The bodybuilding community is still processing the wildly unpredictable Mr. Olympia results. In an October 1 post, Rich Gaspari explained how Nick Walker pulled off the improbable to win the Sandow trophy.
Las Vegas was the epicenter for bodybuilding action throughout the last weekend of September. In the headlining act, Nick Walker cemented himself as the 2026 Mr. Olympia champion. Meanwhile, former two-time titleholder Derek Lunsford dropped to third place after fading for the finals.
Walker wasted no time announcing his next contest. He’s jumping into the 2027 Arnold Classic following his runner-up finish from last season. The event has turned into the Mr. Olympia sequel, with Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked (Chinedu Andrew Obiekea) confirming their entries. With time to recap the latest shakeups in the Men’s Open, Gaspari gave his take on where the division stands.
Rich Gaspari Talks 2026 Mr. Olympia and Nick Walker’s Big Win
In the post, Gaspari first congratulated Nick Walker on the triumph even though he didn’t pick him to win.
“First off, congratulations to Nick Walker. I’m really proud to be a jersey guy to see New Jersey take the Mr. Olympia. So, it’s good to see Nick Walker win that show.”
“Now, in my predictions of who was going to win, I didn’t have Nick. I had him in the top five. I did not have him winning. One of the issues he had was with his gut, his bloatedness. His first Arnold he came in really spot on and then from there he kind of was always off a little bit but this show he was spot on from the Friday prejudging into the Saturday.”
He added that Walker’s muscle hardness and improved symmetry played a role in his success:
“He was hard as a rock, his waist looks smaller than ever so I was very impressed the way he looked. He was put together, symmetry looked great, he was confident in that show and he took on some really hard competitors.”
According to ‘The Dragon Slayer,’ Lunsford and Jacked did not present their best onstage.
“When you think about it, Andrew Jacked beats him in the Arnold Classic and then he comes on and Andrew Jacked is fourth place – of course he wasn’t at his best. I thought that Derek was not at his best so with him not really hitting it hard he looked a little soft and you could see some of the weaknesses he has, that density in the muscle that he doesn’t have as much as say a Nick Walker or someone like Andrew Jacked. But anyways, the show is close,” Rich Gaspari said.
With Dauda a close second, Gaspari noted that he could have won with a stronger prejudging performance.
“Samson, if Samson was in great shape for the Friday which was slightly off and holding on the water, he may have edged him out. I heard it was very close. Was only a couple points where Nick won. Anyways, all the people out there that thought he would not win – the guy did it. He believed in himself. He didn’t care what other freaking people said. He is Mr. Olympia. So, congratulations to Nick Walker. The 2026 Mr. Olympia.”
Gaspari hasn’t been the only top Open Bodybuilding name to recap the 2026 Mr. Olympia. Lee Priest believes the judges got it right in Las Vegas. As for Lunsford, Priest suggested he’s maxed out his frame in the Men’s Open class. Instead, he urged the former champ to focus solely on conditioning.
Attention is quickly shifting to the 2027 Arnold Classic. The second biggest show of the season is scheduled for March 4-7 in Columbus, Ohio.
