2 career wins
Mike Mentzer
Mike Mentzer was a Men's Open Bodybuilding competitor from the United States with a competitive record spanning 1979–1980.
About
Michael John Mentzer was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder, businessman, and author. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mentzer started bodybuilding when he was eleven years old. He won several amateur bodybuilding competitions before turning professional in 1979, including the 1976 Mr. America title and the heavyweight division of the 1978 IFBB Mr. Universe.
Championship appearances
Counted from the same results table below: an appearance is one contest entered (in the years the Olympia also judged weight classes, one appearance can carry two placings), an Olympia title is the overall win in that division, and Top 3 counts first, second and third together. The last row is every professional contest on record for Mike Mentzer.
Mr. Olympia
All contests on record
Professional results
Every professional contest result on record for Mike Mentzer, 6 in all. Won by names the winner of the division Mike Mentzer competed in, and shows a dash where that winner cannot be pinned to one person in the database.
| Year | Contest | Division | Place | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Mr. Olympia | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #5 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| 1979 | Canada Pro Cup | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #2 | Chris Dickerson |
| 1979 | Florida Pro Invitational | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #1 | Winner |
| 1979 | Mr. Olympia | Men's Bodybuilding (Heavyweight) | #1 | Winner |
| 1979 | Night of Champions | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #3 | Robby Robinson |
| 1979 | Pittsburgh Pro Invitational | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #2 | Robby Robinson |
Where these results come from. Each contest in the table was recorded from a named source, and for Mike Mentzer that source is MuscleMemory. Open any contest above and that page names its own source and links to it where the source is still reachable. That archive no longer answers at the addresses we hold, so it is credited by name here and not offered as a link.
Every professional season
Peak Year 1979 (2 wins)
Measured against Mike Mentzer’s own seasons, not against the field. See the full peak window →
- Pro Debut
- 1979
- Last Contest
- 1980
Mike Mentzer at the Olympia, year by year
| Year | Placement | Division |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1 | Men's Open Bodybuilding (heavyweight class) |
| 1980 | 5 | Men's Open Bodybuilding |
Data updated
How Mike Mentzer measures up
Fat-free mass index turns the height and weight on this profile into one number for how much muscle a frame carries, so a shorter competitor is not flattered by a bodyweight comparison. The normalised figure adjusts it again to a standard height, which is the version worth ranking. Both assume the 6% body fat a competitor steps on stage at, because that is the only condition the recorded weight was taken in.
The closest Olympia champion on that measure is Lee Haney, at 32.1.
What this rank is not. This database holds a height and a weight for just 463 athletes, and they are overwhelmingly the ones somebody bothered to measure: 74 of them hold an Olympia title. Almost every competitor on record carries no measurement at all. The pool also mixes every division and era together, from the lightweight women's classes to the open heavyweights, so it ranks size and nothing else. It says where Mike Mentzer sits among the athletes we hold measurements for, not among competitors.
Amateur and other shows not counted above
14 results from amateur shows and other contests this archive does not class as professional. Every total on this page covers the professional career only, so these are listed here but never counted, and they have no contest page.
Show the list
| Year | Contest | Division | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | USA vs the World | Men's Bodybuilding (Heavyweight) | #1 |
| 1978 | USA World Qualifier | Men's Bodybuilding (Heavyweight) | #1 |
| 1978 | World Amateur Championships | Men's Bodybuilding (Heavyweight) | #1 |
| 1977 | North American Championships | Men's Bodybuilding (Middleweight) | #1 |
| 1977 | Universe | Men's Bodybuilding (Heavyweight) | #2 |
| 1976 | Mr America | Division not recorded (Medium) | #1 |
| 1976 | Universe | Men's Bodybuilding (Middleweight) | #2 |
| 1975 | Mr America | Division not recorded (Medium) | #3 |
| 1975 | Mr East Coast | Division not recorded (Medium) | #2 |
| 1975 | Mr USA | Division not recorded (Medium) | #2 |
| 1971 | Mr America | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #10 |
| 1971 | Teen Mr America | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #2 |
| 1971 | Teen Mr America | Division not recorded (Most Muscular) | #2 |
| 1970 | Mr Pennsylvania | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #1 |
More Men's Open Bodybuilding athletes Athletes from United States Mike Mentzer peak window
Most-met rivals
Compare any two athletes →In 4 meetings, Mike Mentzer finished ahead of Roy Callendar 4 times to 0.
Opponents are ranked by how often they shared a stage and how big the stage was, not by reputation. A meeting is one contest where both competed in the same division and both were placed.
Win rate here is first-place finishes as a share of all 6 professional contest results. It is published only where a career holds at least five, because below that a single placing moves the figure by twenty points or more.
Latest Coverage
- Dorian Yates Defends Late Mike Mentzer Against Dr. Mike Israetel: “A Bag of Shit That Gets Bigger Is Just a Bigger Bag of Shit”
- Heavy Duty Training Revisited: I Tried Mike Mentzer’s One All-Out Set Approach for 4 Weeks
- The Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty Workout Explained: A Guide to High-Intensity Training for Optimal Muscle Growth
- Jay Cutler Talks Mike Mentzer Quitting After losing to Arnold Schwarzenegger at 1980 Mr. Olympia
- Mike Mentzer Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet
- 21 Bodybuilders Who Died of Heart Attack

