The Mr. Olympia contest has served as an extraordinary battlefield for top bodybuilding competitors and has helped shape many legendary physiques during the five decades of its celebrated existence.
Through each of the different eras that have defined its evolution, the once modest contest has grown to the greatest professional bodybuilding competition on the planet, thanks to the hard work of the bodybuilding visionary Joe Weider and of course, the memorable achievements of all contestants who’ve left their mark on this sport throughout the years.
As anyone with a good enough memory or an internet connection knows, Mr. Olympia (and professional bodybuilding in general) has changed quite a lot since its beginning in 1965. Who can forget the 1969 Mr. Olympia, when a young Austrian named Arnold Schwarzenegger came into the bodybuilding scene and challenged Sergio Oliva?
1977 was another year of big surprises: Frank Zane won his first Olympia title with his small but perfectly proportioned and conditioned frame and his unmatched talent for posing, and all future contestants, regardless of how big they were, would follow his lead.
However, superior aesthetics couldn’t rule over pure size forever and soon enough, Lee Haney became the torchbearer for yet another new breed of bodybuilding champions such as Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman who sought after the perfect combination of serious mass and pleasing symmetry. And the rest is history.
But what exactly gives this show the ability to constantly propel the sport of bodybuilding forward, other than the prestige itself? It’s the element of rivalry, of course. The Mr. Olympia contest has showcased an exciting series of rivalries that pushed competitors further than they ever thought they could go.
Regardless of how you personally feel about working under pressure, the truth is that rivals have the power to bring out the very best in us by raising the bar and making us face our flaws and missteps. The best rivals supply each other with focus, motivation and productivity, and most importantly, the audacity to try new daring things.
So what better way to commemorate fifty years of athleticism, fortitude and strength than a recap of the greatest bodybuilding rivals who have given us on-stage moments worth remembering and have inspired competitors of all generations to become better and grow bigger? These are the guys who are responsible for putting up some of the greatest shows in the history of bodybuilding!
#1. Phil Heath vs. Kai Greene
These two have been butting heads over top bodybuilding titles for several years now and their rivalry is as strong as the parallel between their careers – both Heath and Greene started out with Pro League titles, with Heath winning the Colorado Pro in 2006 and Greene winning the same title in 2007. Since then, these giants have clashed numerous times and their rivalry has escalated both via words and poses.
Six-time Mr. Olympia winner Phil Heath has eye-grabbing size and detailed muscle separation in a proportional package and three-time Arnold Classic winner Kai Greene has an impressive amount of lean mass and world-class conditioning with a wider V shape and fuller quads than his rival. Greene hasn’t succeeded at dethroning Heath so far, but it’s a fact that his rivalry with The Gift has consistently pushed them both beyond the limit and will probably continue forcing them to up their game in future contests.
#2. Rich Gaspari vs. Lee Haney
At the beginning of the 80’s, Lee Haney and Rich Gaspari were training partners and good friends. In 1984, Haney won his first Mr. Olympia title at the age of 24, while Gaspari won the NPC Nationals, gaining his IFBB pro card and an opportunity to go up against his mentor at the 1985 Mr. Olympia. The next year, 22-year-old Gaspari placed third at the contest, and the following three years he was runner-up while the Sandow collection of his mentor grew bigger.
Gaspari put up a fierce fight by taking his dieting and training to the extreme and achieved an impressive definition, despite never quite reaching Haney’s size and structure. Haney would go on to become an eight-time Mr. Olympia winner, while Gaspari had to satisfy himself with three runner-up placements.
What made their battles so great and exciting to watch was the way each of them pushed the other to maximize his potential and the rivalry transformed into a lifelong friendship fueled by mutual respect. “If anyone knew my habits, it was Rich,” recalled Haney. “He was one of the better competitors and I used to call him ‘Rich the itch,’ because he made me my best and brought out the best in me.”
#3. Frank Zane vs. Franco Columbu
Franco Columbu, also known as “The Sardinian Strongman”, was a genetic freak in an age where supplements were scarce and growing huge was the result of unconventional training methods and a lot of meticulous work. Despite being shorter than most of his competitors, he managed to achieve widespread success and win two Mr. Olympias even after a devastating knee injury.
On the other hand, Frank Zane had such an impressive physique that even today bodybuilders use the term ‘Zane-like’ when referring to a very high level of leanness. Zane built a physique graced with stellar lines and full attention to detail and revolutionized the sport by repeatedly winning top titles against bodybuilders with jaw-dropping amounts of mass, including three straight Mr. Olympias.
The jarring differences between Zane’s and Columbu’s attitude, appearance and training techniques gave birth to a very interesting rivalry and a strong animosity between the two men – although Zane had a smaller but perfectly proportioned frame while Franco had a more massive, beefy physique, these two were pretty evenly matched in terms of competitions won.
#4. Kevin Levrone vs. Flex Wheeler
Kevin Levrone and Flex Wheeler first met in the classic heavyweight class of the 1991 NPC Nationals. Levrone won that contest, but one year later, Wheeler earned his way into the pro division and won five Arnold Classic Champion titles in the following years. These two great bodybuilders had enormous potential to reach the very top of the game, so it’s only natural that the rivalry between them attracted fans attention worldwide.
Both of them had what it took to win the Olympia title back in the 90’s, but weren’t able to truly realize their full potential for various reasons such as lack of focus and injuries. Wheeler became a three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up, while Levrone had the same placement four times. The back and forth between them went on for the rest of their careers, always making up a thrilling show for the fans, and their hard work ultimately made each of them a bodybuilding legend in his own right.
#5. Jay Cutler vs. Ronnie Coleman
Coleman and Cutler’s epic battles have established their rivalry as the best one of the past generation. With eight consecutive Mr. Olympia wins and a total of 26 wins as an IFBB professional, Ronnie Coleman is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
But the 2001 Mr. Olympia was a scary experience for Ronnie as he clashed with Jay Cutler, who came practically out of nowhere and won the first two rounds. At the end Coleman beat Cutler by six points and took the title home, but it’s a fact that it was the first time he really feared his physique wouldn’t hold up to fend off his rival.
Cutler continued to work hard and heavy but consistently came up second to Coleman four years in a row – until he finally defeated King Ronnie and became Mr. Olympia in 2006, getting his well-deserved spotlight.
#6. Sergio Oliva vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger
We’ve saved the best for last. Sergio Oliva, Larry Scott’s successor as the second Mr. Olympia winner ever, was nicknamed ‘The Myth’ because everyone who witnessed his absolutely freaky proportions with his tiny 28 inch waist, massive arms and wide shoulders claimed that he was simply unbelievable.
Oliva easily won the 1967 and 1968 Mr. Olympias and felt pretty confident about winning his third title in 1969, when he first clashed with The Austrian Oak, whose sheer size and well-balanced athletic physique stood out among the contestants.
Even though Oliva won the title again that year, the rivalry born between the two world-class athletes was one between a tried and true legend and the greatest bodybuilder ever waiting to happen, and everybody knew it was going to be a spectacular showdown. In 1970, Arnold came back and stole both the Mr. Olympia and the Mr. World titles from Oliva and evened the score.
Finally, at the 1972 Mr. Olympia, when both men appeared in what seemed to be their peak form, Schwarzenegger took the title and sparked up a great deal of controversy in the bodybuilding community. While the young Austrian went on to become a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion and the most famous bodybuilder of all time, Oliva kept publicly criticizing Schwarzenegger’s skills and achievements and claimed that the ’72 title was stolen from him.
