Skip to main content
Samir Bannout profile photo

1x Mr. Olympia, 1983

Samir Bannout

CountryLebanon
GenderMale
Born1955
Born inLebanon
Social X
StatusRetired

Samir Bannout is a Men's Open Bodybuilding competitor from Lebanon with a competitive record spanning 1979–2011.

About

Samir Bannout is a Lebanese former professional bodybuilder and commentator. Nicknamed 'The Lion of Lebanon', he won the 1983 Mr. Olympia, defeating Mohamed Makkawy and Lee Haney. He is the first Middle Eastern bodybuilder to win a Mr. Olympia title.

Championship record

Where the titles came from

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 Samir Bannout.

Mr. Olympia

11Appearances
1Title
1Top 3

Arnold Classic

4Appearances
0Titles
0Top 3

All contests on record

49Contests
2Wins
5Top 3

Professional results

Every professional contest result on record for Samir Bannout, 49 in all. The table opens on the first 15 and expands in place from there. Nothing sits on a separate page. Won by names the winner of the division Samir Bannout competed in, and shows a dash where that winner cannot be pinned to one person in the database.

YearContestDivisionPlaceWon by
2011 Masters Pro World Men's Open Bodybuilding #11 Dexter Jackson
1996 Olympia - Masters Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Vince Taylor
1994 Grand Prix England Men's Open Bodybuilding #14 Dorian Yates
1994 Grand Prix Germany Men's Open Bodybuilding #13 Dorian Yates
1994 Grand Prix Italy Men's Open Bodybuilding #12 Kevin Levrone
1994 Grand Prix Spain Men's Open Bodybuilding #12 Dorian Yates
1994 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #18 Dorian Yates
1993 Arnold Classic Men's Open Bodybuilding #13 Flex Wheeler
1993 Ironman Pro Invitational Men's Open Bodybuilding #15 Flex Wheeler
1993 San Jose Pro Invitational Men's Open Bodybuilding #10 Vince Taylor
1992 Arnold Classic Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Vince Taylor
1992 Grand Prix Germany Men's Open Bodybuilding #11 Kevin Levrone
1992 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Dorian Yates
1991 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Lee Haney
1990 Arnold Classic Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Mike Ashley
1990 Grand Prix England Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Mohammed Benaziza
1990 Grand Prix Finland Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Mohammed Benaziza
1990 Grand Prix Italy Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Mohammed Benaziza
1990 Houston Pro Championships Men's Open Bodybuilding #3 J J Marsh
1990 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #8 Lee Haney
1990 Pittsburgh Pro Invitational Men's Open Bodybuilding #1 Winner
1989 Arnold Classic Men's Open Bodybuilding #4 Rich Gaspari
1989 Grand Prix Finland Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Lee Labrada
1989 Grand Prix France Men's Open Bodybuilding #8 Gary Strydom
1989 Grand Prix Germany Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Mike Christian
1989 Grand Prix Holland Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Lee Labrada
1989 Grand Prix Spain Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Mike Christian
1989 Grand Prix Spain (2) Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Mike Christian
1989 Grand Prix Sweden Men's Open Bodybuilding #3 Gary Strydom
1989 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #9 Lee Haney
1988 Grand Prix England Men's Open Bodybuilding #10 Lee Labrada
1988 Grand Prix Italy Men's Open Bodybuilding #9 Rich Gaspari
1988 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #8 Lee Haney
1984 Canada Pro Cup Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Albert Beckles
1984 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Lee Haney
1984 World Grand Prix Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Albert Beckles
1983 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #1 Winner
1982 Grand Prix Sweden Men's Open Bodybuilding #2 Mohamed Makkawy
1982 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #4 Chris Dickerson
1981 Grand Prix California Men's Open Bodybuilding #7 Chris Dickerson
1981 Grand Prix New England Men's Open Bodybuilding #6 Albert Beckles
1981 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #9 Franco Columbu
1981 Night of Champions Men's Open Bodybuilding #10 Chris Dickerson
1980 Grand Prix California Men's Open Bodybuilding #4 Chris Dickerson
1980 Grand Prix Pennsylvania Men's Open Bodybuilding #7 Casey Viator
1980 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #15 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1980 Night of Champions Men's Open Bodybuilding #10 Chris Dickerson
1980 Pittsburgh Pro Invitational Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Casey Viator
1979 Canada Pro Cup Men's Open Bodybuilding Unplaced Chris Dickerson

Showing 15 of 49 professional results. Showing all 49 professional results.

Where these results come from. Each contest in the table was recorded from a named source, and for Samir Bannout 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

1979 to 2011 shown · 49 professional results
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1996
2011
Olympia 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Other
Pro Debut
1979
Olympia Debut
1980
First Win
1983
Last Contest
2011

Samir Bannout at the Olympia, year by year

Samir Bannout at the Mr. Olympia: 1 title (1983), first appearance 1980. Unplaced appearances in 1991 and 1992 have no point on the chart. Source: Fitness Volt Bodybuilding Database.
Year Placement Division
1980 15 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1981 9 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1982 4 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1983 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1984 6 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1988 8 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1989 9 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1990 8 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1994 18 Men's Open Bodybuilding

Data updated

Physique benchmark

How Samir Bannout 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.

29.3FFMI
29.8Normalised FFMI
160thOf 316 measured men

The closest Olympia champion on that measure is Franco Columbu, at 29.9.

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 Samir Bannout sits among the athletes we hold measurements for, not among competitors.

Amateur and other shows not counted above

8 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
YearContestDivisionPlace
1990 World Championships Division not recorded (Professional) #2
1985 World Championships Division not recorded (Professional) #1
1979 Best in the World Division not recorded (Amateur) #1
1979 World Amateur Championships Men's Bodybuilding (Light Heavyweight) #1
1978 Mr International Men's Bodybuilding (Middleweight) #2
1977 Mr International Men's Bodybuilding (Middleweight) #2
1976 Universe Men's Bodybuilding (Middleweight) #12
1974 Universe Division not recorded (Medium) #7

In 5 meetings, Lee Haney finished ahead of Samir Bannout 4 times to 1.

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.

Ron Love
14 ahead 5 behind

19 head-to-head meetings

Win rate here is first-place finishes as a share of all 49 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.

High confidence 49 professional results, Well-verified source Updated September 30, 2026 Accurate?

Latest Coverage

View all coverage →