Fans and bodybuilding enthusiasts are still digesting the shocking results of the 2024 Mr. Olympia contest. In a recent YouTube video shared on October 16, 2024, Chris Cormier, Milos Sarcev, and Dennis James discussed Samson Dauda’s best poses, Derek Lunsford’s fall from grace, and what’s next in the Classic Physique division.
The 2024 Mr. Olympia event will be remembered as it turned the bodybuilding world upside down. Derek Lunsford was unable to fend off the Open lineup to bag a second Mr. Olympia title. Instead, Samson Dauda emerged victorious against runner-up Hadi Choopan in the finals to secure his maiden Sandow trophy.
The Classic Physique division also delivered. Chris Bumstead conquered the stage to bring home his sixth Classic Physique Olympia title, defeating surging German standouts Mike Sommerfeld and Urs Kalecinski. Shortly after the victory, ‘Cbum’ announced his retirement from the sport.
With the Classic Physique and Open landscapes changing dramatically, this round table of bodybuilding veterans broke down exactly how the action unfolded in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris Cormier, Milos Sarcev, Dennis James Break Down Men’s Open and Classic Physique 2024 Mr. Olympia Results
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According to Chris Cormier, Derek Lunsford was ‘not the same guy’ at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, underlining that his back wasn’t on par with what he brought last year.
“When Derek and Hadi turned around they were not the same. Derek wasn’t as good as last year from the back,” said Cormier. “The back of his was not – I wasn’t looking at it like oh my god. No.”
“I don’t think so. Not the same guy. Not the same guy.”
James believes Lunsford’s legs were down in size and Cormier mentioned that Hadi Choopan could have been better from the back.
“He was smaller too in the legs. You saw it as soon as he came out, his legs were down in size too,” adds Dennis James.
“Hadi could have been better from the back also. To me, Samson improved so much from the back,” explains Cormier.
Dennis James argued that Samson Dauda was the only athlete in the Open top three to make improvements since last year, which contributed to his victory.
“The problem was number one, Samson is the only one out of the top three that came better than last time,” said James. “Both other guys were just not the same.
I don’t want to say they were worse but they were just not what they were last time. Comparing Hadi to the Arnold, we all remember Hadi at the Arnold, I was shocked. I wasn’t shocked this time but I still believe after prejudging that he had the slight edge because I looked at the condition.”
If Samson Dauda can replicate his 2024 Mr. Olympia look, James doesn’t see anyone beating him.
“If Samson can repeat this look… I don’t think there’s anybody that can beat him other than Andrew who puts it finally together. That’s the only one that could stand next to him,” shares James.
“I still think the rivalry between Hadi and Samson is going to go on and on and on,” said Sarcev.
Sarcev thought Choopan won most of the front poses and gave the back double biceps shot to Derek Lunsford.
“Samson had that wow. It’s not a conditioning contest it’s a whole physique contest but I’m going to say this, maybe Samson is not going to like it, but I mentioned it already. Front double biceps I would give it to Hadi. Lat spread I would give it to Hadi from the front,” shared Sarcev.
“Derek won that one that he’s Mr. Olympia in, back double and that’s it. I said before, Derek could not win any other pose there’s no way. Hadi wins a lot of front poses,” he shared. “Hadi won three shots from me for sure, front double, lat spread, and abs and thighs. Most muscular is very questionable.”
Aside from Chris Bumstead’s retirement announcement, James said the biggest shock of the night was the two German athletes taking second and third place, making them immediate contenders for next year’s Olympia title.
“What I like about what happened this past weekend is not that Chris Bumstead retired, I’m happy for him because he has things to worry about now. He has a family, he has an autoimmune disease he doesn’t want to aggravate for nothing,” said James.
“Now two and three goes to Germany so now that means next year the favorites to win this show is the Germans.”
In Sarcev’s opinion, Ramon Queiroz finished in fourth place because he was spilling over and sweating on stage.
“Prejudging he was sweating, spilling over, not flexing correctly. Oil was going all over the place, Pro Tan was leaking,” said Sarcev.
Cormier chalked up Queiroz’s lackluster performance to issues with his posing.
“No [he didn’t get fourth place because of sweating]. His body was down, not down, but first of all his posing is not right for what he needs to do. He does not have a concept of what he needs to do exactly and every time. That’s one thing. The sweating… it’s like getting some body blows in boxing. He recovered.”
James believes this was the best version of Urs Kalecinski fans have ever seen.
“They are coming. They are on him [Chris Bumstead] So is Urs too, because I thought this was the best Urs we had ever seen. The only problem I had with Urs was his color.”
Although Chris Bumstead won’t be competing next year, his impact in the category will still be felt. He recently announced that he planned to increase the Classic Physique Olympia prize money in 2025, which will come out of his own pocket.
As for Mr. Olympia champion Samson Dauda, he has no intentions of being a one-show-a-year bodybuilder. He has already announced plans to compete at the upcoming 2025 Arnold Classic in March, where a $500,000 cash prize will be on the line.
RELATED: Ramon Queiroz Issues Statement After Placing 4th at 2024 Mr. Olympia: “I Will Never Give Up!”
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