by Christian Duque
When it comes to Andrew Jacked and his road to greatness, there are many factors to discuss. Perhaps the most important factor of all is the fact that he absolutely killed it at the 2025 Olympia. Who can forget his monumental rise to the top for this very important show? For a competitor to break into the Top 3 is nothing short of amazing. It’s one thing to get top six and to battle for spots along those categories but top three is reserved for guys that could very much win the contest right then and there.
Now of course you’re not talking about a local show or even a regional show but we’re talking about the Olympia. The Olympia is after all the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. It is the only contest where the absolute best competitors in each respective division are selected. It is a way of doing things that has been respected since time immemorial and will continue to be respected because every sport needs to have a Super Bowl. And bodybuilding is no different.
The Olympia Weekend is the place to be if you want to be the best and Andrew was able to appear in top form in 2025. He was in fact so good that many people thought he could have won the whole contest. But there were some complications along the way. Complications that were not necessarily outside of Andrew’s hands. In fact the complication that I’m talking about was his jovial approach to posing. And I think jovial is a nice way to say it but in reality he was acting very much like Big Steve said. Big Steve is Steve Weinberger, one of the most respected names in bodybuilding. He’s also a judge and was the head judge at the Olympia. He was none too happy with Andrew’s antics on stage.
Now normally when I talk about a competitor’s antics on stage I’m talking about poor sports sportsmanship. This is usually exhibited through some kind of onstage or backstage altercation. It usually involves some kind of elbowing, pushing, or some sort of behavior that pins competitors against each other. Or maybe it could deal with a competitor that is simply on a war path with everybody that stands in their way.
But none of that accurately describes what happened to Andrew at the 2025 Olympia. To put it bluntly, Andrew was acting like a clown. He was more interested in getting a reaction out of the fans than battling fellow competitors to look his best of the judges. It was an amateur hour mistake and I think that he had learned from it. That being said, he is now in discussion as one of the greatest in the world. In the past, people thought he would be Mr Olympia. Now they know he’s going to be Mr Olympia. The problem is can he get his act together on stage? Can he act the part of a top contender for the title? Because in 2025 I believe Andrew sabotaged himself. Nonetheless, 2025 was a big year. Earning Top 3 at an Olympia where nobody thinks you’re a guy that can win the show sends a huge memo to absolutely everyone!
And that memo reads very clearly that Andrew is a competitor who can very well win everything in 2026 or 2027. The point is he’s banging on the door. He’s ready, he needs to be noticed, and the world needs to take note. The problem is can he get his act together? Can he act more seriously, more like a consummate professional, and battle his opposition on stage?
That doesn’t mean being a poor sport, but it also means stop trying to get a reaction out of the audience. because I totally understand the entertainment factor and I understand that bodybuilding by its very nature is not what most people would call a very exciting sport. But you, as an athlete that is being looked at to win everything, do not need to worry about entertaining an audience. What you need to worry about is making sure you get the best possible place. And that only happens by the judges seeing what’s in front of them.
So after the 2025 Olympia, I would have thought that Andrew would have hunkered down and started preparing for the 2026 Olympia. That is what I hope he will do now. But after the Olympia, Andrew went ahead and threw his hat into the Romania Pro. Many of Jacked’s diehards claim he looked way better in Romania than Vegas (suggesting major improvements). I would have to politely disagree with them.
I didn’t necessarily see a better Andrew Jacked in Romania but I did see a very focused Andrew Jacked that was determined to win it all. I didn’t see him acting like a clown on stage or trying to get a reaction out of the audience. What I saw was a competitor that was laser focused. It’s sad we didn’t see it in Vegas, where he may have been as high as second. He may also have won the whole damn show. That’s how good he was in Vegas, but I wouldn’t say he was better than that in Romania. I think that the tendency of a lot of fans is to embellish how great an athlete looks that’s on the rise. Right now, Andrew is a Top 3 Olympian. He’s going to have a lot more fans that are going to root a lot harder for him. I just hope he looks beyond the fanfare.
The reality is he didn’t look better in Romania. In fact, I don’t think he looked all that great in Romania to be totally honest with you. He defeated one competitor who was giving him a little bit of a fight but overall it was a two-man show. And nobody questioned Andrew’s victory. I’m not questioning Andrew’s victory in Romania, either, but I am saying that I hope that Romania was one and done. If you were in the Top 3 in the world, what you need to do is focus on getting yourself to the Winner’s Circle the following year at the O.
Being Top 3 is only as good as what you make of it. And there really was no reason for Andrew to have gone to compete in Romania. I just hope this will be the last time we see him in active competition until the ‘26 O. For example, if he thinks that he can do the Arnold Classic and win, more power to him. I don’t know that he is going to be invited by the ASC committee but I certainly hope not. This is a competitor that could do himself a massive disservice by losing sight of the prize. And that is the 2026 Olympia. I would hate to see him compete at the Arnold Classic, the New York Pro, Dubai Pro or another major event only to place less than third at the 2026 Olympia. That is the danger with all of these top guys. This is something Samson didn’t understand and maybe Derek doesn’t understand either if he decides to do the Arnold Classic or any show before the ‘26 Olympia. As a top-tier athlete, your job is to protect yourself from losing what you’ve gained and continue to improve on everything else. That’s BIG PICTURE MENTALITY!!
So while Andrew looked okay in Romania, what he needs to do is focus on the future. Can he win the 2026 Mr. Olympia? Absolutely! He’s not only in the conversation, but he is somebody that a lot of fans are looking at very closely. Here’s the kicker, it’s not just fans that are looking closely, it’s the judges as well. My hope is that Andrew has people in his camp telling him to stay focused and not burn himself out trying to get easy money and accolades at shows where he’s not facing any kind of substantial competition.
As always, what say you? Are you of the opinion that Andrew looked better in Romania than Vegas? Do you think he should continue competing in other shows or do you think he should hunker down and focus on the 2026 Olympia?
