<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Derek Lunsford walked into the 2026 Mr. Olympia believing he was going to win.<\/p>\n
Not hoping.<\/p>\n
Not thinking he had a chance.<\/p>\n
Believing.<\/p>\n
And honestly, I respect that mentality.<\/p>\n
You have to believe you can win if you\u2019re going to stand under those lights and beat the best bodybuilders on the planet.<\/p>\n
But there is a major difference between confidence and guaranteeing an outcome.<\/p>\n
Derek Lunsford spent months talking about winning his third Olympia title. Just days before the Olympia, he said his physique wouldn\u2019t be beaten and that if he stuck to his game plan, nobody would stop him from winning his third title.<\/p>\n
Then came the Olympia.<\/p>\n
Nick Walker won.<\/p>\n
Samson Dauda finished second.<\/p>\n
Derek Lunsford finished third.<\/p>\n
And suddenly, all that confidence looks a hell of a lot different.<\/p>\n
This is where things get almost too perfect.<\/p>\n
During his posing routine, Derek Lunsford threw up three fingers.<\/p>\n
The message was obvious\u2026 Three. As in three Olympia titles. Except he didn\u2019t win his third Olympia title. He finished third. You couldn\u2019t script this any better if you tried.<\/p>\n
The internet is going to remember that moment for a long time. And I don\u2019t say that because I dislike Derek Lunsford. I don\u2019t. In fact, I give him credit for something that needs to be acknowledged.<\/p>\n
After the show, Lunsford didn\u2019t make excuses. He admitted that he wasn\u2019t at his best and said his physique simply didn\u2019t come together the way he wanted. He also congratulated Nick Walker and told him he earned the victory.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what a professional should do.<\/p>\n
But being a professional afterward doesn\u2019t change the bigger question. Did Derek Lunsford just miss his last realistic opportunity to win another Olympia?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about the elephant in the room\u2026 Nick Walker.<\/p>\n
Walker wasn\u2019t supposed to be the guy standing there with the Sandow this year after finishing sixth in 2025. But that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n
He won the 2026 Olympia with 18 points, beating Samson Dauda\u2019s 20 and Lunsford\u2019s 24. And here\u2019s the scary part for Derek Lunsford. Nick Walker is still improving.<\/p>\n
If Walker continues moving forward, Derek isn\u2019t just trying to beat the version of Nick Walker that showed up in Las Vegas. He\u2019s going to have to beat a potentially better version.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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