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| History of the Mr. Olympia Competition |
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BodybuildingPro.com  Articles Database Articles by Writer Articles Written by Matt Canning History of the Mr. Olympia Competition
The Mr. Olympia competition is the
most coveted contest in all of bodybuilding. The holder of the
famous Sandow trophy is said to be the greatest bodybuilder in the
world. The contest is held annually in Las Vegas.
Many great champions have come and gone in the history of the Mr.
Olympia competition. From the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, to
Arnold Schwarzenegger to Lee Haney and Dorian Yates, and our
current champion Ronnie Coleman. Below is a history of the winners
of the Mr. Olympia competition, and the number of Sandow Trophies
they each have.
Competitive History
| Years Won |
Name |
Total Sandow Trophies Won |
| 1965 |
Larry Scott |
2 |
| 1966 |
Larry Scott |
2 |
| 1967 |
Sergio Oliva |
2 |
| 1968 |
Sergio Oliva |
2 |
| 1969 |
Sergio Oliva |
2 |
| 1970 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1971 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1972 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1973 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1974 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1975 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1976 |
Franco Columbu |
2 |
| 1977 |
Frank Zane |
3 |
| 1978 |
Frank Zane |
3 |
| 1979 |
Frank Zane |
3 |
| 1980 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
7 |
| 1981 |
Franco Columbu |
2 |
| 1982 |
Chris Dickerson |
2 |
| 1983 |
Samir Bannout |
1 |
| 1984 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1985 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1986 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1987 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1988 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1989 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1990 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1991 |
Lee Haney |
8 |
| 1992 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1993 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1994 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1995 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1996 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1997 |
Dorian Yates |
6 |
| 1998 |
Ronnie Coleman |
6 |
| 1999 |
Ronnie Coleman |
6 |
| 2000 |
Ronnie Coleman |
6 |
| 2001 |
Ronnie Coleman |
6 |
| 2002 |
Ronnie Coleman |
6 |
Trends of Mr. Olympia
Winners
From the beginning until now, every Mr. Olympia champion has held
one thing in common: Dominance. From stage presence, to rippedness,
to overall size and muscularity, Mr. Olympia champion bodybuilders
have always dominated in comparison to their fellow bodybuilders.
Below a critique of the past Mr. Olympia champions will be
described, as well as what made them dominate in their era.
Larry Scott
Larry Scott is a man whose physique has stood the test of time.
The man was massively muscled during a period of bodybuilding where
such muscularity was little seen. He had what can be described even
by today's standards as perfect arms. His biceps were full and
round and came into crisp clarity during a front double biceps
post. During a side triceps pose, the sheer mass of his triceps
could not be avoided. He was incredibly lean and had an excellent
twisting lat shot. He was among the pioneers of bodybuilders who
brought it to a modern level.
Sergio Olivia
Sergio was a bodybuilder who was 20 years ahead of his time in
terms of sheer muscularity and dominance in many poses. Even today,
few bodybuilders can execute the perfect hands over head forearms
pose which was his pose of victory. His arms, back and legs could
all hold up well to bodybuilders who competed far after he had
retired from the bodybuilding scene. Sergio had small joints, a
trim waist and large muscles, all of which put him ahead of the
competition and in a league of his own for many of his
victories.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold was truly the man who brought bodybuilding into the
mainstream. Like Sergio and Larry Scott who dominated before him,
Arnold was well ahead of his time and brought it all together on
stage. He had incredibly well peaked biceps which, aside from being
huge, had a structure only the best genetics can create. His chest
was thick and huge and both his arms and his chest are as good as
or better than the majority of top competitors out there today.
Although Arnold's best qualities were definitely his chest and
arms, he also had excellent calve muscles and overall muscularity.
By today's standards, his back and legs would not be competitive,
but during his era, he was in a league of his own. He brought
confidence and charisma to the scene and that could be viewed in
the film he was the star of - Pumping Iron. He was a physically
strong bodybuilder, and as we can all see from his movies, he was
born to be in front of the camera. Although arguably, superior
physiques have come, Arnold's contribution to bodybuilding was
beyond physique alone. Arnold brought bodybuilding to the
mainstream by presenting the every man with a physique which was
both massively muscled, but also not overly freakish. Most people
would not want to look like any of the competitors around too, as
they are far too muscular. Arnold was big, but not to the point
where he was a circus side show. His charisma and contribution to
the sport through film have been like nothing any other competitor
has ever done. He started the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic
competition in 1989 which is among the best pro bodybuilding
competition available in the world today. He also wrote the book
"Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding". Arnold will always be
remembered as one of the greatest to ever take part in the
sport.
Franco Columbu
Franco was truly an exceptional bodybuilder. Although he did not
dominate the stage like Arnold, he offered so much to the
bodybuilder world. He won every major powerlifting and bodybuilding
title. Aside from having a Mr. Olympia caliber physique he was able
to deadlift more than 730 pounds at a bodyweight of 183! His
background in powerlifting resulted in Franco developing dense,
thick muscle mass that few pro bodybuilders of today could match.
He was also a competitive boxer and a participant in the World's
Strongest Man competition. He is also a Doctor of Chiropractic with
a Ph.D. in Nutrition and an expert in Sports Medicine and
Kinesiology. Now how many Mr. Olympias have done that?
Frank Zane
Frank Zane was one of only three bodybuilders to have ever
defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger. Zane has always been considered to
be statuesque in his appearance. His proportion, symmetry and
balance is second to none. A picture of Frank Zane was like looking
at Adonis. He also held a Master's degree in Experimental
Psychology. He was a well rounded athlete and a tremendous
spokesperson for the bodybuilding community.
Chris Dickerson
Chris Dickerson won the Mr. Olympia title just before bodybuilding
became the show of strength and muscularity it is today. Chris was
superbly muscled nevertheless and dominated the stage at a body
weight under 200 pounds. Some bodybuilders come onstage today with
a similar physique and do not place highly because bodybuilding
these days seems to favour muscularity and condition with not so
much emphasis on balance and proportion. Chris was a champion of
yesterday who although could not repeat that success today, was
very much worthy of his victory.
Samir Bannout
Samir was the pioneer of the "Christmas Tree" level of conditioning seen in the lower
back. This is due to the muscularity and condition of the lower
regions of the back, and he was the first bodybuilder to dominate
that pose in the rear lat spread. Samir, or "The Lion of Lebanon"
was a highly mesomorphic bodybuilder who brought an incredible
amount of muscle mass and power to the stage. He will always be
remembered as one of the greats.
Lee Haney
Based on his dominance in the Mr. Olympia competition, Lee Haney
is the greatest bodybuilder of all time. He is the winner of eight
straight Sandows, a feat which no other competitor bodybuilder has
ever achieved. Ronnie Coleman may well catch up to him if he
continues as he is now, but even that seems unlikely. A king of
symmetry and aesthetics, with a huge upper body and beautiful
lines, Lee Haney will be forever remembered as a powerful
competitor and a great spokesperson for the sport of
bodybuilding.
Dorian Yates
Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, six time champion brought bodybuilding
to the 1990s and to the level it is at today. He was a combination
of freaky size, shape, separation, muscular density, thickness,
strength and overall power. He was extremely mesomorphic and an
incredible stage presence. Although competitors like Flex Wheeler,
Kevin Levrone, Shawn Ray and Nasser El Sonbaty gave him a run for
his money, he remained victorious to win six Sandows and leave his
mark on bodybuilding history.
Ronnie Coleman
Since 1998, Ronnie Coleman is our current Mr. Olympia champion. In
the tradition recently set by Dorian, Ronnie dominates the other
competitors in terms of condition and sheer muscularity. Now the
question is - can he do it? Will he tie Arnold Schwarzenegger or
Lee Haney, or better yet, make a record of nine straight Mr.
Olympia victories? Only time will tell.
So as you can see, the Mr. Olympia contest has evolved over time
and in the current day, competitors are bigger than ever. Some
poses, such as Frank Zane's classic vaccum pose will never happen
again, but new and ever freaky muscle mass quality, definition,
condition, seperation and thickness occur all the time. It is an
evolving sport and only time will tell us where it will be with
years to come.
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