Contests

The competition itself, from the first Mr. Olympia in 1965 to now. Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman with eight consecutive titles, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, and the recent run in which most champions were born outside the United States. Note the asterisk that matters: Arnold's 1971 win came with Sergio Oliva banned for competing at a rival NABBA event, which is a firmer objection than anything about 1980. Judging, posing, prize money, and the promoters who owned the federation and the magazines simultaneously.

Part of Bodybuilding

109 moments in this segment.

1. 1910 - George Poppoff. From the Library of Congress. Strongman and physique performance was still a variety act in 1910, and the international touring circuit was how the form spread.
2. 1951 - Campeonato de Complementos, first edition. A first-edition physique championship, held the same year Monotosh Roy took a NABBA Mr Universe title in London.
3. 1965 - Larry Scott 🇺🇸 1st @ 1965 Mr. Olympia (BB). Larry Scott winning the first Mr. Olympia in 1965. Scott won again in 1966 and then retired at the top, which no later champion did.
4. 1966 - Larry Scott wins Mr Olympia 1966 (2nd edition). Best quality ever. Larry Scott winning the second Mr. Olympia in 1966.
5. 1968 - Torneo Mr Litoral, junior class. Argentine physique competition under the AFCA. National circuits like this one ran in parallel with the American scene through the 1960s and are almost absent from English-language histories of the sport.
6. 1968 - Horacio Patrone, Mr Cultura Fisica. First place in the junior class at the 1968 Mr Cultura Fisica. The Argentine record survives largely through competitors' own photographs rather than any federation archive.
7. 1968 - Most muscular pose, Mr Cultura Fisica. The compulsory poses were the same in Buenos Aires as in California, transmitted through the Weider magazines and the NABBA contest formats.
8. 1970 - MR. OLYMPİA 1970 - Arnold Schwarzenegger - First Mr Olympia Victory. Arnold Schwarzenegger's first Mr. Olympia win in 1970, beating Sergio Oliva. Oliva had won the three previous editions.
9. 1970 - 1970 & 1971 NABBA MR. UNIVERSE from GMV Bodybuilding. Footage from the 1970 and 1971 NABBA Mr Universe contests in London.
10. 1970 - Torneo Mr Valentin Alsina, novices. The 1970 Mr Valentin Alsina novice class, with Juan Jose Schettino second and Alejandro Risso third.
11. 1970 - Back pose, Mr Valentin Alsina. 1970 was the year Schwarzenegger won the first of his seven Mr Olympia titles, in New York.
12. 1970 - Mr Buenos Aires, novice class. Second place at the 1970 Mr Buenos Aires. The Argentine national circuit predated the Arnold Classic South America by more than four decades.
13. 1970 - Novice line-up, Mr Valentin Alsina. The full novice line-up at the 1970 contest, staged by the AFCA in Argentina.
14. 1971 - Training for the 1971 season. Training at a bodyweight of 92 kilos for the 1971 contests. Bodyweights in this era were a fraction of those that would define the sport thirty years later.
15. 1974 - Madison Square Garden news release. A 1974 news release for a Madison Square Garden physique event. Joe Weider founded the Mr Olympia in 1965 to give Mr Universe winners somewhere to keep competing and to earn money; the first prize was 1,000 dollars.
16. 1975 - RARE DOCUMENTARY ON ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER & THE 1975 MR OLYMPIA FROM THE ABC WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS!. ABC's Wide World of Sports on Schwarzenegger and the 1975 Mr. Olympia in Pretoria, the contest Pumping Iron was built around.
17. 1975 - Mr. Olympia 1975 - Original Footage Filmed by Ken Waller. Original footage of the 1975 Mr. Olympia in Pretoria, filmed by competitor Ken Waller. Waller is the subject of the film's stolen shirt scene, which George Butler later said was filmed after the fact, and Waller and Mike Katz were in fact close friends.
18. 1975 - MR OLYMPIA 1975. The 1975 Mr. Olympia in Pretoria, South Africa.
19. 1975 - Gold's Gym, Los Angeles. Joe Gold opened Gold's Gym in Venice around 1965 and sold it in 1970. Gold's Venice became known as the Mecca chiefly because Pumping Iron filmed there.
20. 1980 - The Comeback 1980. The Comeback, filmed around Schwarzenegger's return at the 1980 Mr. Olympia in Sydney. Wikipedia records that most competitors and observers felt he lacked both mass and conditioning and should not have won over Chris Dickerson or Mike Mentzer, and several athletes threatened boycotts.
21. 1980 - 1980 MR OLYMPİA - Arnold Schwarzenegger-Chris Dickerson-Frank Zane-Boyer Coe-Mike Mentzer. The 1980 Mr. Olympia in Sydney at length, with Schwarzenegger, Chris Dickerson, Frank Zane, Boyer Coe and Mike Mentzer. The allegation that the result was fixed by Weider interests is contested and belongs to whoever makes it, not to the record.
22. 1980 - Another Angle of the 1980 Mr. Olympia (Posedown) ("Restored"). A restored alternative camera angle on the 1980 Mr. Olympia posedown.
23. 1983 - Frank Zane - Individual Posing Routine - 1983 Mr.Olympia. Frank Zane's individual posing routine at the 1983 Mr. Olympia, after his three title run had ended.
24. 1983 - Samir Bannout - Individual Posing Routine - 1983 Mr.Olympia. Samir Bannout's individual posing routine at the 1983 Mr. Olympia, which he won. Bannout, the Lion of Lebanon, is described as the first Middle Eastern competitor to take the title.
25. 1983 - Samir Bannout - Mr. Olympia 1983 Posing. Samir Bannout posing at the 1983 Mr. Olympia in Munich.
26. 1983 - Samir Bannout Mr. Olympia 1983 🇱🇧 سمير بنوت أول بطل عربي في كمال الأجسام مستر أولمبيا. Arabic language coverage of Samir Bannout's 1983 Mr. Olympia win.
27. 1983 - MR OLYMPIA 1983 Samir Bannout Mohamed Makkawy. The 1983 Mr. Olympia in Munich, featuring Samir Bannout and Egypt's Mohamed Makkawy, who was twice Olympia runner up in the 1980s.
28. 1983 - Mr.Olympia 1983 full video. The 1983 Mr. Olympia in full.
29. 1983 - 1983 Mr. Olympia Comparisons and Awards. Comparisons and awards at the 1983 Mr. Olympia.
30. 1984 - Sergio Oliva "The Myth" 🇨🇺 Comeback @ Mr. Olympia 1984. Sergio Oliva's comeback at the 1984 Mr. Olympia. Oliva, born in Cuba in 1941, won three Olympia titles from 1967 to 1969 and was the only man to beat Schwarzenegger on that stage.
31. 1984 - Samir Bannout - Individual Posing Routine - 1984 Mr.Olympia. Samir Bannout's posing routine at the 1984 Mr. Olympia, the year Lee Haney took the first of eight titles.
32. 1984 - Lee Haney - Mr. Olympia 1984 Posing. Lee Haney posing at the 1984 Mr. Olympia, the start of eight consecutive titles from 1984 to 1991.
33. 1984 - Mr. Olympia 1984 - Award Ceremony. The awards ceremony at the 1984 Mr. Olympia.
34. 1984 - Teen America contest. An amateur contest from 1984, the year Lee Haney began his eight-year run of Mr Olympia titles.
35. 1985 - Sergio Oliva "The Myth" 🇨🇺 Last Contest 💪🏿Mr. Olympia 1985. Sergio Oliva's last contest, the 1985 Mr. Olympia.
36. 1987 - 1987 IFBB Night of the Champions - Classic NYC Pro Bodybuilding Show. The 1987 IFBB Night of the Champions in New York, a full professional show. The Night of Champions was the second most important American professional contest of its era after the Olympia.
37. 1988 - Lee Haney - Individual Posing Routine - 1988 Mr.Olympia. Lee Haney's individual posing routine at the 1988 Mr. Olympia.
38. 1989 - The First Annual Arnold Classic, 1989. The first Arnold Classic, 1989, from the Arnold Sports Festival's own archive. It was won by Rich Gaspari.
39. 1990 - 1990 Night of Champions & 1991 NOC Highlights from GMV Bodybuilding. Highlights of the 1990 and 1991 Night of Champions.
40. 1991 - Lee Haney 🇺🇸 1st @ 1991 Mr. Olympia (BB). Lee Haney winning the 1991 Mr. Olympia, his eighth and last title. Haney retired healthy, which distinguishes him from most of the record holders.
41. 1991 - Lee Haney 1991 Mr Olympia Finals. The finals of the 1991 Mr. Olympia, Haney's last.
42. 1992 - Dorian Yates 🇬🇧 1st @ 1992 Mr. Olympia (BB). Dorian Yates winning the 1992 Mr. Olympia, the first of six consecutive titles for the Englishman. Yates trained on a low volume method derived from Mike Mentzer's.
43. 1992 - 1992 Mr. Olympia Posedown - Yates vs Levrone!. The posedown at the 1992 Mr. Olympia between Dorian Yates and Kevin Levrone.
44. 1992 - Mr Olympia 1992 - Helsinki backstage pumproom interview - Part4 (Dorian Yates). A backstage pump room interview with Dorian Yates at the 1992 Mr. Olympia in Helsinki. The pump room is where competitors wait, and it is rarely filmed.
45. 1995 - The Seventh Annual Arnold Classic, 1995. The seventh Arnold Classic, 1995.
46. 1997 - Dorian Yates 🇬🇧 1st @ 1997 Mr. Olympia (BB). Dorian Yates winning the 1997 Mr. Olympia, his sixth and final title. Yates has publicly acknowledged roughly twelve years of regular drug use, which makes him one of very few top competitors where the subject is on his own record rather than allegation.
47. 1997 - Dorian Yates / Mr.Olympia - 1997 / Дориан Ятс. Dorian Yates at the 1997 Mr. Olympia.
48. 1997 - MR.OLYMPIA - 1997 - TOP-6 comparisons and awards (Dorian Yates, Nasser El Sonbaty, Shawn Ray). Top six comparisons and awards at the 1997 Mr. Olympia, with Dorian Yates, Nasser El Sonbaty and Shawn Ray. The result was widely disputed at the time.
49. 1997 - The Ninth Annual Arnold Classic, 1997. The ninth Arnold Classic, 1997.
50. 1998 - Ronnie Coleman 🇺🇸 1st @ 1998 Mr. Olympia (BB). Ronnie Coleman winning the 1998 Mr. Olympia, the first of eight consecutive titles that tie Lee Haney's record.
51. 1998 - 1998 MR OLYMPIA PREJUDGING - The Best Bodybuilding from 90s. HD. Prejudging at the 1998 Mr. Olympia.
52. 1998 - Mr Olympia 1998 ( Nasser El Sonbaty c'est vraiment fait bien avoir?). The 1998 Mr. Olympia in full, with French commentary questioning the placing of Nasser El Sonbaty. El Sonbaty was German born of Egyptian and Yugoslav parentage and died in 2013.
53. 2000 - Ronnie Coleman at San Marino. Photographed at the professional world championship in San Marino, 28 October 2000. Coleman won eight Mr Olympia titles from 1998 to 2005.
54. 2003 - 2003 Mr. Olympia - Ronnie Coleman Posing Routine. Ronnie Coleman's posing routine at the 2003 Mr. Olympia.
55. 2003 - RONNIE COLEMAN - LEGS AND POSING - BATTLE FOR THE OLYMPIA 2003. Ronnie Coleman training legs and posing, from the Battle For The Olympia 2003 release. Coleman worked as a police officer in Arlington, Texas, during much of his competitive career.
56. 2005 - Physique display in Taipei. A Taiwanese competitor posing at a public event in Taipei. East Asian competitive scenes developed through national federations rather than an American professional pathway.
57. 2006 - Jay Cutler 🇺🇸 1st @ 2006 Mr. Olympia (BB). Jay Cutler winning the 2006 Mr. Olympia, ending Ronnie Coleman's eight year run. Cutler took four titles and was the first man to lose the title on stage and then win it back.
58. 2006 - Battle For The Olympia 2006 - Complete DVD Movie Upload! Jay Cutler Wins!. The complete Battle For The Olympia 2006 release, nearly eight hours covering the contest Jay Cutler won.
59. 2006 - Jay Cutler - Back Workout - Battle For The Olympia 2006. Jay Cutler's back workout from the Battle For The Olympia 2006 release.
60. 2006 - Dexter Jackson 🇺🇸 4th @ 2006 Mr. Olympia (BB). Dexter Jackson placing fourth at the 2006 Mr. Olympia. Jackson won in 2008 and competed at the top level for longer than anyone else in the sport.
61. 2007 - DEXTER JACKSON - SHOULDERS (2007) BATTLE FOR THE OLYMPIA DVD. Dexter Jackson training shoulders, from the Battle For The Olympia 2007 release.
62. 2008 - Ronnie Coleman. Photographed in October 2008, three years after Coleman's last Olympia title. He won eight, tying Lee Haney, and has since spoken publicly about the physical cost of the career.
63. 2009 - Ronnie Coleman, eight-time Mr Olympia. Coleman competed at bodyweights far above those of the 1970s champions, the culmination of the mass era that began in the early 1990s.
64. 2009 - Coleman posing. Prize money for the Mr Olympia rose from 1,000 dollars in 1965 to 600,000 for the winner in 2024. The Ms Olympia paid 95,000 from 2020, a gap of roughly six to one.
65. 2009 - Coleman, 2009. Coleman later underwent repeated spinal surgeries. He has spoken publicly about the physical cost of his competitive career.
66. 2010 - Paris championship. A French regional championship. Below the professional league sits a dense amateur tier of national and regional contests that carries almost all the sport's participation.
67. 2011 - Frank Zane. Zane won three Mr Olympia titles from 1977 to 1979 on a markedly smaller and more proportioned physique than the champions who followed him.
68. 2011 - Competitor, Bhutan. Bhutan's national physique scene, one of many with no presence at all in the English-language record of the sport.
69. 2012 - World championships. The IFBB world championships are the amateur international tier. Provisional Olympic recognition was granted in 1998 and withdrawn in 2001.
70. 2014 - Coleman at FIBO. FIBO in Cologne is Europe's largest fitness trade fair and a fixture of the retired champion's appearance circuit, which is where much of the sport's income now sits.
71. 2014 - Bodybuilding contest, Mongolia. The international amateur tier reaches far beyond the countries the professional league draws from.
72. 2014 - Kai Greene at the Arnold Classic Europe. Madrid, 28 September 2014. The Arnold Classic Europe has run in Spain since 2011, one of several international editions carrying Schwarzenegger's name.
73. 2014 - Kai Greene posing, Madrid. Greene placed second at the Mr Olympia three times without winning it, in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
74. 2014 - Greene on stage. The Arnold Classic is the sport's second contest after the Olympia and the only one with comparable prize money.
75. 2014 - Kai Greene, Arnold Classic Europe. The posing routine is where competitors who cannot win on conditioning make their reputations.
76. 2014 - Phil Heath at the Arnold Classic Europe. Phil Heath won seven consecutive Mr Olympia titles from 2011 to 2017, equalling Schwarzenegger's career total.
77. 2014 - Phil Heath, Madrid. Heath's run ended in 2018 when Shawn Rhoden beat him, the first time a reigning champion had lost the title since 2006.
78. 2014 - INBA Emerald State Natural. A natural federation contest. The INBA and similar bodies impose testing that the IFBB Pro League does not routinely apply.
79. 2016 - 2016 Mr. Olympia - Kevin Levrone Posing Routine. Kevin Levrone's posing routine at the 2016 Mr. Olympia, a comeback sixteen years after he last competed.
80. 2016 - Greek competitors. A Greek contest podium. The European amateur circuit is dense and largely undocumented in English.
81. 2017 - 2017 Arnold Classic: Cedric McMillan Posing Routine. Cedric McMillan's posing routine at the 2017 Arnold Classic, which he won. McMillan died in 2022.
82. 2017 - NPC contest, Wayne, New Jersey. The National Physique Committee is the American amateur body and the only route to an IFBB professional card. The NPC does not require drug testing.
83. 2017 - Physique contest at Alva's Nudisiri. A physique competition staged within a cultural festival in Karnataka, India.
84. 2017-06-25 - Larry Scott 'A Life in Bodybuilding' - The first ever Mr Olympia. A short profile of Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia.
85. 2017-06-28 - 60 Year History of the NABBA Universe 1950 - 2010. A survey of sixty years of the NABBA Universe from 1950 to 2010. The NABBA Universe began in London in 1948 and awarded multiple titles per year across amateur and professional divisions and height classes, which is why several men can be Mr Universe in the same year.
86. 2018 - Shawn Rhoden - Mr. Olympia 2018 Posing. Shawn Rhoden posing at the 2018 Mr. Olympia, which he won. Rhoden died in 2021.
87. 2018 - 2018 Mr.Olympia Press Conference.Shawn Rhoden vs Phil Heath. The press conference before the 2018 Mr. Olympia, where Shawn Rhoden ended Phil Heath's seven title run.
88. 2018 - Mr. Olympia 2018 - Final Round. The final round of the 2018 Mr. Olympia.
89. 2018 - IFBB Cali Pro. A professional qualifier. A professional card is the only route from the amateur tier into paid competition, and the NPC that issues it does not require drug testing.
90. 2019-06-06 - Arnold Classic Co-Founder Jim Lorimer at 2019 Arnold Sports Festival. Jim Lorimer, who co-founded the Arnold Classic with Schwarzenegger, speaking at the 2019 festival. Lorimer ran the Columbus event for four decades and died in 2022.
91. 2019 - Brandon Curry 🇺🇸 1st @ 2019 Mr. Olympia (BB). Brandon Curry winning the 2019 Mr. Olympia.
92. 2019 - 2019 Olympia Backstage Pumping Up With Mr.Olympia Brandon Curry. Backstage in the pump room with Brandon Curry at the 2019 Olympia.
93. 2020 - Dexter Jackson Posing for the Last Time at the Arnold Classic. Dexter Jackson posing at the Arnold Classic for the last time, in 2020. Jackson won the Arnold Classic five times.
94. 2021 - Chris Bumstead. Bumstead competed in Classic Physique, a division introduced to reward proportion over mass, and built a following through video platforms rather than the Weider magazines.
95. 2022 - Mr Universo. NABBA has run the Universe championships since the first edition in London on 13 August 1948. Professional classes were only introduced in 1952.
96. 2023 - Derek Lunsford 2023 Olympia Champion Interview Finals Routine. Derek Lunsford's finals routine and champion interview at the 2023 Mr. Olympia. Lunsford won again in 2025.
97. 2023 - Competitor on stage. The posing routine to music is judged separately from the compulsory poses that decide most placings.
98. 2023 - Sheru Classic pro qualifier. The Sheru Classic, an Indian-founded contest, is one of the professional qualifiers that opened routes outside the American circuit.
99. 2024 - 2024 IFBB Mr Olympia Friday Prejudging Comparisons 4K Video. Friday prejudging comparisons at the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
100. 2024 - 2024 IFBB Pro League Mr Olympia Finals Overall Posedown & Awards 4K Video. The finals, overall posedown and awards at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, won by Samson Dauda.
101. 2024 - 2024 IFBB Pro League Mr. Olympia Samson Dauda Finals Posing Routine 4K Video. Samson Dauda's finals posing routine at the 2024 Mr. Olympia. Dauda is Nigerian born and based in the United Kingdom.
102. 2024 - German federation contest, Petersberg. A German Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation event. National federations run the amateur tier from which every professional comes.
103. 2024 - Derek Lunsford at the Arnold Classic. Lunsford won the Mr Olympia in 2023 and again in 2025. First place at the Arnold Classic carries 130,000 dollars, a vehicle and a watch.
104. 2024 - On stage. The compulsory poses are fixed by the federation and are largely unchanged from those photographed in Paris in 1904.
105. 2025 - 2025 IFBB Pro League Mr Olympia Finals Comparison and Awards 4K Video. Finals comparisons and awards at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
106. 2025 - Mr Olympia 2025 Classic Physique. The Classic Physique division at the 2025 Olympia. Classic Physique caps weight against height and is the division that grew fastest in the 2020s.
107. 2025 - 2025 IFBB Men's Classic Physique Olympia 4th Place Josema Munoz Posing Routine 4K Video. Josema Munoz placing fourth in Classic Physique at the 2025 Olympia.
108. 2025 - IFBB contest, Zurich. The IFBB received provisional Olympic recognition in 1998, which was withdrawn in 2001. WADA-compliant rules followed in 2005, but the Pro League still does not routinely test.
109. 2026-07-31 - 50 years of Bodybuilding legacy! (1976-2026). Fifty years of the Columbus bodybuilding events, from the Arnold Sports Festival's own channel.