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The previous 212 Olympian can formally name himself Mr. Olympia.
Not like most of his friends within the Males’s Open division, Derek Lunsford entered the 2023 Mr. Olympia weekend having already skilled the joys of getting a first-place medal put round his neck on the greatest bodybuilding present of the 12 months.
Two years faraway from capturing the 212 Olympia title in Orlando, FL, Lunsford made historical past by changing into the primary two-division champion within the historical past of the Mr. Olympia contest. The USA native emerged victorious from a crop of elite opponents headlined by defending champion Hadi Choopan and 2023 Arnold Classic winner Samson Dauda.
[Related: 2023 Mr. Olympia Results: Complete Coverage and Live Updates]
The battle for the celebrated Sandow Trophy began Friday throughout the prejudging spherical of the 59th version of the celebrated contest. Unsurprisingly, Lunsford and Choopan — who each practice with legendary coach Hany Rambod — rapidly separated themselves from the remainder of the pack with their elite conditioning and sheer quantity of muscle mass.
Dauda’s sizable body and imposing physique additionally stood out throughout the prejudging section. And regardless of hypothesis about probably bowing out as a consequence of well being points, 2019 Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry confirmed nicely throughout his newest try to climb again to the highest of the Males’s Open mountain.
Callout One
Callout Two
Callout Three
- Phil Clahar
- Theo Leguerrier
- Roman Friz
- Justin Shier
Callout 4
- Andrew Jacked
- Brandon Curry
- Michal Krizanek
- Hunter Labrada
Callout 5
- Hadi Choopan
- Derek Lunsford
- Samson Dauda
The ultimate callout featured a dramatic three-person pose-off between Choopan, Lunsford, and Dauda. All three opponents placed on terrific showings, although Dauda appeared to tire a bit towards the top. There was nonetheless loads of anticipation about whether or not Lunsford might unseat Choopan, who displayed loads of power whereas interacting with the gang throughout his routine.
Lunsford appeared to have some luck on his facet when he earned the nod from the followers by successful the 2023 Folks’s Champion title and belt. Not lengthy after taking house the fan-voted award, the 2022 Mr. Olympia runner-up etched his place in bodybuilding historical past books by formally incomes the 2023 Mr. Olympia title and $400,000.
2023 Mr. Olympia Outcomes
Right here’s how the highest 5 shook out for the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest, together with the prize purse by place.
- Derek Lunsford — $400,000
- Hadi Choopan — $175,000
- Samson Dauda — $100,000
- Brandon Curry — $40,000
- Andrew Jacked — $35,000
[Related: Chris Bumstead Claims Fifth Consecutive Classic Physique Championship at 2023 Mr. Olympia]
Proving he’s able to doing no matter’s essential to get his physique into championship form, Derek Lunsford deserves large credit score for changing into the 18th Mr. Olympia. It took an incredible quantity of dedication, diligent dieting, and intense coaching to assemble a physique that satisfied the judges to place Choopan within the No. 2 spot in 2023.
Plus, the very fact Lunsford completed that feat simply two years after he asserted his dominance in a wholly totally different division speaks volumes about his genetic items, work ethic, and mindset.
Featured Picture: mrolympiallc / Instagram
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