrinking, the 2022 Arnold Classic is shaping up to be a completely different event than we initially thought.
Who do you think will win it this year?
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Kiel DiGiovanni
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