Ronnie Coleman's eight-year reign as Mr. Olympia officially ended in 2007. While a rival took his throne on stage, the real reason for his retirement was a silent battle with debilitating pain.

Despite getting his first Pro Card in 1992, Coleman's first Mr. Olympia trophy came in 1998. And from there, he followed it up with seven more wins.

However, in 2006, Coleman was dethroned by Jay Cutler, and while he returned in 2007 to win back his title, he did so with a grim announcement.

He said, “This is it for me at the Olympia, and September 29th will be the last time I step on a Mr. Olympia stage. I want to thank God, my family, my friends, all the great fans who have supported me over the years…. I’ll see you all at the Olympia!”

Unfortunately, that year, “The King” finished 4th. The real reason, however, was brewing in the background. Coleman was facing a terrible battle.

In 2018, during his appearance on RxMuscle, he said, “I stepped away because I was in a whole lot of pain…. In my last Olympia, I was in so much pain. I could just barely stay on stage.”

Throughout his career, he had to face multiple medical emergencies, such as a herniated disc and back surgeries. Even with 13 surgeries, he kept pushing.

Coleman later admitted, “All of the workouts I went through eventually caught up with me. I had serious problems with my back. In fact, I never took a long break to let my body fully recover”.

And that pain hasn't left him entirely. Multiple surgeries have left him unable to fully walk. Coleman even admitted that he might never be able to do so. But is that going to stop him? Not at all.

How Ronnie Coleman headed into 2026

On January 13, 2026, he posted a video on Instagram showing himself doing leg presses with lighter weights.

He captioned the video with, "New Year, New Goals!! This year, my goal is to get back to full strength in the gym after my recent Sepsis and truly focus on getting back on my feet and walking. You can do anything you put your mind to, and I’m dedicated to my recovery this year…Yeah Buddy!!"

Even recently, two days ago, he was seen doing 20 reps of a dumbbell workout for broader shoulders.

Apart from making himself walk again, he is now raising his voice to spread awareness about sepsis and has launched a campaign called Ronnie String Campaign.

You can read more at Bodybuilding Bros!

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar