?I Was in a State of Shock?: Former Olympia Winner From Lebanon Couldn?t Believe the Results as Hadi Choopan Lost His Mr. Olympia Crown to Derek Lunsford

Lebanon’s Samir Bannout, a veteran bodybuilding champion in the Golden Era, and former Mr Olympia attended this year?s competitions to see the results. He is a pioneer in the bodybuilding arena and people still get awestruck by his name. His chiseled physique is still talked about and people often reminisce about his golden days as a bodybuilder. The IFBB pro had his own opinions about this year?s Olympia winners and delved into them in an interview.

The interview with RxMuscle saw Bannout talk about Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan. Let?s see what shocked him the most.

Samir Bannout was shocked

While talking to the interviewer about the Open Class bodybuilding pre-judging, the conversation went to Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford. They agreed that everyone was a ?little off? the previous day and Bannout was shocked because Hadi Choopan looked amazing according to him.

He admitted, ?Our main pick was Lunsford because we saw the changes he made.? The master of sodium manipulation believed that Lunsford would win but he was surprised to see Choopan?s conditioning. The pro explained, ?The guy?s got the body and he improved his back. But when I came here, I was in a state of shock. Because I didn?t expect Hadi to make such a great improvement.?

Read More:?At Mr. Olympia, 2023 Press Conference, Defending Runners-Up Derek Lunsford Reveals Why He Lost To Hadi Choopan Last Year

The conversation was inclining towards whether Derek Lunsford deserved to win the title or not. All the veterans unanimously agreed that Hadi Choopan was supposed to win because of his impressive conditioning. The Persian Wolf was seemingly upset after losing and he stormed off the stage.

Hadi Choopan was upset after losing Mr Olympia

The Olympia competition of 2023?was intriguing, to say the least, and it was very cutthroat. There were mass monsters like Samson Dauda, Hadi Choopan, and Derek Lunsford competing side by side. Even though Nick Walker dropped off the competition at the last moment due to a hamstring injury the enthusiasm to witness the others did not whither off.

However, even when people expected Derek Lunsford to win, they were shocked to see Hadi Choopan?s conditioning. Derek Lunsford won the title nonetheless, and Choopan was not happy about the loss. When Bob Chick asked the bodybuilders to flex their muscles on stage the Iranian bodybuilder stormed off the stage stunning everyone.

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Do you think Hadi Choopan deserved to win the title? Tell us in the comments below.