“Thought I Was About to Pass Away”: Ronnie Coleman Reveals the Most Difficult Mr. Olympia of His Career

Bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman jointly holds the record for most Mr. Olympia titles with Lee Haney. However, the champion bodybuilder’s streak of winning eight Sandow trophies consecutively nearly broke in 2001. Venturing into the same topic in his latest video, the 60-year-old bodybuilding veteran answered some of his fans’ most burning questions.

A curious fan asked The King, “What was the most hardest Olympia,” of his career? Ronnie Coleman paused for a second after reading the question and confessed that every Olympia he participated in felt like the most difficult one to him. However, he did make a choice, and it was the year he won his fourth title. “The most hardest one was probably 2001,” said Coleman.

“I was thinking about, at the last minute, not entering because the morning of that show I actually thought I was about to pass away,” Ronnie Coleman said in the YouTube video. “At the last minute I was talked out of it by my nutritionist,” added The King. So, what happened to the 2001 Arnold Classic champion on the day of the Olympia contest?

During an interview, the eight-time Mr. Olmypia revealed that he felt terribly sick on the day of the contest. “I was totally dehydrated the day of the show, and I was thinking I was going to die,” the former Texas police officer had once said. So Coleman called his nutritionist Chad Nichols while contemplating his decision to pull out of the contest.

The renowned nutritionist instructed him not to visit the hospital. Instead, Nichols told the legendary bodybuilder to drink as much water as he could. Thankfully, The King started feeling better after rehydrating, but the excess weight made him look flat on stage. While the Texas cop won his fourth title, 2001 ended up being a rough year for Coleman.

Ronnie Coleman learned his lesson in 2001

In 2001, Ronnie Coleman made history by winning the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia in the same year. However, it came at a high cost. Besides nearly losing the chance to defend his Olympia title, Coleman suffered an injury weeks before the Arnold Classic. While chatting with reining Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford in 2023, the 60-year-old spoke about his herniated disc.

The King explained that he heard a loud pop in his back while squatting during his Arnold Classic prep. While he finished his workout, the champion bodybuilder had to visit the hospital later that day, and doctors discovered he had suffered a slipped disc. Coleman pushed through the injury, took a short rest before peak week, and won the Arnold Classic. Yet, these two mishaps taught Coleman a valuable lesson.

Ronnie Coleman learned that ignoring an injury and trying to peak twice a year, at almost 300 lbs, was not a good idea. So the 2001 Arnold Classic became his final one, and he went on to win four more Sandows.