The 2025 Olympia is in the books and some competitors did not show up as planned.
The 2025 Olympia was an exciting competition from the start with multiple bodybuilders in contention for the prize. As the show went on, it turned into a four-man race with Derek Lunsford winning the Sandow for the second time. While Lunsford showed up at his very best, there were others that lacked a bit. Jay Cutler was joined by Milos Sarcev where the two broke down some disappointments from the 2025 Olympia show.
Reigning Olympia champion Samson Dauda dropped to fourth just one year after his victory. He was part of a top tier that included Lunsford, Hadi Choopan, and Andrew Jacked. Choopan finished as the runner-up once again while Jacked made a jump into the top three. Cutler explained how Dauda took advice but seemed to lose something from 2024.
“Samson was a little disappointing. He definitely listened to the judges, and they said ‘come in leaner.’ It didn’t work for him. He lost the wow factor.”
While Dauda was labeled as disappointing, Andrew Jacked stole the show with his emergence into the top three.
“Andrew Jacked shocked us all. We’re going to have a big discussion about that. I think he’s the next guy. If he goes to the Arnold, I think he’s got a big chance there.”
Milos Sarcev Talks Nick Walker’s Size
Nick Walker had great confidence heading into the weekend after missing the last two Olympias. He won the New York Pro this year before finishing as the runner-up to Lunsford in Pittsburgh. Milos Sarcev believes playing the size game did not work in his favor.
“He tried to get bigger. He was saying he was going to be eight pounds heavier but those eight pounds didn’t go in the right direction.”
Jay Cutler also labeled Walker as “disappointing,” while Sarcev broke down where he went wrong.
“He didn’t control the stomach like he said he will. Legs were flat-ish, I thought he improved the legs by Pittsburgh and here, it was not so convincing.”
The Men’s Open lineup might have been as deep as its ever been, including four former champions in the mix. During prejudging, it turned into a four-man battle for the title and that continued into the final on Saturday night. Now that the competition is in the books, competitors will get back to work to put together the best package possible for 2026.
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