There is also a female bodybuilder crowned, Ms. Olympia, as well as winners of Fitness Olympia and Figure Olympia for fitness and figure competitors. All four contests occur during the same weekend. From 1994 to 2003, and again in 2012, a Masters Olympia was also crowned.[5] Globally,[6] a version with amateur competitors is also presented, the Mr. Olympia Amateur.[7]
History
1960s
The 1965 and 1966 Mr. Olympia were won by Larry Scott, a famous bodybuilder of the time. Scott subsequently retired after his 1966 victory, and to date is the only Mr. Olympia champion to have never lost a Mr. Olympia competition.[8]
Harold Poole holds two Mr. Olympia distinctions: one is that he is the youngest ever competitor to have participated in the Olympia—in 1965 he competed in the first Mr. Olympia at the age of 21;[9] the other is that he was the only man to compete in all three of the initial Mr. Olympia contests.[10]
The 1967 Mr. Olympia, won by Sergio Oliva, heralded a new era in bodybuilding competition. At 5ft 10ins and 240lbs[11] Oliva, nicknamed "The Myth",[8] displayed an unforeseen level of muscle mass and definition, including a "V" shape of a large and a well-formed upper-body that tapered down to a narrow waist.[12]
Oliva would go on to win the Mr. Olympia competition in 1967, 1968 (uncontested),[8] and 1969—where he would defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger four to three,[8] marking Schwarzenegger's only loss in a Mr. Olympia competition.[13]
1970s
Schwarzenegger defeated Oliva at the 1970 Mr. Olympia after finishing second the year before, and also won in 1971 (being the only competitor). He defeated Oliva again in 1972, and went on to win the next three Mr. Olympia competitions, including the 1975 edition, which was highlighted in the 1977 docudramaPumping Iron and featured other notable bodybuilders such as Lou Ferrigno, Serge Nubret, and Franco Columbu, who would go on to win the 1976 and 1981 competitions.[4]
From 1974 until 1979, a dual weight division system was used, splitting competitors into two categories: "Heavyweights" (over 200lbs) and "Lightweights" (under 200lbs). The winners of each division would then compete against each other to decide an overall champion.
After winning the 1975 competition, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilding; this was also depicted in Pumping Iron.[14]
Frank Zane won the 1977, 1978, and 1979 competitions.[8] 1976 was the first year the Sandow trophy was awarded.[8]
1980s
In 1980, Schwarzenegger came out of retirement to win the Olympia yet again, after a five-year hiatus. Schwarzenegger (who was supposedly training for his "Conan" movie) had been a late entry into the competition, and his competitors did not know of his intentions to compete. This seventh victory was especially controversial, as most fellow competitors and observers felt that he lacked both muscle mass and conditioning, and shouldn't have won over Chris Dickerson or Mike Mentzer. Several athletes vowed to boycott the contest the following year, and Mentzer retired for good.[15]
The following year, Franco Columbu was victorious for the second time. Chris Dickerson won his only title in 1982, making him the first openly gay Mr. Olympia,[2] and Samir Bannout won his only title in 1983.[16] Then in 1984 Lee Haney won the first of 8 straight Mr. Olympia titles.[17]
1990s
Haney retired from competitive bodybuilding after his last Mr. Olympia victory in 1991.[18] Having placed second to Haney the previous year, Dorian Yates won the competition six straight times from 1992 until 1997. Dorian is given credit for revolutionizing the sport during his reign as Mr. Olympia by combining larger mass than seen before with what was dubbed "granite hardness".[19]
In the 1990s, the use of growth hormones by bodybuilders was reported, and they started to appear in competitions with an increasing physical size. Writing for Men's Health in 2016, journalist Lou Schuler questioned whether Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman competed "naturally" or used hormones.[20]
Yates retired from competitive bodybuilding after his 1997 victory, having accumulated several injuries. Ronnie Coleman, who placed 9th in 1997, surprised everyone with a much improved physique in 1998, winning the first of 8 consecutive titles.[8]
In 1994, a separate Masters Olympia competition for professional bodybuilders was created, to compete at the highest levels in their later years.[21]
Ronnie Coleman won the Mr. Olympia competition eight consecutive times,[8] tying the record set by Lee Haney. Coleman, nicknamed "The King", is widely regarded as the greatest bodybuilder in Olympia history and began the mass monster era. Coleman returned in 2006 to try to beat the record for Olympia wins but was unable even to defend his title, instead placed second to Jay Cutler, who won his first title after four consecutive years of finishing second to Coleman. Cutler successfully defended his title in 2007. Coleman came in fourth place and announced his retirement from competition,[22] ending one of the biggest rivalries in the competition's history.
In 2008, Dexter Jackson defeated Jay Cutler and became Mr. Olympia.[8] In 2009, Jay Cutler returned and regained the title.[23]
2010s
In 2010, Cutler returned to claim his fourth Mr. Olympia title, becoming the fifth competitor in Olympia history to win the title more than three times. In 2011, Phil Heath defeated Cutler for the title, beginning a winning streak that lasted until 2018.[8] From 2012 to 2014, the Olympia was dominated by the rivalry between Kai Greene and Heath, with Heath winning all three and Greene placing second.
Starting in 2016, a new division called Classic Physique was introduced. Danny Hester was the inaugural champion in Classic Physique division.[24]
Heath won his seventh-consecutive Mr. Olympia in 2017,[8] with Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay taking second. With his 2017 win, Heath tied Arnold Schwarzenegger for second most Olympia victories, behind Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman who won eight.[8]
Shawn Rhoden defeated Phil Heath in 2018, snapping Heath's streak of seven victories.[8] The 2019 Mr. Olympia was won by Brandon Curry.[8]
Starting in 2018, a new division called Wheelchair Olympia was added.[25]
2020s
In 2020 Phil Heath returned to try to win a record-tying eighth title,[26] but Big Ramy won the Olympia for his first title.[27] Big Ramy won for the second time in 2021.[28]
Qualifying
The IFBB selects Olympia contestants from among the highest-placed competitors at various qualifying competitions, collectively referred to as the Olympia Qualifying Season. The qualifying season for each Olympia runs for a year, and ends a few months before the competition. Under updated qualifying rules announced by the IFBB in 2019, to qualify for most divisions at the Olympia an IFBB athlete must meet one of the following criteria:[29]
Place in the top five in their division at the previous Olympia
Win any of the IFBB qualifying contests
Rank among the top three in total points awarded for second through fifth place at qualifying competitions
For certain divisions with more than 25 qualifying competitions, slightly different rules are used: The previous Olympia winner is automatically qualified, plus the winner of each qualifying competition and the top five in total points.
The IFBB Professional League also has the discretion to extend special invitations to other competitors.
Mr. Olympia Amateur is a competition that globally awards the best amateur competitors with an IFBB Pro Card,[42] bringing them closer to competing in the main Mr. Olympia.[7] According to the official website as of March 2022, the event is presented in regions with a specific organization around the world: Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Beijing (China), Spain, Portugal, Brazil, South Korea, Italy, Japan, South America, India, Las Vegas (USA).[6]
Wayne, Rick (1985). Muscle Wars: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of Competitive Bodybuilding. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp.93, 95, 250, 257. ISBN0-312-55353-6. OCLC12107650.
Related Research Articles
Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses on physical appearance instead of strength. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In professional bodybuilding, competitors appear in lineups and perform specified poses for a panel of judges who rank them based on symmetry, muscularity, size, conditioning, posing, and stage presentation. Bodybuilders prepare for competitions through the elimination of nonessential body fat, enhanced at the last stage by a combination of extracellular dehydration and carbo-loading, to achieve maximum muscular definition and vascularity; they also tan and shave to accentuate the contrast of their skin under the spotlights.
Lee Haney is an American former IFBB professional bodybuilder. Haney shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Ronnie Coleman and is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders to ever grace the stage.
Sergio Oliva was a Cuban-American bodybuilder known as The Myth. He is a three-time Mr. Olympia winner.
Ronnie Dean Coleman is an American retired professional bodybuilder. The winner of the Mr. Olympia title for eight consecutive years, he is widely regarded as either 'the greatest' or one of the two greatest bodybuilders of all time along-with Arnold Schwarzenegger and as the most dominant bodybuilding physique ever to grace the stage. Winner of 26 IFBB professional titles, he is also renowned for his combination of size and conditioning, dominant body-parts and extremely heavy workouts, making him the strongest bodybuilder and Mr. Olympia of all time.
Shawn Ray is a former professional bodybuilder and author.
Frank Zane is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author. He is a three-time Mr. Olympia, and his physique is considered one of the greatest in the history of bodybuilding due to his meticulous focus on symmetry and proportion. He was inducted in the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.
Larry Dee Scott, nicknamed "The Legend" and "The Golden Boy," was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the inaugural 1965 Mr. Olympia competition and defended the crown at the 1966 Mr. Olympia contest before retiring.
Samir Bannout is a retired former IFBB professional bodybuilder.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Jason Isaac Cutler is a retired American professional bodybuilder. An IFBB pro, he is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up. He is considered to be one of the top pro bodybuilders in history, and was known for his quadriceps and the quad-stomp pose.
Iris Floyd Kyle is an American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins and seven overall Ms. International wins. In 2013, she was ranked as the best female bodybuilder in the IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding Ranking List.
Lee Andrew McCutcheon is a competitive bodybuilder. He is a former International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder and a current National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) professional athlete.
Phillip Jerrod Heath is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He is a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won the competition every year from 2011 to 2017. His latest victory tied him with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the joint-second number of all-time Mr. Olympia wins, behind Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney, who are joint-first with eight wins each. His physique is considered one of the best and well balanced bodybuilding physiques of all time.
Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB or Wabba International Pro Card.
Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay, better known as Big Ramy, is an Egyptian IFBB professional bodybuilder. He is the 2020 and 2021 reigning and defending Mr. Olympia bodybuilding champion.
Cedric McMillan was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder and United States Army Instructor. His last victory was the 2017 Arnold Classic. McMillan was one of the leading bodybuilders of the 21st century, with a classic physique that recalls the 'golden age' of bodybuilding over the larger physiques of the present era.
The 2017 Mr. Olympia contest was a weekend long IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on September 14 to 17, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the 53rd Mr. Olympia competition celebrated. The weekend competition is also known as the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend. While the main event was the competition for the title of Mr. Olympia, several other events were held which includes the Amateur competition and sports expo.
The 2018 Mr. Olympia contest was a weekend long IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on September 14 to 15, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the 54th Mr. Olympia competition celebrated. The weekend competition is also known as the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend. While the main event was the competition for the title of Mr. Olympia, several other events were held which includes the Amateur competition and sports expo.
Wesley Vissers is a Dutch IFBB professional bodybuilder.
The 2020 Mr. Olympia contest was a weekend-long IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on December 15 to 20, 2020, in Orlando, Florida. Initially meant to be held at the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, the tournament was later moved to Orlando, due to local restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the first Olympia to be held outside Las Vegas in two decades.
↑ Merritt, Greg (21 April 2016). "THE PHYSIQUES AND JOURNEYS OF SERGIO OLIVA SR. AND JR". Muscle and Fitness. Retrieved July 23, 2021. In all of bodybuilding’s long and rich history there is no pose more associated with one person than Sergio Oliva’s victory pose. It’s his. Standing tall and straight with colossal arms overhead, fists balled and turned outward, and lats flaring above his wispy waist, his upper body formed a V for victory atop a base of abundant legs. His rendition at the ’72 Olympia is our sport’s most indelible image. The victory pose is so associated with the Myth and so difficult for even the best bodybuilders to pull off that few have even attempted it.
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