by Christian Duque
Just as we predicted in last week’s article on the 2024 IFBB Texas Pro, right here at Iron Magazine, Samson Dauda went to Texas and dominated just like he had done the previous two contests. Leading into the show some photos and video footage had apparently leaked. It wasn’t the most favorable content and it sent many media outlets to the airwaves. They were concerned that maybe the former Arnold Classic champion wouldn’t be up to par with previous years’ looks.
Bodybuilding is a sport where two things can happen at the most elite levels.
On the one hand, you could be deemed the winner by having the best physique on stage on the given day. That seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, here’s the wrinkle that most fans tend to overlook. While it is about who’s the best on a given day, and we often hear that when dismissing the alleged greatness of athletes who post behind goon lighting and magic filters on IG and other social media platforms, sometimes being the best on the given day isn’t enough. How’s that? How’s it possible that even if you have the best symmetry, the best condition, and your physique flows the best that you still can’t win? What sense does that make?
Well, unfortunately, bodybuilding isn’t a sport that often makes sense. There’s no checkbox for rational decision making on the scorecards. So if being the best on a given day isn’t enough, what else could be hindering an athlete from getting the W and earning that coveted Olympia qualification? Well, when it comes to winning a pro show at the level Samson was trying to, you may also find that as a competitor you’re competing against previous looks you brought to the stage.
Even if Samson had been the best in Texas, if the judges thought he was falling short form his true potential, they could have sent him a message. They could have relegated him to 2nd or 3rd. And given the new way to qualify for the O, ever since the points system was discarded, then it doesn’t matter if an athlete is relegated to 2nd or 5th. Unless a competitor wins, they’re not going to the Superbowl of Bodybuilding. Therefore, the road to the Olympia has become a win or lose type situation. If you win, you’re going. If you get anything short of that, then try again.
Sometimes the judges can be unrelenting with a competitor who they think is slacking. They might even choose a lower quality competitor who made necessary improvements and posed hard over a well-known athlete that sort of half-assed it. Thankfully for Samson, that didn’t happen here.
I will say that I was concerned as well early on. And that’s because I don’t hold Dauda in that unbeatable category. If you look at what Hany and Derek have done during the off-season, it’s easy to say that Derek is unbeatable. He’s absolutely huge, vascular, and has tremendous flow to his physique. He can afford to be a little bit cocky, but that’s the last thing Lunsford is going to be. Dauda, like Samson, is also not a cocky guy. In reality, Samson has done a very good job of flying under the radar. And even though he fell short at this year’s Arnold Classic to Hadi, he’s maintained a very high quality look to his physique. He’s consistently brought his best to the two biggest stages in the world. But just as we stated in last week’s article, Samson wasn’t going to bring an Olympia-level look to the Texas Pro. He knew what was needed and he bought just enough. That being said, he took a gamble, because he was clearly a little off in the days leading up to the contest.
Jordan Hutchinson, who took a strong 3rd in Tampa, took 2nd to Samson in Texas. Nathan Epler took a commanding spot in the Top 3 and Lewis Breed followed up from Tampa, moving up a spot, and arguably in a tougher lineup.
We can’t dismiss the fact that Samson is the legitimate 2nd runner-up to the Olympia title. He’s the 3rd best bodybuilder in the world. The fact that Hutchinson, Epler, and Breed were hot on his heels shows us that while Samson did enough to win, he did have solid competition. Nathan wasn’t there just to have fun. I’m sure Jordan figured he had a fighting chance. We all know that Lewis is a fighter and poses hard. All in all, Samson walked away with the win, but I’m sure he saw some of the reporting in the days leading up to the contest and acted accordingly. There was a lot of doubt in whether or not he’d be able to 3peat.
If I’m being totally honest, I think Samson took a pretty substantial gamble. When I saw on Muscle Discord that there was doubt concerning if the 2x Texas Pro champ was going to be good enough to win, I started to get a little nervous. If Texas isn’t the last show, it’s probably second to last. We are just three weeks out. We’re less than three weeks out. It’s just too much of a gamble.
Thankfully for Samson, he was able to. It would have been extremely humiliating for the 3rd best bodybuilder in the world to have had to find another show to have qualified because he couldn’t beat the guys he was up against. Again, that’s absolutely no dis on them, but to date, Samson has only lost to two guys – Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan. To lose to Jordan, Nathan, or Lewis would have catapulted their status and all but destroyed his. He would have walked out of that contest looking like an absolute fool. And that’s why the gamble was so high stakes. Thankfully for him, he was able to hold off the competition, and not just get the W, but get the accolades from the press as well. Even the outlets that were somewhat iffy about his chances, fell in line when the dust settled, and Dauda was declared the winner.
I must say that I’m happy to see Samson qualify for the big dance, but we can’t forget the fact that the Olympia is less than three weeks away. This is why Dauda didn’t peak for Texas, but he took a big chance as well. Hopefully his prep for the Olympia will go off without a hitch. Do you think Samson can with the 2024 Olympia? Do you think Derek and Hadi are too advanced? Do you think Samson’s win in Texas will create the kind of buzz he needs to be considered a top contender for the O?
As always thank you for reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I think the Olympia is shaping up to be World War 3!! And that’s the way it should be! An Olympia where everyone is there because of merit – that’s the way to go. There are no special invites this year. It’s a level playing field and there are a lot of hungry, hardworking guys who are going to pose hard and battle to be the best in the world. Only time will tell who places where. As always, I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.
