The recent book The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy focuses on “the world’s most exclusive fraternity”—sitting U.S. presidents and their living predecessors. There have been only nine presidents since 1965, the year of the inaugural Mr. Olympia, and a similarly scarce 13 Mr. O winners. Like the leaders of the free world, the 13 members of the Sandow Society share a special bond—only they comprehend what it means to be atop the bodybuilding world. As we approach the 47th Mr. Olympia on Sept. 28 and 29 and the possibility of a 14th member joining the club, we analyze the 13 men already there by listing them in 13 categories, starting with their chronological order and ending with a unique power ranking. Wherever they fall on our roll calls, these 13 legends have something no other bodybuilders in history possess: Mr. O titles—the only way in to the ultra-exclusive Sandow Society.

       

WINNERS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

(From Year of First Win)

Total Wins:

Average: 3.6

1. Haney, Coleman- 8
2. Schwarzenegger- 7
3. Yates- 6
4. Cutler- 4
5. Oliva, Zane- 3
6. Scott, Columbu- 2
7. Dickerson, Bannout, Jackson, Heath- 1

 

Top-Two Finishes

Average: 5

1. Cutler- 10
2. Coleman- 9
3. Haney, Schwarzenegger- 8
4. Yates- 7
5. Columbu, Oliva- 5
6. Zane- 4
7. Dickerson- 3
8. Heath, Scott- 2
9. Bannout, Jackson- 1

(Columbu is awarded seconds for winning the lightweight classes in 1974 and 1975, when there were two divisions.)

 

Age at First Olympia Win

Average: 31 yr. 10 mo.

1. Schwarzenegger- 23 yr. 9 mo.
2. Haney- 24 yr. 11 mo.
3. Oliva- 26 yr. 2 mo.
4. Scott- 26 yr. 11 mo.
5. Bannout- 27 yr. 10 mo.
6. Yates- 30 yr. 5 mo.
7. Heath- 31 yr. 9 mo.
8. Cutler- 33 yr. 1 mo.
9. Coleman- 34 yr. 5 mo.
10. Columbu- 35 yr. 1 mo.
11. Zane- 35 yr. 4 mo.
12. Jackson- 39 yr. 10 mo.
13. Dickerson- 43 yr. 3 mo.

Olympia Fact: There are 20 years (23-43) between the youngest and oldest Mr. O’s, but the past five Mr. O’s have won their first Sandows in their 30s.

 

Age at Last Olympia Win

Average: 35 yr.

1. Dickerson- 43 yr. 3 mo.
2. Coleman- 41 yr. 5 mo.
3. Columbu- 40 yr. 2 mo.
4. Jackson- 39 yr. 10 mo.
5. Cutler- 37 yr. 1 mo.
6. Yates- 35 yr. 5 mo.
7. Zane- 35 yr. 4 mo.
8. Schwarzenegger- 33 yr. 9 mo.
9. Haney- 32 yr. 10 mo.
10. Heath- 31 yr. 9 mo.
11. Oliva 28 yr. 2 mo.
12. Scott- 27 yr. 11 mo.
13. Bannout- 27 yr. 10 mo.

Olympia Fact: In his final Olympia in 2007, Coleman could have broken Dickerson’s age record (set in 1982), but he was fourth. Jackson could break it by winning next year’s Olympia.

 

Height

Average: 5’9” 1/3”

1. Schwarzenegger- 6’2”
2. Coleman, Haney- 5’11”
3. Oliva, Yates- 5’10”
4. Cutler, Heath, Zane- 5’9”
5. Bannout, Scott- 5’7”
6. Dickerson, Jackson- 5’6”
7. Columbu- 5’5”

 

 

 

Weight/ Height Ratio

Each man’s heaviest Olympia-winning weight is divided by his height in inches.

Average: 3.34

1. Coleman- 4.18
2. Cutler- 3.97
3. Yates- 3.8
4. Heath- 3.59
5. Jackson- 3.56
6. Haney- 3.49
7. Oliva- 3.21
8. Schwarzenegger- 3.2
9. Scott- 3.06
10. Dickerson- 2.88
11. Columbu- 2.85
12. Zane- 2.83
13. Bannout- 2.79

Olympia Fact: The six above-average ratios were achieved by the last six Mr. O’s. Note how close Schwarzenegger and Oliva ratios are— theirs was ranked the all-time greatest rivalry in our June Issue (“Clash of the Titans”).

 

Weight

Heaviest Winning Year

1. Coleman- 297
2. Cutler- 274
3. Yates- 266
4. Haney, Heath- 248
5. Schwarzenegger- 237
6. Jackson- 235
7. Oliva- 225
8. Scott- 205
9. Zane- 195       
10. Dickerson- 190
11. Bannout- 187
12. Columbu- 185

Olympia Fact: The four lightest weights occurred over a seven-year span (1978-84) known as the “light- weight era.” The five heaviest weights were achieved by five of the six most recent Mr. O’s.

 

IFBB Pro Contests Entered Before Winning Olympia

Average: 12.9

1. Scott- 0
2. Oliva, Schwarzenegger- 1
3. Columbu, Yates, Zane- 4
4. Haney- 7
5. Heath- 9
6. Bannout- 12
7. Dickerson- 20
8. Cutler- 21
9. Coleman- 39
10. Jackson- 46

Olympia Fact: Five of the top six (all but Yates) competed in no other IFBB pro contest except the Mr. Olympia. In most years prior to 1979, the Olympia was the only professional IFBB show.

 

 

 

 

 

Olympia Entered Before Winning

Average: 3.08

1. Scott- 0
2. Haney, Oliva, Schwarzenegger, Yates- 1
3. Bannout, Dickerson, Heath- 3
4. Columbu, Zane- 4
5. Coleman- 5
6. Cutler- 6
7. Jackson- 8

 

Years as a Professional Before Winning Olympia

1. Scott- 0
2. Haney, Oliva, Schwarzenegger- 1
3. Yates- 2
4. Bannout, Dickerson- 3
5. Columbu, Zane- 4
6. Heath- 5
7. Coleman- 6
8. Cutler- 8
9. Jackson- 9

Olympia Fact: It’s unlikely any rookie will tie Scott’s record. On the other end of the spectrum, Jackson’s 9 could be topped. Of current top contenders, Victor Martinez has 11 pro years behind him and Branch Warren has 8.

 

Major Wins Before Winning Olympia

Major wins are awarded for overall national (excluding junior and teenage), international, or professional victories in any organization. We also counted the IFBB World Championship class wins of Bannout (1979), Haney (1982), and Coleman (1991) because there were no overall winners.

Average: 5.9

1. Dickerson- 15
2. Jackson- 12
3. Schwarzenegger- 9
4. Cutler- 8
5. Zane- 7
6. Coleman, Columbu, Heath- 4
7. Yates- 3
8. Oliva, Scott- 2
9. Bannout- 1

Olympia Fact: At this list’s two extremes are men who won only one Sandow, and they won them in back-to-back years—1982 and 1983.

 

Olympia Winning Percentage

Average: 47.5%

1. Scott- 100% (2 for 2)
2. Haney- 89% (8 for 9)
3. Schwarzenegger- 87.5% (7 for 8)
4. Yates- 86% (6 for 7)
5. Coleman- 53% (8 for 15)
6. Oliva- 43% (3 for 7)
7. Columbu, Cutler 33% (2 for 7) and (4 for 12)
8. Zane- 30% (3 for 10)
9. Heath- 25% (1 for 4)
10. Dickerson- 20% (1 for 5)
11. Bannout- 9% (1 for 11)
12. Jackson- 8% (1 for 12)

Olympia Fact: Heath scores the highest of any one-win Mr. O. If he repeats this year, his resulting 40% will leap-frog him over three legends and move him just behind Oliva.

 

Olympia Power Index

The formula is: Number of Olympia wins x 2 + Number of Olympia top-two finishes x Olympia winning %. This was devised to weigh wins as most important but also factor in close decisions (thus top-two finishes are included) and overall entries (thus winning percentage is the multiplier).

Average: 7.29

1. Haney- 21.36
2. Schwarzenegger- 19.25
3. Yates- 16.34
4. Coleman- 13.25
5. Cutler, Scott- 6
6. Oliva- 4.73
7. Zane- 3
8. Columbu- 2.31
9. Dickerson, Heath- 1
10. Bannout- 0.27
11. Jackson- 0.24

 

Olympia Fact: We ranked each O winner’s entire Olympia career. If you look at only the eight consecutive years both Haney and Coleman won, they would each score 24 at the end of their O reigns—history’s highest Olympia power rankings. Similarly, if Heath wins this year, his O power index would be 6 over the past two years.