Hadi Choopan admires his Sandow trophy. / Instagram
Why did reigning Mr. Olympia Big Ramy fall to fifth in the 2022 Mr. Olympia? Why did Hadi Choopan win? And what do the others in the top five need to do to win the title in 2023? Head Olympia judge Steve Weinberger recently appeared on an OlympiaTV livestream with hosts Bob Cicherillo and Terrick El Guindy to answer those questions and more.
You can watch the whole stream, which includes new Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan and his coach Hany Rambod, here:
Here’s the highlights from Steve Weinberger regarding Big Ramy (5th), Hadi Choopan (1st), Derek Lunsford (2nd), Nick Walker (3rd), and Brandon Curry (4th):
2022 MR. OLYMPIA: WHY RAMY LOST
“It was very disappointing. His legs were not what they should have been. His back wasn’t what it should have been. His condition was off. His bodyparts were off. Honestly, it did not look like the Ramy of 2020, more like the Ramy from 2021, just in even worse condition. He came down even worse. I think the 2020 was the best Ramy and the [2013 and 2014] New York Pro was the second best Ramy. 2021 and 2022 were not the real Ramy that we know. I don’t know whether he has a back injury or a shoulder injury, but there’s some problems somewhere with him. I don’t know what it is, but something is not right.”
2022 MR. OLYMPIA: WHY HADI CHOOPAN WON
“He came in a little bit bigger, as hard as a rock. Really, he looked amazing. There was no weakness in his physique—none. When they all came out [at prejudging] and we were looking, I always tick off the top six guys, and he was the first one I ticked off on my sheet like, ‘Oh my God, this guy is ready today,’ and he was. At first glance, I thought, ‘Wow, this is the guy to look at.’”
2022 MR. OLYMPIA: WHY DEREK LUNSFORD WAS 2ND
“That was a one-point decision [between Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan at prejudging]. When Derek came out, he looked big and full, but because Derek doesn’t have the muscle maturity of Hadi, he couldn’t withstand all the posing and started to flatten out. Where, in my opinion, Hadi stayed the same. Like I said, [Hadi] didn’t change from the [Friday] prejudging to the [Saturday] show. He maintained his condition, and that’s where I thought Hadi was better. [Hadi won by three points on Saturday.] Derek was unbelievable, amazing, but he was still lacking a little bit of muscle maturity.”
2023 MR. OLYMPIA: WHAT NICK WALKER NEEDS TO DO
“He has to do what he did this year [to win the 2023 Mr. Olympia]. He put on enough muscle, and he did not mess with his waist at all. He still had a small waist, he had huge muscles, thick abdominals. He lost nothing and gained size. If he does that next year, he’ll be right in the mix [for the title]. It’s amazing to see what he did last year to this year.”
2023 MR. OLYMPIA: WHAT BRANDON CURRY NEEDS TO DO
“He needs to bring those legs in the same conditioning he brings his upper body in. His legs and upper body look like two different bodies. His legs have to come in hard with deep separation, and that’s what he’s missing. He’s placing well because he has beautiful shape. He’d place better if he could come in better condition on his [quads] and hamstrings.”
