Uncrowning ‘The King’: Meet the 4 Bodybuilders Who Defeated Ronnie Coleman After His First Olympia Victory

No conversation about the Mr. Olympia contest could be complete without signing the praises of Ronnie Coleman. Coleman, also known as the ‘King of Bodybuilding,’ matched Lee Haney’s record of winning the most Mr. Olympia titles by hoisting the Sandow trophy eight consecutive times.

Ronald “Ronnie” Dean Coleman didn’t have a fairy tale start to his Olympia career; he began with a 16th-place finish at the 1992 Mr. Olympia. After taking a year off, he returned to the O stage to grab a humbling 15th place.

The following year, ‘Big Ron’ finished 11th. He moved to the single digits in 1996, when he took home sixth place. However, before Ronnie could begin celebrating, he fell to ninth place at the 1997 Mr. Olympia.

What happened next was beyond what anyone could have imagined. It could also be dubbed the biggest upset in bodybuilding history. The six-time Mr. Olympia champ Dorian Yates had retired in 1997, leaving the throne vacant and up for grabs.

Bodybuilding titans, such as Nasser El Sonbaty, Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Kevin Levrone, and Chris Cormier, were considered the front runner to conquer the 1998 Mr. Olympia trophy. However, it was Coleman who closed the door on his competition and won his maiden Mr. Olympia title.

It wasn’t long after Coleman’s first Olympia win and the release of “Ronnie Coleman: The First Training Video” in 1998 that the “yeah buddy” and “lightweight, baby! ain’t nuthin’ but a peanut” war cries spread like wildfire in gyms across the world.

Even after his first Olympia victory, only a few people could have imagined that Big Ron would hold onto his title for as long as he did. Coleman took the mass monster era to the next level. Blessed with majestic genetics, not only did he outsize his competition, but he also crushed them in the conditioning department.

The GOAT improved his physique with each year. He forced legends like Wheeler, Ray, and Levrone to hang their posing trunks without a Sandow trophy to their names. Coleman had no chinks in his armor, or so we thought.

The Giants Who Toppled the King: 4 Bodybuilders That Beat Coleman After 1998

Coleman is the winningest Mr. Olympia champ of all time, a record he shares with Haney. After Big Ron established his supremacy in the pro bodybuilding circuit after winning his first Sandow trophy in 1998, only four bodybuilders were able to defeat the champ before he retired from the sport.

Here are the four Titans that defeated the Texan:

Gunter Schlierkamp

Contrary to what most people think, Jay Cutler was not the first bodybuilder to beat ‘The King’ while he was at the peak of his dominance. The German bodybuilder Gunter Schlierkamp achieved this feat first in 2002 at the GNC Show of Strength and became the only bodybuilder to defeat Big Ron during his Mr. Olympia reign.

Schlierkamp victory at the infamous 2002 Show of Strength made him one of the two bodybuilders who never won a Mr. Olympia title to beat Coleman after his first O win in 1998.

Coleman had 14 consecutive show wins under his belt before entering the 2002 Show of Strength. On the other end was Schlierkamp, a giant with a striking smile who didn’t have any big show wins to his name.

Joe Weider, also known as the Father of Bodybuilding, took a special liking to Schlierkamp. Weider extended Olympia special invites to Schlierkamp in 1998, 2000, and 2001, meaning he didn’t have to qualify to compete at the biggest show in bodybuilding by winning a pro show.

Schlierkamp had finished 12th at the 2000 Olympia and 15th at the 2001 O. Still; he received a special invite from “The Master Blaster” in 2002. However, things changed quickly for the 32-year-old as he snagged a fifth-place finish at the 2002 O, establishing him in the upper echelons of pro bodybuilding.

Ecstatic with his placing at the 2002 Olympia, Schlierkamp went full throttle for the Show of Strength, which was scheduled three weeks after the 2002 Olympia.

The German bodybuilder brought better upper-body thickness, conditioning, and separation than the police officer and was his main challenger at the show. When the emcee announced Coleman’s name as the second-prize winner, Schlierkamp took a page out of The King’s dairy and celebrated by dropping to the floor.

The 2002 GNC Show of Strength was only the second time when a reigning Mr. Olympia champ had lost outside of the Olympia. The first time around, Sergio Oliva lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 1970 Pro World.

Although Schlierkamp defeated Big Ron in 2002, the eight-time Mr. Olympia champion didn’t take it lying down. He returned to the Metroflex Gym and trained harder than ever to ensure he didn’t have to wear a silver medal again. Thanks to his grit, hard work, and determination, he could hold his Olympia throne for the next three years.

Schlierkamp brought his best package to the 2002 Show of Strength, whereas Coleman was not at his best. The German bodybuilder repeated his 2002 O performance in 2003 but fell to the sixth spot in 2004. His best Olympia finish came in 2005, where he took home fourth place. Schlierkamp retired after placing 10th at the 2006 Olympia.

Jay Cutler

The rivalry between Coleman and Cutler is among the most famous feuds in bodybuilding’s history.

Cutler jumped on Coleman’s tail after he earned a silver medal at the 2001 Olympia, establishing him as the Texan’s biggest competitor. The Las Vegas native had finished eighth at the 2000 Olympia but had significantly improved his size and conditioning to place on the podium the following year.

Now that you know about the Coleman and Schlierkamp story, this will make this part more interesting.

After Cutler finished runner-up in 2001, he felt he needed to add more size and improve his separation and lines to beat the champ. Considering this, he decided to skip the 2002 Olympia, which he now considers his biggest professional mistake.

Why is that, you ask? Coleman didn’t show up at the 2002 Olympia with his trademark size and conditioning. Experts believe Cutler could have knocked out the champ if he had competed at the premiere bodybuilding competition in 2002. A lackluster physique is also the reason why Big Ron succumbed to Schlierkamp at the 2002 Show of Strength.

Although Jay showed up at the 2003 Olympia with an improved physique, the Ronster (as Jay likes to call him) had learned from his mistakes at the 2002 Show of Strength and closed the door on him to secure his sixth consecutive Olympia title.

The contest between Cutler and Big Ron intensified over the next two years as Jay finished second behind The King in 2004 and 2005. The duo’s pose-offs are some of the most memorable in the sport’s history.

Pro bodybuilding is a physically demanding sport, and Coleman had been trying to push his body too far in the size game, so much so that he had to compromise on his physique symmetry and proportions.

After four runner-up finishes behind Coleman, Jay finally broke through his defenses and ended The King’s eight-year-long reign at the 2006 Olympia. Cutler had outdone himself and established himself as the apex bodybuilder in the sport.

Victor Martinez

Victor Martinez is the second bodybuilder on the list who, although defeated Coleman after his maiden O win in 1998, never won an Olympia title.

With that said, he came dangerously close to winning the Sandow trophy in 2007 but had to contend with a second-place finish behind Cutler.

The “Dominican Dominator” had a decent start to his IFBB (International Federation of BodyBuilders) Pro career and steadily climbed the Olympia ranks. Martinez finished ninth at his maiden Olympia showing in 2004. In his sophomore year at the O, he broke into the top five, a feat only a few have managed to achieve.

The 2006 Olympia was a breakthrough year for the Dominican bodybuilder as he grabbed third place behind Cutler and Coleman. He then established himself as Cutler’s numero-uno challenger by winning the second-biggest bodybuilding show in the sport — the Arnold Classic USA. Winning the 2007 Arnold Classic has also been Martinez’s career highlight.

With momentum behind him, the Dominican bodybuilder stepped onto the 2007 Olympia stage, planning to upset Jay. Although Jay bested Martinez to pick his second consecutive Sandow trophy, Martinez ended up defeating Coleman, who had fallen to fourth place.

After the 2007 Olympia, Martinez’s career trajectory took a turn for the worse. He ruptured his left patellar tendon in Jan. 2018 while performing warm-up lunges, leaving him incapable of defending his Arnold Classic title in 2008. He also had to pull out of the 2008 Olympia due to this injury.

Although Martinez returned to the O stage in 2009, he couldn’t repeat his previous performance and took sixth place. The Dominican Dominator fell two more places at the 2010 Olympia. Martinez got his act together and finished fourth at the 2011 Olympia, improving his prospects of winning the Sandow trophy.

However, Martinez suffered another major setback as he was arrested on returning to the U.S. on Oct. 9, 2011, after winning the Arnold Europe in Madrid, Spain. His permanent resident card had expired and was not renewed because of his criminal record for selling steroids in 2004.

Martinez missed the 2012 Olympia because of his arrest. He competed at the Olympia in 2013 but had to contend with 11th place. The Domnician announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilder shortly after taking ninth place at the 2020 Arnold Classic.

Next Read: 13 Best Bodybuilders Who Didn’t Win the Mr. Olympia Title

Dexter Jackson

Dexter “The Blade” Jackson is considered one of the most consistent pro bodybuilders ever. With 29 pro show wins to his name, Jackson holds the record for the most professional men’s bodybuilding titles. The Blade is also the winningest Arnold Classic champ, having won the title five times (2005, 2006, 2008, 2013, and 2015).

The Blade broke the top five at his fourth Olympia showing in 2002, where he finished fourth. The following year, he snagged a podium finish behind Coleman and Cutler. However, he fell out of the top three in 2004, as the Venezuelan bodybuilder Gustavo Badell replaced him. After taking a break from the Olympia in 2005, Jackson recaptured his fourth spot at the 2006 O.

Jackson broke through the overhead ceiling as he defeated Coleman to grab a bronze medal at the 2007 Olympia. This was, however, just the beginning of his dream run.

After losing his AC title to Martinez in 2007, Jackson regained the second-most prestigious bodybuilding title in 2008. What happened next is the stuff of legends.

Although Cutler had solidified his grip on the Sandow trophy with two consecutive title wins, Jackson had his own plans. Having established himself as Cutler’s biggest challenger with a victory at the 2008 AC, Jackson’s prospects of claiming his first Olympia title were at their highest, especially with Coleman and Martinez out of the picture.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, The Blade showed up at the 2008 Olympia in the best shape of his life, and lo and behold, he uncrowned Cutler to pick his first (and only) Mr. Olympia title. He fell to third place at the 2009 Olympia, while Cutler became the only bodybuilder to regain the Sandow trophy after losing it.

Jackson holds the record for the most Mr. Olympia appearance — 20! If this wasn’t enough, he is also the only bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia and Master’s Olympia titles.

Interestingly, Jackson is only one of four bodybuilders to have won the Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic titles. The other three bodybuilders are Coleman, Cutler, and 2019 Mr. Olympia champion Brandon Curry.

Wrapping Up

Coleman held the Mr. Olympia throne from 1998 to 2006, matching Haney’s record of eight consecutive O title wins. While Cutler ended Big Ron’s Olympia reign, Schlierkamp defeated The King at the height of his powers. Martinez and 2008 Mr. Olympia champ Jackson finished second and third ahead of Coleman at the 2007 Olympia.

Although Coleman retired from competitive bodybuilding after his fourth-place finish at the 2007 Mr. Olympia, he is undoubtedly one of the sport’s most decorated and respected athletes. It’s not uncommon to hear an aspiring bodybuilder scream, “yeah buddy!” as he attempts a PR. If this is not the ultimate homage to a bodybuilder who loved lifting heavy, what is?

Read more: Bodybuilding History | How to Become a Bodybuilder | Mandatory Poses | Natural Bodybuilding | Bodybuilding Judging | Different Bodybuilding Divisions | Olympia History | A to Z Tips for Bodybuilders | Bodybuilding Over Past 100+ Years

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