Nick Walker wins the 2026 Mr. Olympia
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Event | 2026 Mr. Olympia (Olympia Weekend) |
| Dates | September 24–27, 2026 |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Winner | Nick Walker (USA), 18 points |
| Runner-up | Samson Dauda (UK), 20 points |
| Prize | $600,000 |
Nick Walker is Mr. Olympia. The American won the Men's Open title at Olympia Weekend in Las Vegas (September 24–27, 2026), finishing two points ahead of 2024 champion Samson Dauda and six ahead of defending champion Derek Lunsford, who placed third.
The win was worth $600,000 and completed a long climb for Walker, who won the Arnold Classic in 2021 and has been one of the sport’s most popular competitors since. Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman still share the record of eight titles.
Final placings
| Place | Athlete | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Walker | USA | 18 |
| 2 | Samson Dauda | UK | 20 |
| 3 | Derek Lunsford | USA | 24 |
| 4 | Andrew Jacked (Chinedu Obiekea) | UAE | 40 |
| 5 | Tonio Burton | USA | 50 |
| 6 | Michal Krizanek | Slovakia | 64 |
| 7 | Regan Grimes | Canada | 77 |
| 8 | Behrooz Tabani Abarghani | Iran | 82 |
| 9 | Brandon Curry | USA | 89 |
| 10 | James Hollingshead | UK | 100 |
Bodybuilding is scored by placings: each judge ranks the competitors and the lowest total wins. A two-point gap between first and second means the panel was close to split between Walker and Dauda, while the 16-point gap between Lunsford in third and Andrew Jacked in fourth shows how clearly the top three separated themselves.
How Walker beat the Arnold champion
Andrew Jacked beat Walker at the Arnold Classic in March and won the $750,000 purse. Six months later the order flipped decisively: Walker won, and Andrew Jacked finished fourth. It is a familiar pattern — the March winner peaks for Columbus and does not quite reach the same level in September — and it made Walker’s win more convincing.
Our take
This was the right result. Walker brought the most complete package of size, density and conditioning, and he improved on the physique that finished behind Andrew Jacked in March. Dauda’s narrow second keeps him firmly in the conversation for 2027; Lunsford’s third shows how quickly the Open is moving.
The Men’s Open has had five different winners in the last six Olympias — Big Ramy, Hadi Choopan, Derek Lunsford, Samson Dauda, Lunsford again and now Walker. That is good for the sport’s storylines but makes long reigns, like Haney’s and Coleman’s, look further away than ever.
Brandon Curry, Mr. Olympia in 2019, finishing ninth is the clearest sign that the division has turned over.
Every 2026 Olympia winner
| Division | Winner |
|---|---|
| Men's Open (Mr. Olympia) | Nick Walker |
| Classic Physique | Niall Darwen |
| 212 | Keone Pearson |
| Men's Physique | Ryan Terry |
| Ms. Olympia | Andrea Shaw |
| Women's Physique | Natalia Abraham Coelho |
| Figure | Lola Montez |
| Bikini | Jasmine Gonzalez |
| Fitness | Michelle Fredua-Mensah |
| Wellness | Eduarda Bezerra |
See every winner since 1965 on our Mr. Olympia winners page, and the 2027 qualifiers on our Olympia qualification tracker.
Walker's road to the Sandow
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Won the Arnold Classic |
| 2026 (March) | Second at the Arnold Classic behind Andrew Jacked; Most Muscular award |
| 2026 (September) | Won Mr. Olympia |
Walker’s rise has been one of bodybuilding’s best stories of the 2020s: a competitor with enormous size who had to learn to match it with the conditioning and presentation the Olympia judges demand. His March loss to Andrew Jacked in Columbus showed the gap; his September win showed he had closed it.
How the Olympia is judged
The Men’s Open is judged across symmetry, mandatory poses — front double biceps, front lat spread, side chest, back double biceps, back lat spread, side triceps, abs and thigh, and most muscular — comparisons between the top contenders, and a final posing routine. Judges rank each competitor; the rankings are added up and the lowest total wins. Ties are broken by the placings in specific rounds.
| Round | What judges look for |
|---|---|
| Symmetry | Balance and proportion from all four sides |
| Mandatory poses | Muscle size, density and conditioning in eight set poses |
| Comparisons | The top contenders side by side |
| Posing routine | Presentation and stage presence |