Ronnie Coleman puts his prime self up against any of today’s bodybuilders.
Ronnie Coleman is known as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. The 8x Olympia champion had no problem racking up victories during his time on stage — but could he do the same damage in today’s era?
Not only does Coleman believe that he would have won today’s Olympia, he believes that it would not have been a challenge.
Coleman professional debut was in 1991 at the IFBB World Amateur Championships and his first win as a professional was at the 1995 Canada Pro Cup. Then after his first place win at the Canada Pro Cup, Coleman’s meteoric rise to fame could not be stopped. He currently holds the record for most wins of the Mr. Olympia title (8 times, tied with Lee Haney) and the most overall wins for any IFBB professional (26 wins).
During his career, Coleman went up against some of the best competitors of all-time. This includes creating a legendary on-stage rivalry with Jay Cutler.
Would Ronnie Coleman Win the Olympia in Today’s Era?
Ronnie Coleman joined Eddie Hall on The Good, The Bad & The Beast podcast for a conversation about his career. It began with how he got into bodybuilding and went into his victories on the biggest stage. Coleman shared a message with today’s bodybuilders in the end but before that, Hall asked how his prime self would fair in today’s game. Coleman spoke fondly of his chances and Hall agreed, joking that he could do “part-time bodybuilding” and still win.
“I’d do amazing. Easily. I don’t think I’d have to train as hard or diet as hard. I’d probably diet five days a week.”
Once Dorian Yates retired and ended his stretch of six consecutive victories, Ronnie Coleman was ready to step up. Flex Wheeler was the favorite to win the title in 1998 but Coleman brought massive improvements to the Olympia stage that year and took his first Olympia title home, beating Wheeler.
Coleman would go onto win the title two more times heading into 2001, which became his best-known victory. Coleman went head-to-head with Cutler and became the first-ever bodybuilder to win the Arnold and Olympia in the same calendar year. That year, Ronnie Coleman came with a complete 247-lb package that highlighted and combined his symmetry, size, separation, muscle density, and conditioning. His details were so great that a magazine had to edit his picture to make him appear smoother because they feared his photographs would be too much for people.
Ronnie Coleman’s legacy continues on today and is still widely considered one of the best careers of all-time. Coleman trains at a high level himself now and believes that his prime years in the gym would lead to him going up against anyone else in history.
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