2023 Mr. Olympia: Hadi Choopan storms off the Olympia stage.
The 2023 Olympia Weekend was a perfect weekend, the organization was spot on, and the judging and results were fair, with no controversy.
The majority of athletes lost their Olympia titles and accepted their defeat with dignity, except for one athlete, and that was Hadi Choopan.
Hadi seemed to accept defeat when Derek Lunsford was announced as the new Mr. Olympia. Hadi went on to congratulate Derek, and stayed for the first part of photos.
Immediately after Bob Cicherillo asked the finalists to do the most muscular pose, Hadi proceeded to leave the group, remove his medal, and walk off the stage.
Brandon Curry tried to get his attention, while Bob asked Hadi to stay for one more picture, but he allegedly ignored him and walked off the stage.
The remaining athletes continued to take photos, with the new champion Derek Lunsford.
This article has nothing to do if Hadi should have won or not, but about how he handled the situation at the end.
Hadi Choopan feels ashamed for failing his country
A few hours after he stormed off the stage, Hadi Choopan published a message in his native language. Thanks to Whoisthebestbb, they managed to get a translation.
Hadi Choopan’s message translated:
“I am ashamed and disappointed (because of losing) in front of my beloved country and beloved people, from Iran.”
“I fought with the entire world, I could overcome many things, but I don’t know why I lost this game (I was just showing his sad emotions, nothing disrespectful). Please forgive me, If I couldn’t bring the win for Iran, as they deserve it.”
“I am just ashamed that I couldn’t do it, even after all the hard work.”
“I hope for the pride of Iran, and in the future, and also after me (does not mean I necessarily quite.)” – Hadi Choopan
As it looks, winning the Mr. Olympia means more to him than just winning another $400,000, and taking home another Sandow trophy. Hadi wanted to win for his country, and according to his message, he failed his country.
It seems that Hadi also made a reference to the incident when he left the stage, explaining that he was showing his “sad emotions”, but he was not being disrespectful.
Moments after Hadi Choopan published this message, he published another post with the photos of all the 2023 Olympia winners, congratulating every one of them.
Derek Lunsford, also responded to Choopan’s post: “Thank you champ! You push me to bring my best. The Persian Wolf is an animal in the gym. Thank you for holding me accountable to work harder everyday. Good bless you and your family.” – Derek Lunsford.
Not the first time Olympians have shown their frustration
The actions of Hadi Choopan at the 2023 Mr. Olympia, might be shocking to many, but in reality, his actions were very minimal compared to episodes in the past.
1980 Mr. Olympia
The 1981 Mr. Olympia was one of the most controversial in the history of the sport, even more than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory in 1980.
Franco Columbo decided to return to competition, and enter the 1981 Mr. Olympia. So much controversy surrounded the 1980 Mr. Olympia, no one ever expected Franco would be a favorite to win in 1981. Franco arrived, and it was evident that he was not a favorite to win the show, but the impossible happened, and Franco was announced as the winner.
The audience started throwing whatever they had in their hands towards the stage, and a number of disgruntled bodybuilders left the stage, leaving Tom Platz who finished in third, and six-placed Jusup Wilkosz to take photos with Franco Columbo.
1983 Mr. Olympia
At the 1983 Mr. Olympia, fan-favorite Bertil Fox did not accept his fifth-place award, not remaining on stage, even after the late Ben Weider tried to convince him to stay.
1999 Mr. Olympia
In 1999, Flex Wheeler was the hot favorite to challenge Ronnie Coleman for his Mr. Olympia title. Coleman was defending his title for the first time, after winning in 1998, after six-time Mr. Olympia retired and left the title vacant.
As both Coleman and Wheeler were waiting anxiously for the announcement to be made, it was evident that Coleman knew there was a possibility that Wheeler could actually defeat him.
When the announcement was made, and Ronnie was declared the winner, he fell to the ground, and Wheeler turned his back to the audience. Flex Wheeler was given his second-place medal, but immediately removed the Mr. Olympia silver medal, and made a sign to the audience that he is number 1.
Conclusion
Hadi Choopan must remember, that when he won his Mr. Olympia title in 2022, everybody embraced him, and the bodybuilding world showed him respect, even by awarding him the “People’s Choice” award in previous years.
Choopan was disgruntled, and he might have not noticed that his actions were so evident, but it was a great lack of respect towards the new champion, Derek Lunsford, his fellow competitors, the Olympia Weekend organizers, and finally the IFBB Pro League.
Instead of being remembered as a humble Mr. Olympia champion, Hadi will be remembered as a sore loser to many in the industry.
Moments after the 2023 Mr. Olympia ended, social media has been flooded with opinions, and unfortunately, politics are starting to be mentioned.
It remains to be seen if Hadi will return at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, and if his actions will have caused unrepairable damage to his career.
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