One Step Away: The History of Mr. Olympia’s Runners-Up – PART 4
The Mr. Olympia is bodybuilding’s most popular event, with the winner receiving all the praise and focus from all the media, but what about the runners-up?
The Mr. Olympia will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024. A truly incredible accomplishment for an event, that was created by Joe and Ben Weider while having dinner, way back in 1964.
During the 59 events that have taken place since 1965, only 18 men have won this prestigious title. Of the 18 champions, five have unfortunately passed on. Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva, Franco Columbu, Chris Dickerson, and Shawn Rhoden have all passed away.
We all know who the winners are, and the bodybuilding world continues to celebrate and discuss their victories.
All the winners have gone on to have very successful careers after they retired from the sport. The majority of winners have gone on to become movie stars, politicians, successful business owners, and prominent figures within the bodybuilding industry.
What about the runners-up? Bodybuilding historians and dedicated fans know who they are, but the younger generation has absolutely no idea who pushed the 18 Mr. Olympia champions to the limit.
The Runners-Up
The 18 men who won the Mr. Olympia title, are phenomenal athletes, there have been some controversial decisions in the past, and even some believe the 2023 decision could have gone either way.
From 1965 to 2017, the Mr. Olympia was dominated by 12 athletes, with 10 of them defending their title for several years. Between 2018 and 2023, there have been five different winners.
Just as there were multiple winners, there were also athletes placing second consecutively for several years, never managing to win the title.
Every bodybuilder climbed the amateur ranks winning several prestigious titles, such as Mr. America, Mr. Universe titles within IFBB and NABBA, plus World and European Championships.
Let’s take a look at the runners-up during the 59-year history of the Mr. Olympia.
Check out Part 1: One Step Away: The History of Mr. Olympia’s Runners-Up – PART 1
Check out Part 2: One Step Away: The History of Mr. Olympia’s Runners-Up – PART 2
Check out Part 3: One Step Away: The History of Mr. Olympia’s Runners-Up – PART 3
Part 3 of the “One Step Away” series covers the Mr. Olympia events from 2015 to 2023.
Shawn Rhoden
The late Shawn Rhoden would place second to Phil Heath in 2016. While many believed he had the potential to be a Mr. Olympia, Phil still was ahead in 2016.
There were a lot of high hopes for Rhoden in 2017, with many believing he could go further and defeat Heath, but he was not at his best and fell to fifth.
Finally, in 2018, Shawn Rhoden would arrive at his best and beat the seven-time champion, to lift the Sandow trophy.
Unfortunately, after his victory, everything went wrong for Rhoden, with sexual assault allegations against him.
Shawn would never compete again, due to his legal problems, a situation that caused a lot of controversy in the industry.
Shawn would pass away in 2018, never given the chance to clear his name.
“Big Ramy” – Mamdouh Elssbiay
Big Ramy was climbing the bodybuilding ranks at a fast rate, and in 2017, it would be the year he was close to winning the Mr. Olympia.
Phil Heath was not at his best, and it would be the last Mr. Olympia title that he would win.
Following the 2017 Mr. Olympia, the critics were very hard on Phil Heath, with many bodybuilding pundits arguing that Big Ramy should have won the event.
Ramy was the favorite to challenge again for the title in 2018, but he shocked the bodybuilding world by falling to sixth place.
Unfortunately in 2019, Big Ramy would not compete and would return in 2020 to win the Mr. Olympia title.
Ramy would defend his title successfully in 2021, but the same cannot be said for 2022.
Big Ramy would fall to fifth place at the 2022 Mr. Olympia, ending his run of victories.
During his career, Big Ramy was one of the biggest bodybuilders on stage, but he always had difficulties arriving with the condition to match his size.
William Bonac
Leading up to the 2019 Mr. Olympia, William Bonac established himself as one of the top bodybuilders, and also one of the favorites to win the 2019 Mr. Olympia.
The 2019 Mr. Olympia was a strange event, with Big Ramy and defending champion Shawn Rhoden missing from the lineup.
Rhoden could not defend his title due to his legal issues, and the decision of the Olympia organizing committee to exclude him from the event.
Big Ramy allegedly had some health issues and skipped the event.
The Mr. Olympia title was vacant, and several bodybuilders were all in the running to challenge for the title.
The judges awarded the title to Brandon Curry, who arrived in fantastic condition. William Bonac had to settle for second, while Hadi Choopan took home third.
In 2020, Bonac would win his second Arnold Classic (USA) title, but fall to fifth at the Mr. Olympia.
Bonac would continue to achieve great results after the 2019 Mr. Olympia, but would never again finish in the top three again.
Brandon Curry
Brandon Curry is a fighter, a bodybuilder who never gives up.
Curry started his pro career in 2010. It was not an easy road for Brandon, as he rarely placed in the top five.
Everything changed in 2017, when Brandon presented a much-improved physique, that would challenge for victories.
Brandon went on to win the 2017 Arnold Classic Australia and the Ferrigno Classic, but he would place eighth at the Mr. Olympia.
In 2018, Brandon would only compete at the Mr. Olympia, and he would move up to fifth place.
Everything would change for Brandon in 2019, as he went on to win the Arnold Classic (USA), and the ultimate prize, the 2019 Mr. Olympia title.
Brandon would have to settle for second in 2020 and 2021, as he had to step aside for the bigger Big Ramy.
Brandon made great improvements in 2022, but still, the judges gave the nod to Big Ramy.
Loved by the bodybuilding world, Brandon is still one of the most humble athletes in the industry.
Derek Lunsford
Derek Lunsford cemented his status in the history books of bodybuilding by being the only bodybuilder to win the 212 Olympia and Mr. Olympia titles.
Before being declared Mr. Olympia in 2023, Lunsoford had to settle for second to Hadi Choopan in 2022.
Derek looked fantastic in 2022, but Hadi’s chiseled physique was just too much more Derek, and he knew he had to improve for the 2023 Mr. Olympia.
Derek’s second-place finish in 2022 gave him the motivation to win the Sandow trophy in 2023.
Unfortunately for Derek, the Iranian bodybuilding fans refused to accept his victory in 2023, and continued to put Choopan ahead of him.
It remains to be seen if Derek will hold on to the Mr. Olympia title in 2024, with Choopan hungry to win back his title.
Hadi Choopan
The 2023 Mr. Olympia must have been the most difficult experience for Hadi Choopan.
In the leadup to the show, Hadi was the favorite to retain his Mr. Olympia title, but he was not expecting Derek to make so many improvements.
While many had Choopan winning, it would be Derek who walked away with the 2023 Mr. Olympia title, leaving Hadi Choppan in shock.
It was a very close decision, with IFBB Pro League vice-president Tyler Manion standing by the judge’s decision, declaring Derek the champion.
The second-place result was not what Hadi wanted or accepted, and we can expect him to challenge for the title again in 2024.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net will continue to publish great featured about the history of bodybuilding on this site and our new YouTube channel.
