There were few arguments about Hadi Choopan winning the Mr. Olympia 2022 title, but fans may be curious to know exactly what put the Iranian above former Olympia 212 champion Derek Lunsford.
Terrick El Guindy is an IFBB Pro League judge and host of Prime Time Muscle and Olympia TV. He hosted a recent episode of the latter show to explain why Choopan can now add his name to the list of 17 men to hold the biggest title in bodybuilding.
“He got bigger, that was the first impression of all the judges – that he was bigger than the year before,” El Guindy said. “On top of that, Hadi Choopan has displayed the same conditioning he has done for the past two years. He was already the best poser and he poses with a lot of conditioning.
As for Lunsford, El Guindy explained that the only thing the runner-up needs to win the World Bodybuilding Championship is the only thing he needs is more time.
“He’s taller than when he was in 212, his conditioning was impeccable, he’s actually a size smaller than Hadi Choopan, and he even potentially beat Hadi Choopan in some poses. What Lunsford didn’t have was the deep cuts that come with muscle maturity,” he shared. “And yes, Hadi Choopan has
those deep cuts. (Lunsford) will have to get those deeper cuts if he wants to compete with a contender who has been training for decades.
El Guindy even offered a glimpse at the third, Nick Walker, who beat the two previous Mr. Olympia winners in this contest – Big Ramy and Brandon Curry.
“He is an unstoppable force. He’s massive, he’s conditioned and he’s getting better and better. Looks like Nick Walker will win the Mr. Olympia at some point in the future… What Nick needs to do is pose better, make his physique look better to beat guys like Derek and Hadi.
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