The athlete meeting has taken place, and contenders are about to close out their 2026 Olympia preparations. In a September 24 video, Derek Lunsford shared that he’s injury-free ahead of the contest and sees himself winning the next two years. Meanwhile, Classic Physique star Wesley Vissers opened up about Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson backing him in Vegas.
In 2025, Derek Lunsford ran the table in the Men’s Open class. He beat Samson Dauda at the 2025 Arnold Classic, then took out Nick Walker after a sudden-death round in Pittsburgh. To cap off the historic season, he won last year’s Mr. Olympia contest, cementing himself as a two-time champion.
In Classic Physique, Brazilian star Ramon ‘Dino’ Queiroz will aim to fend off a crop of elite contenders, including surging Wesley Vissers. “The Dutch Oak” picked up momentum in 2026 after claiming victory at the Arnold Classic Ohio. He also won the Detroit Pro before suffering a close loss to Mike Sommerfeld at the Arnold Classic UK. With ‘The Super Bowl of Bodybuilding’ almost here, these top threats opened up on what lies ahead.
Derek Lunsford on Future Mr. Olympia Goals & Wesley Vissers Opens Up About The Rock Backing Him
In the video, Lunsford revealed that he has no injuries heading into the 2026 Mr. Olympia. He expects to win the next two years:
“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah [injury-free],” confirmed Lunsford. “I see it back-to-back. Back-to-back, and still. Three-time Mr. Olympia champion, four-time Mr. Olympia champion. It’s going to be a great weekend.”
Moments later, Vissers was interviewed, who reflected on The Rock supporting him during preparations.
“It was literally during the workout. I was just training. One of the training days, and I’m posting quite a lot of social media content nowadays to really hype up the Olympia. One of those reels, my cameraman showed me. Look at the top comment here. I’m like, it was the first time I was lost for words.”
“That was unbelievable to see such an iconic childhood hero, who is still very active in the field, to now make a comment that intrinsically means he cares about bodybuilding; he cares about the Classic Physique, and also about my personal journey and rooting for me and staying the course. I mean, that just made my day. It was incredible.”
“It’s unbelievable to pique the interest of Dwayne The Rock Johnson. That’s an icon, and one of the most recognizable names in the world. It’s just next level stuff.”
According to “The Dutch Oak,” his peak is coming along perfectly as he sets his sights on gold in Vegas.
“Everything is really coming together perfectly. I already showed an improvement at the Arnold but it was the prototype. It was the first time we were able to grow more into the show, into my weight. We had to show what we were working on, but it was the first time we were at that weight.”
History will be on the line when bodybuilders clash at the 2026 Mr. Olympia. Olympia President Dan Solomon confirmed that the livestream this year is completely free. Don’t miss our previews, predictions, and live results from September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada!
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