On February 15, reigning Wheelchair Mr. Olympia champion James Berger revealed that he is ready for the 2026 Arnold Classic.

With just 16 days remaining until the Pro-Wheelchair event, James Berger has come forward to showcase why he won last year’s Olympia. Taking to his Instagram handle, he dropped a montage of himself flexing his muscles with a caption that read, “21 days. That’s it.”

He further added, “21 days until I step on the stage at the @arnoldsports Arnold Classic and show exactly what relentless pressure creates. No days off.No excuses.No mercy. Built with my coach @goreala.performance, pushing every rep past the limit. I’m not coming to participate. I’m coming to dominate."

He will come face-to-face with Olympia rivals like Rajesh John, Jason Metcalf, Josue Fabiano Barreto Monteiro, Jan Povýšil, Will Anthony, and Gaylon Grigsby.

Last year at the Arnold Classic, James Berger finished second while Rajesh came first. Now, after beating him in the Olympia, James Berger will look to replicate that result.

He is certainly making a name for himself, but guess what? He wasn’t that disabled before; it was all just an accident.

How James Berger found his resilience

James Berger developed his physique growing up in Oklahoma. He used to play football, run on the tracks, and compete in powerlifting as well. He also looked for opportunities to work and earn money for himself. “I had a really good upbringing, nothing to complain about,” said Berger.

However, his life changed forever on May 29, 2010. On that day, he was driving drunk at nearly 110 mph when he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a fence post. The truck flipped repeatedly, striking trailers and trees before coming to a stop upside down.

Berger lay undiscovered for six hours and remained trapped for another hour during the rescue. “I don’t remember any of this,” he said. “Don’t drink and drive.” Berger broke his T10, T11, and T12 vertebrae in his spine, which in turn left everything below his abdomen unresponsive.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi