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Longest Career

Athletes with the longest span of professional bodybuilding competition. View methodology.

74 Years
Record holder Jimmy Payne United States Men's Open Bodybuilding

Jimmy Payne has the longest career at 74 years.

  1. 2 Tommy Johnson 68 United States
  2. 1 Jimmy Payne 74 United States
  3. 3 Robert Clark 63 Netherlands

The table lists the top 100 athletes by the span between their first and last recorded contest. Each figure is counted from recorded results rather than entered by hand, so a corrected result moves the order.

Years 100 ranked athletes
Rank Athlete Division Country Years
1 Jimmy Payne Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 74
2 Tommy Johnson Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 68
3 Robert Clark Men's Physique Netherlands 63
4 William Walker Men's Physique United States 63
5 Rafael Olivera Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 53
6 Nelson Martin Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 50
7 Brian Taylor Men's Physique United Kingdom 49
8 Bryan Jones Men's Classic Physique United States 47
9 James Williams (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 47
10 Kenny Hall Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 47
11 Jorge Carrillo Men's Physique Mexico 46
12 Charles Carter Men's Physique United States 46
13 John Hansen Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 46
14 Richard Scott Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 46
15 Gary Czuk Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 46
16 Michael Bell Men's Classic Physique United States 46
17 Mike Christian Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 45
18 Skip Robinson Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 45
19 Patrick Martin Men's Physique United States 45
20 Ken Davis Men's Physique United States 45
21 Greg Grant Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 45
22 Jim Park Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 44
23 Mario Martinez Women's Figure United States 43
24 David Smith (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 43
25 Renato Somenzi Men's Open Bodybuilding Italy 43
26 Dean Tornabene Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 42
27 John Manoogian Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 42
28 Richard Monoson Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 42
29 Ralph Coccio Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 42
30 John Citrone Men's Open Bodybuilding United Kingdom 42
31 Kim Clark Women's Figure United States 42
32 Henry Caulker Men's Open Bodybuilding Canada 42
33 James Youngblood Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 42
34 Leon Brown Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 41
35 Charles Jones Men's Classic Physique United States 41
36 Andreas Cahling Men's Open Bodybuilding Sweden 41
37 Ron Hester Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 41
38 Carlos Lopez Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 41
39 Alfred Scaccia Men's Classic Physique United States 40
40 Ken Jones Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 40
41 Daniel Eckel Men's Classic Physique United States 40
42 Terrell Harmon Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 40
43 Harvey Shapan Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 40
44 Frank Same Men's Physique United States 40
45 Eric Eckenrode Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 40
46 Christine Reed Women's Figure United States 39
47 Clarence Davis Men's Open Bodybuilding Canada 39
48 Tony Pearson Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 39
49 Juan Gomez Men's Physique United States 39
50 Johnny Maldonado Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 39
51 Samir Bannout Men's Open Bodybuilding Lebanon 38
52 Quincy Roberts Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 38
53 Nicole King Women's Figure United States 38
54 David Groce Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 38
55 Jim Morris Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 38
56 Vinny Galanti Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
57 Bill Scarnaty Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
58 David McGee Men's Physique United States 37
59 Walter Podolak Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
60 Tracey Allen Women's Figure United Kingdom 37
61 Anthony Cucchiella Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
62 Samuel Bramblett Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
63 Eddie Robinson (3) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 37
64 Kim Jun Ho Men's Open Bodybuilding Canada 37
65 Randy Watson Men's Classic Physique United States 37
66 Ray Polfliet Men's Open Bodybuilding Netherlands 36
67 Julian Casillas Men's Classic Physique United States 36
68 Paul Baker Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
69 Rusty Jeffers Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
70 Michelle Ivers-Brent Women's Bodybuilding United States 36
71 Laura Davies Women's Physique Canada 36
72 Albert Villasuso Men's Classic Physique United States 36
73 Mark Padilla Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
74 Marlene Harden Women's Figure United States 36
75 Brian Nixon Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
76 James Hampton Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
77 Derik Farnsworth Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 36
78 Elliot Gilchrist Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
79 David Marinelli Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
80 Jocelyn Pelletier Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
81 James Runner Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
82 Mike Ballard Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
83 Leonard Smith Men's Physique United States 35
84 Larry Jackson (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
85 Guy Smith Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
86 Darrem Charles Men's Open Bodybuilding Trinidad and Tobago 35
87 Carmen Brady Women's Bodybuilding United States 35
88 Steve Davis (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
89 Mary Ann Wieckowski Women's Physique United States 35
90 David Brown (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
91 An Nguyen Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 35
92 Louise Johnson Men's Classic Physique Australia 35
93 Paul Woods Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34
94 Chuck Williams (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34
95 Elizabeth Lopez Women's Figure United States 34
96 Sandy Smith Women's Physique United States 34
97 Lee Apperson Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34
98 Bryan Williams Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34
99 Bill Moschelle Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34
100 Ken Passariello Men's Open Bodybuilding United States 34

Longest Career by Division

Men's Open Bodybuilding Men's 212 Bodybuilding Men's Classic Physique Men's Physique Women's Physique Women's Figure Women's Fitness Women's Bikini Women's Wellness Women's Bodybuilding Men's Wheelchair Women's Fit Model

About This List

Athletes with the longest span of professional bodybuilding competition. The leaderboard is counted from the documented contest results in our archive, pro and amateur alike, with no weighting for the size of a show and no hand-typed totals. A long run of regional wins therefore counts the same here as a run of flagship ones, which is why this list and the Olympia and Arnold title lists do not agree with each other.

Click any athlete to open their full career profile, including complete contest history and head-to-head matchups.

What the record shows beyond this list

This page ranks athletes. These six studies run the same archive the other way round, asking what the whole body of results says about how titles are won, at what age, and by whom. Each states its own sample and date range.

Explore More

Most Career Wins All-time leaders in first-place finishes across every recorded contest. Most Olympia Wins The athletes with the most Mr. Olympia titles, counted from verified Olympia results. Every Olympia division awards its own separate trophy, so each has its own board. Across all of them the highest count is 10, by Iris Kyle in Women's Bodybuilding. Most Arnold Classic Titles Athletes with the most flagship Arnold Classic victories, resolved by contest name across the full Arnold history. Most Shows Competed Athletes with the most documented career contest appearances. Highest Win Rate Best win percentage among athletes with at least 5 pro appearances. Most Countries Competed Athletes who have competed in the greatest number of different countries. Tallest Bodybuilders The tallest pro bodybuilders on record, ranked by recorded height. Limited to athletes with a recorded height in our database. Shortest Bodybuilders The shortest pro bodybuilders on record, ranked by recorded height. Limited to athletes with a recorded height in our database. Heaviest Bodybuilders The heaviest pro bodybuilders on record by recorded bodyweight. Limited to athletes with a recorded bodyweight in our database. Youngest Olympia Champions Athletes who won a first Olympia title (any division except the 212) at the youngest age. Limited to champions with a recorded birthdate. Oldest Olympia Champions Athletes who won a first Olympia title (any division except the 212) at the oldest age. Limited to champions with a recorded birthdate. All Top Lists Every all-time bodybuilding leaderboard in one place. Full Rankings Interactive rankings with division and metric filters.

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Source: Fitness Volt Bodybuilding Database - 95,728 recorded results across 17,235 athletes

FITNESSVOLT.COM/BODYBUILDING