Mr. Olympia is the world’s most important annual bodybuilding event, there’s no doubt about that.
The discipline has an ever-growing following around the world and brings together the world’s top professionals to compete for a title made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s six consecutive victories between 1970 and 1975
Mr. Olympia 2023 began on Thursday, with the city of Orlando in the United States as the venue.
By Saturday, it had been announced that the American Derek Lunsford is crowned as the new male champion.
How much money does the winner of Mr. Olympia 2023 receive?
More than 20 finalists participated in the Mr. Olympia 2023 competition, with representation from nations such as the United States, Iran, Egypt, United Kingdom, Canada, Slovakia, Italy, Germany, Libya and France.
The Mr. Olympia winner’s cash prize is one of the highest in the world of bodybuilding. In recent years, the winner has received a cash prize of 400,000 dollars.
Compared to other major bodybuilding competitions, such as the Arnold Classic and the Olympia Amateur, the amount of money for the winner is higher.
However, these competitions also offer other prizes and compensation, such as cars and sponsorships.
According to the website Cuanto Ganaria and Las Provincias, it is said that the cash prize for the winner of the Mr. Olympia 2023 is 675,000 dollars, which makes it one of the most lucrative events in the world of bodybuilding.
In addition, sponsorships and advertising deals can also generate a lot of revenue for competitors in the promotion of brands and products.
All the prizes for Mr. Olympia 2022
- Mr. Olympia: 675,000 dollars
- 212 Showdown: 65,000 dollars
- Ms. Olympia: 60,000 dollars
- Fitness Olympia: 60,000 dollars
- Figure Olympia: 60,000 dollars
- Bikini Olympia: 40,000 dollars
- Men’s Physique Showdown: 20,000 dollars
- Women’s Physique Showdown: 20,000 dollars
How has the Mr. Olympia prize money evolved?
In the 1960s it was 1,000 dollars for the champion. Larry Scott was the first to lift the trophy, doing it twice in a row.
Sergio Oliva followed with a hat-trick and Arnold Schwarzenegger won it seven times (six in a row).
In 1990, the amount went from 55,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars. By 2009 it had doubled again, increasing to 250,000, 275,000 and 400,000 during the reign of Phil Health.
Full list of Mr. Olympia winners
The history of Mr. Olympia dates back to 1965 where the winner was the American Larry Scott, it should be noted that although the competition is 58 years old it has not had many champions.
The most winners have been Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman with eight championships, followed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Phill Heath with seven, although the latter did win consecutively.
The Austrian actor made the contest popular, but it was the Americans Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman who took it to the next level. Below is the full list of winners by year and nationality.
- 1965 – Larry Scott
- 1966 – Larry Scott
- 1967 – Sergio Oliva
- 1968 – Sergio Oliva
- 1969 – Sergio Oliva
- 1970 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 1971 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 1972 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 1973 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 1974 – Arnold Schwarzenegger (heavyweight and overall) and Franc Columbu (lightweight)
- 1975 – Arnold Scwarzenegger (heavyweight and overall) and Franc Columbu (lightweight)
- 1976 – Franc Columbu (lightweight and overall) and Ken Waller (heavyweight)
- 1977 – Frank Zane (lightweight and overall) and Robby Robinson (heavyweight)
- 1978 – Frank Zane (lightweight and overall) and Robby Robinson (heavyweight)
- 1979 – Frank Zane (lightweight and overall) and Mike Mentzer (heavyweight)
- 1980 – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 1981 – Franc Columbu
- 1982 – Chris Dickerson
- 1983 – Samir Bannout
- 1984 – Lee Haney
- 1985 – Lee Haney
- 1986 – Lee Haney
- 1987 – Lee Haney
- 1988 – Lee Haney
- 1989 – Lee Haney
- 1990 – Lee Haney
- 1991 – Lee Haney
- 1992 – Dorian Yates
- 1993 – Dorian Yates
- 1994 – Dorian Yates
- 1995 – Dorian Yates
- 1996 – Dorian Yates
- 1997 – Dorian Yates
- 1998 – Ronnie Coleman
- 1999- Ronnie Coleman
- 2000 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2001 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2002 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2003 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2004 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2005 – Ronnie Coleman
- 2006 – Jay Cutler
- 2007 – Jay Cutler
- 2008 – Dexter Jackson
- 2009 – Jay Cutler
- 2010 – Jay Cutler
- 2011 – Phil Heath
- 2012 – Phil Heath
- 2013 – Phil Heath
- 2014 – Phil Heath
- 2015 – Phil Heath
- 2016 – Phil Heath
- 2017 – Phil Heath
- 2018 – Shawn Roden
- 2019 – Brandon Curry
- 2020 – Mamdouh Elssbiay
- 2021 – Mamdouh Elssbiay
- 2022 – Hadi Choopan
- 2023 – Derek Lunsford