Eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman dominated bodybuilding for nearly a decade. However, during his career, ‘The King’ had a rival who challenged him time after time and finally dethroned him in 2006. That rival was four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. Coleman and Cutler shared one of the longest-running rivalries in bodybuilding history. Many consider it the greatest bodybuilding rivalry of all time. However, Coleman and Cutler were friends, and sometimes they even had their moments on stage.

Earlier, the official Mr. Olympia Instagram page posted an image of the two rivals on stage. However, the rare image didn’t show the bodybuilding icon in the middle of a posedown. Instead, the snapshot captured a fun and heartfelt moment between two competitors. The funny image had bodybuilding fans in splits.

When Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler turned the stage into a playground

While Coleman and Cutler were fierce rivals on the Mr. Olympia stage, they also did guest posings together. Before the dawn of the internet and social media, the only updates fans got from pro bodybuilders were through magazines and guest posing. Months before each Mr. Olympia contest, bodybuilders attended guest posing sessions in their off-season physiques.

The King and ‘The Comeback Kid’ were probably the only rivals who did one guesting after another together. Since they didn’t feel the pressure to compete, the duo sometimes got on with some shenanigans. The image Mr. Olmypia LLC uploaded was from one such guest posing session. In the snapshot, Cutler climbed onto Coleman’s back, and the champion gave him a piggyback rider on stage.

“Caption This? 8x @mrolympiallc @ronniecoleman8 & 4x @mrolympiallc @jaycutler. Brothers of Iron…” read the caption. Bodybuilding fans on Instagram obliged.

Bodybuilding fans left hilarious and positive comments

Fans had varied reactions to the post. However, the most common ones were disbelief and humor. “A picture I never thought existed,” wrote one fan who couldn’t believe the fierce rivals also had fun. Since the Mr. Olympia page asked for captions, fans wrote some hilarious ones. “Ronnie carrying all his competition,” wrote one fan. “When( the) chicken breast is 50% off,” wrote another.

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However, others also left positive comments praising the two champions and the rivalry they shared. “The best contest in the history of bodybuilding!,” wrote classic physique competitor Mateus Shiguearu. “One of my fave bodybuilding photos… just pure happiness!!” IFBB Pro Bikini athlete Phoebe Hagan commented. What did you think of the rare photograph of the two Mr. Olympia winners? Write your thoughts in the comments.

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