One Weekend… Two Bodybuilding Champions
Between the 11th and 13 October 2024, the bodybuilding and fitness world was spoiled with two great events.
In Las Vegas, USA, the 2024 Olympia Weekend took place. This event was very special, as the Mr. Olympia celebrated their 60th anniversary.
Across the Atlantic, another special event took place. The 2024 Arnold Sports Festival Europe took place in Madrid. This was the 14th edition of the Arnold Classic Europe, the biggest Arnold Classic event, right after the main event in Columbus, Ohio. The main event at the Arnold Sports Festival is the IFBB Pro World Championships.
The IFBB sanctions these two events, but they are not related. The 2024 Mr. Olympia is sanctioned by Jim Manion’s IFBB Professional League, while the 2024 Arnold Classic Europe is sanctioned by Rafael Santonja’s IFBB Pro division, formerly known as IFBB Elite Pro.
This was a very special weekend as both federations crowned their best bodybuilder.
Samson Dauda won the 2024 Mr. Olympia, taking home the gold-plated Sandow trophy, while on the other side of the world, Mika Sihvonen was crowned IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Champion for the fifth time. Mika won the World title twice in the under 90kg event, and three consecutive times in the open class.
Samson Dauda – 2024 Mr. Olympia
A film can be made about Samson’s career. The guy that everybody said would not succeed, but he kept following his dreams, with a ruthless work ethic, until he achieved his goal.
The gentle giant, Samson Dauda, turned his life around from being a construction worker to becoming the 19th man to ever win the Mr. Olympia title in its 60-year history.
From the moment Samson lifted the gold-plated Sandow trophy, he will always be remembered as Mr. Olympia, for the rest of his career and life.
Samson did not walk away with the title. He had a fierce lineup of competitors, including three former Mr. Olympia champions, defending champion Derek Lunsford, 2022 Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan, and 2019 Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry.
It was evident that the battle for the 2024 Mr. Olympia title was between Samson and Hadi, as the show went on, with the two continuously being put next to each other.
While Hadi is most probably the most conditioned bodybuilder in the world, Samson’s incredible improvements from his two second-place finishes at the Arnold Classic USA and UK to Hadi Choopan this year, were evident.
Wherever Samson stood on stage, all eyes turned to him. Samson’s perfect balance of size, symmetry, and condition, was the key to edging past Hadi Choopan to win the $600,000 prize, the Sandow Trophy, and the People’s Champion award.
Samson will definitely be back to defend his title in 2025, but he can expect a fierce battle from the rest of the lineup, especially Hadi Choopan, who declared he will be back bigger and better.
After the 2024 Mr. Olympia, Samson announced that he would be competing at the 2025 Arnold Classic USA. Samson has been one of the most active bodybuilders in recent years, keeping active by competing at several events, regardless that he now is lifetime qualified for the Mr. Olympia.
Mika Sihvonen – 2024 IFBB Pro Bodybuilding World Champion
Mika Sihvonen is IFBB Pro’s (formerly known as IFBB Elite Pro) number one bodybuilder, winning the IFBB Pro World Championship five times during his career.
The level of competition continues to increase each year in this new pro division, which was created in 2017 after the IFBB and NPC went their separate ways.
Mika won the World Championship title twice in the under 90kg category and three consecutive times in the open bodybuilding event.
Mika might not be the biggest bodybuilder compared to the other competitors, but he always arrives in the best condition, with the perfect balance of size and symmetry.
If anybody wants to look up to an athlete that never gives up, Mika is the perfect example.
In 2022, Mika suffered a serious leg injury while performing squats at the beginning of the off-season, but he was determined to return to the stage and defend his title. Mika not only returned to the stage, but he won the 2022 IFBB Pro World Championship title.
The 2023 season for Mika was another nightmare, finding out he had malignant tongue cancer. It was not known if Mika would be back to defend his World Championship title, leaving everybody on the edge the entire year.
But as the 2023 IFBB Pro World Championships started to get closer, Mika was publishing photos on his social media in full prep mode, confirming that he would be defending his title.
Mika again shocked the bodybuilding world, by returning to defend his title for the fourth time.
The 2024 edition of the IFBB Pro World Championships was a great challenge for Mika, as Ilya Lukovets, Jonathan Rouch, and Eddy Wilson were all worthy challengers for the title.
At the end, it would be Mika Sihoven who would go on to lift the title and be declared 2024 IFBB Pro Bodybuilding World Champion.
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