What makes something great? You can’t plan it. You can’t predict it. It just happens. It’s the real-life drama unfolding right then and there, unscripted and unexpected, that brings us to our feet and makes us say, “Yeah, I was there. I saw it. I remember.”
A moment of such magnitude requires everything coming together at just the right time. You need an occasion big enough and important enough that people will talk about it long after it’s over. You also need the right people. The kind who perform their best when nothing less will do; that special breed with the courage and resolve to do something great that people will never forget.
In bodybuilding, there is the Mr. Olympia. Created by Joe Weider, it is the ultimate proving ground. The journey to this stage for each man is measured in the years committed to perfecting the human form. Only a select few have won, and their names are celebrated across generations. With the 54th Mr. Olympia done and dusted, we take a look at these 14 men who seized the opportunity of a lifetime, immortalized their names, and, in the process, helped us remember that greatness endures.
1 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Larry Scott
Birth Date: Oct. 12, 1938
Died: March 8, 2014
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 205 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1965-66
The Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY, 1965. It began here. A small but elite lineup; you had to be a Mr. Universe just to step onstage. There was no cash prize, no big-money endorsements, not even a Sandow—just the respect and recognition that come with being the absolute best. Larry Scott, at age 26, was already the most popular—and unofficially the best—bodybuilder in the world when he walked to the center of that stage. By the end of the night, he would walk into the history books as the first Mr. Olympia and officially the greatest bodybuilder in the world. Scott defended his title the following year, then retired while still in his prime. Though he staged a brief comeback in 1979 before retiring again, Scott will always be remembered as the young phenom with the next-generation physique who ushered in the modern age of bodybuilding. He died at age 75.
2 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Sergio Oliva
Birth Date: July 14, 1941
Died: Nov. 12, 2012
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 255 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1967-69
There was a reason people called him “the Myth,” and perhaps nobody captured it better than Arnold Schwarzenegger, who recalled his first encounter with Sergio Oliva in his autobiography, Education of a Bodybuilder: “Then for the first time, I saw Sergio Oliva in person. I understood why they called him ‘the Myth.’ It was as jarring as if I’d walked into a wall. He destroyed me. He was so huge, he was so fantastic, there was no way I could even think of beating him.”
Aftere placing a respectable third in his Olympia debut in 1966, Oliva returned the next year to claim the throne vacated by Larry Scott. From there, he defended his title before encountering his soon-to-be nemesis, a 23-year-old upstart named Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1969, Arnie gave the Myth a run for his money. Then he beat him in 1970. But the Austrian Oak and Oliva would go on to battle it out up to their final meeting in 1972, a contest that many consider the most controversial in Mr. Olympia history. Oliva went on to compete again in 1984 and ’85 but with little success, taking eighth place in both contests. Regardless, the former king is a reminder to all who saw him in his prime that even though there was bodybuilding before Oliva and after Oliva, there will never be an equal to the man known simply as the Myth.
3 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Arnold Schwarenegger
Birth Date: July 30, 1947
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 250 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1970-75, 1980
We’ve all heard the story by now. But if you sit back and really think about it, it still sounds too outlandish to be true: A kid from a small European village comes to America and becomes the greatest bodybuilder in the world, making his very name synonymous with the idea of physical perfection. Then he gets into the movies and becomes one of the most recognizable celebrities of all time. Then (yes, there’s more!) the former champion bodybuilder turned Hollywood action superstar enters politics and becomes the governor of California. All this with a last name that’s as hard to pronounce as it is to spell.
If Arnold Schwarzenegger had quietly stopped his public life after winning his seventh Mr. Olympia in 1980 (a record at the time), he still would be remembered by legions of fans. But what’s enough for most people has never been enough for Schwarzenegger. He always wanted to be great at some- thing; he just didn’t know what it was—until he saw Reg Park in a Hercules movie. The young Arnold had found his calling. He wanted to build heroic muscles, star in movies, and become famous. Of course, he went on to do that and much more. With an oversize personality to match his muscles, he was a natural onstage and in front of the camera. For bodybuilding fans the world over, the boy from Graz, Austria, will always be the Oak.
4 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Franco Columbu
Birth Date: Aug. 7, 1941
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 188 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1976, 1981
He was the perennial sidekick. Franco Columbu was Robin to Schwarzenegger’s Batman. If Arnold was somewhere, you could bet that Franco was nearby. It’s tough staying out of the Oak’s shadow, so we’ll give him that one. But if that were the extent of Columbu’s contribution to bodybuilding, we wouldn’t still be talking about him 33 years after he last competed. No, Columbu won the sport’s highest honor in 1976, and after suffering a horrifc knee injury while racing with a refrigerator on his back in the 1977 World’s Strongest Man contest, he defied the doctors and regained the Olympia title in 1981. The Sardinian Strongman was a true powerhouse, as evidenced by photos of 700-plus-pound deadlifts and bench presses of more than 500. Want further proof? Check out the scenes from Pumping Iron in which Columbu lifts a car out of a tight parking space. Columbu also landed several bit parts in film and TV before starring in action flicks. Boxer, powerlifter, strongman, chiropractor, and actor: Columbu will always be known as one of the strongest pound-for-pound bodybuilders and, if not for one other man on our list, the strongest Mr. Olympia in history.
5 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Frank Zane
Birth Date: June 28, 1942
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 185 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1977-79
The Zane years. It was unprecedented, and unlikely to happen again. With Arnold Schwarzenegger retired and Franco Columbu’s career over via injury, bodybuilding needed a new king. Enter Frank Zane. Standing 5’9″ and weighing 185 pounds, the former math teacher certainly didn’t look like the prototypical bodybuilder. He had a phenomenally athletic build but lacked the traditional size that everyone seemed to envy. What he did have was aesthetics, and plenty of it. Zane was Michelangelo’s David come to life but with better definition. Zane’s muscularity rivaled that of an anatomy chart. Those aesthetics and a small, highly sculpted waist and classic lines were the weapons he used to beat bigger and heavier foes. His vacuum pose is a one-of-a-kind move that the bodybuilding world has yet to see duplicated.
6 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Chris Dickerson
Birth Date: Aug. 25, 1939
Height: 5’6″
Weight: 190 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1982
From 1981 to 1983, three men held the title of greatest bodybuilder in the world for a single year. The middle man in that span was Chris Dickerson, possibly the least-talked-about Mr. O in history, but not for lack of achievement. Dickerson began a competitive career that started in 1965 and ended in 1994. Along the way he won 24 contests (11 in the IFBB). He won the O at age 43 and was the oldest Mr. Olympia of all time until Shawn Rhoden’s 2018 victory. Retiring briefly after his win, Dickerson returned in 1984, and his last open pro show was the 1990 Arnold Classic, where, at 51, he placed an astonishing eighth. Still not finished, Dickerson donned the posing trunks for a nal time in 1994, placing fourth at the Masters Olympia. The man known for his diamond calves and elegant posing was also an accomplished opera singer and remains an active part of the bodybuilding industry.
7 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Samir Bannout
Birth Date: Nov. 7, 1955
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 195 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1983
It was the buildup, that space right before the big moment when Samir Bannout pulled his elbows back and placed his hands on his hips to unfurl his back in the rear lat spread. He paused for dramatic effect, and when the lower lats and muscles of the vertebrae splintered and popped, two words came to mind: Christmas tree. Sure, Bannout wasn’t the first to do it, but nobody highlighted the transition quite like the Lion of Lebanon, making the new “pose” a must-have moment for photographers and competitors alike. Never possessing the size to overpower his rivals, Bannout, like Zane and Dickerson, relied on proportion and details to outclass the competition. Facing a new crop of bodybuilders, led by a 24-ye7ar-old named Lee Haney, Bannout placed sixth at the 1984 O. His five-spot descent is the most of any reigning Mr. O, and that year marked the transition point between two eras, the sub-200-pound Mr. O’s and the 250-plus-pound beasts who followed. The Lion won only one contest after his Olympia triumph, the 1990 Pittsburgh Pro, and his last competitive roar was at the 2011 Masters Pro World, where he placed 11th.
8 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Lee Haney
Birth Date: Nov. 11, 1959
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 252 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1984-91
It was a no-brainer to predict that the first NPC Nationals champ was destined for great things when, in his rookie year of 1983, he won his pro debut at the Night Of Champions and placed third in the Olympia. But no one could have foreseen just how “TotaLee Awesome” the 23-year-old Lee Haney would become over the next nine years. At the 1984 O, the 238-pound, 5’11” sophomore started a winning streak that remains unbroken to this day.
Soon enough, the comparisons with Schwarzenegger started. After all, the Oak’s record was supposed to stand for generations. But taller and wider and with a chest, shoulders, and back that were leagues ahead of his contemporaries, Haney removed any pretense of suspense when the big O rolled around. With the exception of 1989, when a considerably downsized and flat Haney was pushed hard by 5’5″ 180-pound Lee Labrada, there was never any real doubt who the last man standing would be. Besides his 1987 Grand Prix Germany win, Haney competed exclusively on Olympia stages post-1984, bringing his career win total to 11. One can only wonder how high that number would have climbed had he competed more often.
Haney will not be remembered as the hardest-training or the most conditioned Mr. Olympia, but he will be remembered as possibly the most gifted next to Sergio Oliva. He continued to improve throughout his reign; some years he was fuller (1985), some years he was sharper (1986), and some years, much to the dismay of his competition, he was a combination of the two. For his final and record-breaking eighth win, Haney tipped the scales at 252 pounds. We didn’t know it then, but with his classic X-frame, beautiful shape, and overwhelming size, Haney was not only a hybrid in the mold of Oliva but also a throwback to the classical bodybuilding ideal that the sport would come to miss.
9 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Dorian Yates
Birth Date: April 19, 1962
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 265 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1992-97
While others talked, Dorian Yates simply toiled away in his dank, hole-in-the-wall gym in Birmingham, England. He stayed covered up for most of the year, revealing the monstrosity he was constructing only for a few brief moments weeks before the contest in pictures that would psych out the competition. Though he wasn’t the winningest Mr. O of all time (he bagged six titles), Yates set a new precedent for size and conditioning. His sheer size, a solid 265 pounds, combined with his “grainy” conditioning, made him impossible to beat. And despite a litany of injuries—a result of his low-rep, super-heavy-weight brand of exercise—Yates rarely ever missed a training session. (There are even photos of him training with his arm in a sling after a left biceps and right triceps tear.) His intensity took its toll, though, and in 1997, after his sixth win, Yates retired.
10 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Ronnie Coleman
Birth Date: May 13, 1964
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 296 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 1998-2005
A gargantuan among giants, “Big Ron” is arguably the most dominant Mr. Olympia winner ever, defending his eight Sandows against top-notch competitors like Jay Cutler, Flex Wheeler, and Kevin Levrone. More famous than his comic-book-worthy muscle mass, however, were his workouts. Coleman would routinely put his body through the wringer—once squatting and deadlifting 800 pounds for two reps—all while yelling his famed catchphrases: “Ain’t nothing but a peanut” and “Yeah, buddy!” Coleman retired in 2007, yet he remains a fan favorite in the industry.
11 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Jay Cutler
Birth Date: Aug. 3, 1973
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 265 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 2006-07, 2009-10
“Never give up.” We’ve all heard it before, but nobody lived it quite like Jason Isaac Cutler from Worcester, MA. By now, his rise to fame is bodybuilding lore, starting with a heavyweight win at the 1996 NPC Nationals to earn his pro card, his rst win in 2000 at the Night Of Champions, and of course the contest where he made his bones, the 2001 Olympia, where he finished a controversial second to Ronnie Coleman. For three more Olympias (he skipped it in 2002), he would have to live with that placing and the special pain that comes with being only one step removed from the top. Then, in 2006, Coleman couldn’t hold back the top contender any longer. Cutler finally toppled the king, and the roar of the Orleans Arena crowd proved that underdogs still make the best stories.
12 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Dexter Jackson
Birth Date: Nov. 25, 1969
Height: 5’6″
Weight: 235 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 2008
By his own admission, Dexter Jackson was never supposed to become Mr. Olympia. But he did, and he beat the second- most-dominant bodybuilder of the millennium to do it. You have to go back to 1983 to find the last man weighing less than 240 pounds (for the sake of argument, we’ll round up Lee Haney’s 238 pounds in 1984 by two) to win the O. The Blade, who started his career as a 137-pound bantamweight at the 1991 Jacksonville Championships (the contest’s first bantam to win the overall), earned the right to flex on IFBB pro stages with a light-heavy and overall win at the 1998 North American Championships. For the next four years, he never finished out of the top 10—including two ninths and an eighth at the Olympia— before scoring his first win at the 2002 Grand Prix England, which was also the year he made his first O posedown via his fourth-place finish. The next four Olympias consisted of a pair of thirds and fourths (not in that order).
Jackson’s 2008 is one of the best years in the modern era. He won not only the Olympia but also the Arnold Classic, making him, along with Ronnie Coleman, the only bodybuilders to hold both major titles in the same calendar year. (He also won three other shows.) In an era when size matters, Jackson’s O triumph proved that bodybuilding still rewarded stellar conditioning, proportion, shape, and detail.
13 of 14
Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Phil Heath
Birth Date: Dec. 18, 1979
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 250 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 2011-17
Phil Heath is the competitor that fans love to hate. Often perceived as arrogant—albeit with seven Olympia wins to back it up—Heath approaches each Mr. Olympia with an unmistakable swagger. His fervent work ethic and unwavering confidence are apparent each time he steps onstage. Heath’s conditioning is always sharp, his back is always detailed and thick, and, above all else, his hunger to break the standing record of eight Mr. Olympia wins is fierce.
Despite his controversial fourth O win in 2014, when a bunch of fans thought the Sandow belonged to Kai Greene, Heath appears to be delts and quads above the rest of the IFBB Pro League men’s open lineup.
This past Olympia (held Sept. 13 to 16 in Las Vegas, NV), Heath was dethroned by longtime Olympia competitor Shawn Rhoden in an upset that had the crowd going wild. But Heath is already back in the gym, seemingly determined to come back bigger and more shredded than ever in 2019.
14 of 14
Chris Nicoll
Shawn Rhoden
Birth Date: April 2, 1975
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 240 lbs
Mr. Olympia: 2018
In 2018, Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden derailed Phil Heath’s quest to win his eighth Sandow and tie Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney for the most consecutive Olympia wins ever. What’s more, the longtime O competitor broke a different record with his win by becoming the oldest-ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 43 years and 5 months.
Rhoden’s success is proof that consistency is key. He placed 11th at his Olympia debut back in 2011 but hasn’t dropped from the top five since then. That said, he pulled off a surprising upset this year and has the bodybuilding world wondering: Is Rhoden’s more aesthetic, Golden Age-esque physique the end of the muscle-monster era, or will Phil Heath return for his lost title in 2019?
