Friends, finally, 2024 Mr. Olympia is over. Guess who the new champ is? Yes, you get it right. He is Samson Dauda. Throughout the show many people didn’t even trust him at all. When he took off his shirt at the press conference then everybody started thinking that he was not ready. People thought that he would come third or fourth. But, on the contrary, he proved everyone wrong and took the first position.
It was something special, because this year marked the 60th anniversary of Mr. Olympia. The golden Sandow trophy was awarded to Samson Dauda. And now, his name is being added to the limited number of athletes who are able to hold this precious award. This is very serious!
Another great news came from Jake Wood. It surprised everyone with the prize money increase on Mr. Olympia. This year’s prize money was raised from $400,000 to $600,000! They didn’t just post this announcement a year in advance but would “come out and show them what they can do.” This was a fantastic update about the competition.

Now, now about the other competitors. We had Hardy in the second position. He had quite good chances this year to win. When Hardy came second, he reacted very, very well. He was very happy, and just himself for Samson; had picked up Samson and raised up to celebrate that reaction of a true sport. Hardy has brought out his best physique this year, just like Samson did. Last year, at the Arnold Classic, Hardy had beaten Samson, but this time, Samson got his revenge.
Derek Lunsford finished in third place. Most people thought he was going to be in third place. And indeed, he did end third; he took it and accepted his third-place finish well. Though a little disappointed, he thanked God for the experience repeatedly. Derek is indeed a strong man of faith, and he showed great character in being content with the rest of the guys, especially the goliaths Samson and Hardy.
Martin Fitzwater is in the fourth position. He has done a fantastic debut performance by defeating big names such as Brandon Curry and Hunter Labrada. Martin brought his best physique and did amazingly in his first Olympia.

The fifth place, indeed, went to Andrew Jack. Andrew was awarded by Kai Greene. So Andrew took his award and went out to party with friends, then he returned to wear his medal. It’s good that during the first day of competition, the top five were already happy for each other.
Now, we go to the top five results for Olympia. Everything else has details in a following video. We take down scorecards and explain why the judges made those specific decisions: why Samson could get away with it and why Hardy couldn’t be first.
This year, Samson Dauda is the new reigning Mr. Olympia, holding this title between 2024 and 2025. For him and his fans, it is a proud moment. The competition was deeply fought, and it was great fun to watch everyone bringing out their best performances at the stage.
In general, this Mr. Olympia competition held during the year was a full-on surprise and spectacular show. Samson Dauda proved to the whole world that hard work indeed pays. He must have worked hard with his wife supporting him throughout. Indeed, behind every successful man, there is a woman who supports him. Good job, Samson; be proud of your wife; she played a great role to make you do what you did during Mr. Olympia.

Stay tuned for the next blog, where we go deeper into the results and each athlete’s performances. Until next time, congratulations to Samson Dauda, the new Mr. Olympia!