One of the biggest guest posing events of the season is set to take place this weekend in the Steel City as some of the brightest stars in bodybuilding will take the stage at the NPC Pittsburgh Championships and the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro.
Once again, IFBB Pro League President Jim Manion has managed to assemble an incredible collection of talent for this weekend’s festivities, where bodybuilding fans will have a chance to see the likes of reigning Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford, two former Arnold Classic winners in Samson Dauda and Nick Walker, along with Andrew Jacked, Hunter Labrada, Martin Fitzwater – fresh off of his impressive win at the Detroit Pro, and perennial Classic Physique Olympia threat Urs Kalecinski take the stage. The event had some of the luster taken off it with former 2 x Mr. Olympia Big Ramy's announcement that, due to visa delays, he will be unable to attend.
There’s been a lot of buzz heading into the weekend surrounding Olympia champion Derek Lunsford, who will be making his first public appearance of the season following 2023's historic title run. Historically the Pittsburgh Pro stage has served as a big platform for Lunsford because it was there, at his legendary 2022 guest posing, where the wheels were the wheels where set in motion for the move that would ultimately propel him toward the Open division, and his metric rise to become the king of bodybuilding.
In addition to Lunsford, there’s also plenty of excitement from fans to see the latest version of Nick Walker, who will be one week away from making his season debut at the New York Pro the following weekend. The progress pictures shared by Walker and his team on Instagram over the last few weeks seem to be pointing toward what could be, an all-time best performance. After being forced to pull out of the 2023 Olympia at the last minute due to a serious hamstring injury, “The Mutant” should have plenty of motivation to show the bodybuilding world that his name still deserves to be mentioned as a potential title contender for the Olympia.
Samson Dauda always bring the wow factor to his guest posing appearances and, following his announcement earlier this that he was making the move out to Kuwait to train at Oxygen Gym with Bader Boodai as he gears up for the early stages of his Olympia prep.
Martin Fitzwater comes in riding a huge wave of momentum on the heels of his decisive win at the Detroit Pro, and might look to make an early statement as a potential top ten Olympia threat if he outshines both Hunter Labrada and Andrew Jacked – two former top ten finishers in their own right.
This weekend’s events could be a precursor to a whirlwind summer that may turn out to be one of the most important stretches of the 2024 contest season.
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