Samir Bannout ( ar, سمير بنّوت) is a Lebanese retired former IFBB professional

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

Biography

Known as "the Lion of Lebanon", Samir Bannout won the

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

title in 1983. Bannout has appeared on the covers of many fitness and bodybuilding publications, including ''Strength and Health'', ''MuscleMag International'', ''Muscle Digest'', ''Flex'', ''Muscle Training Illustrated'', ''Muscle and Fitness'', ''Muscle Up'', ''IronMan'' and ''Muscular Development'' magazines. Samir Bannout left his native Lebanon and emigrated to America where he first moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He began competing at the amateur level where he rose up the ranks and eventually achieved IFBB pro status by winning his light-heavyweight class at the 1979 IFBB World Amateur Championships. By this time Samir had already relocated to

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. Bannout took 4th place at the 1982 Mr. Olympia contest and returned the following year to take home the title in 1983 winning the contest to become Mr. Olympia 1983. The contest was held in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

that year and the trophy awarded to him is called a "Sandow" for

Eugen Sandow Eugen Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, ; 2 April 1867 – 14 October 1925) was a German bodybuilder and showman from Prussia. Born in Königsberg, Sandow became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy. After a ...

. Bannout weighed 196 lbs. for his win at the contest which made him the last Mr. Olympia to weigh under 200 lbs. His victory ended what is referred to as the "aesthetics" era for the Mr. Olympia contest which had originally started with American Frank Zane winning the title in 1977 and reverted to emphasizing increased mass and size starting with American Lee Haney winning in 1984 for the first time and following up his inaugural victory with 7 additional consecutive wins for a record grand total of 8 titles. The extreme muscular definition that Bannout achieved in his lower back region helped to shape "Lebanon Cedar" when referring the shape made visible during a back pose on the competition stage. After placing 6th at the 1984 Olympia, the IFBB suspended him for three years as punishment for his participation at the World Championship competition of a rival federation, the WABBA. Samir Bannout did not get a top six placing another time at a Mr. Olympia contest despite competing at the event many more times. In 1990 he won his second IFBB pro show, the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Invitational. His professional career lasted 17 years. Samir Bannout has been open about his past use of anabolic steroids: "I have to be quite truthful with you, I have used anabolics, I'm not going to have to deny it, because all the other Mr Olympia contenders, I feel that they are using it, and I only use it to reverse catabolic effect."Bodybuilders Discuss Steroids
/ref> Bannout openly criticizes the IFBB during the years he competed, in that he felt that he had been "robbed" of winning in other events and that there was significant political undertones to selection of winners at the Mr. Olympia. Today Samir Bannout lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

with his wife Randa and his three children Lea, Jesse, Sergio. He was inducted to the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 *Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek * Lee Haney * Rachel Mc ...

in 2002. He was previously married to the sister of fellow IFBB professional Lee Labrada, Lourdes; they had two daughters.

Bodybuilding History

* 1974 Mr. Universe, Medium Class 7th (Youngest contestant) * 1976 Mr. Universe, Middleweight 12th * 1977 Mr. International, Middleweight 2nd * 1978 Mr. International, Middleweight 2nd * 1979 Best in the World, Amateur 1st * 1979 Canada Pro Cup, N/A * 1979 World Amateur Championships, Light Heavyweight 1st * 1980 Grand Prix California 4th * 1980 Grand Prix Pennsylvania 7th * 1980 Night of Champions 10th * 1980 Mr. Olympia 15th * 1980 Pittsburgh Pro Invitational N/A * 1981 Grand Prix California 7th * 1981 Grand Prix New England 6th * 1981 Night of Champions 10th * 1981 Mr. Olympia 9th *1982 Grand Prix Sweden 2nd * 1982 Mr. Olympia 4th *

1983 Mr. Olympia The 1983 Mr. Olympia contest was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held on September 24, 1983, at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany. Results Total prize money awarded was $50,000. Notable ...

1st *1984 Canada Pro Cup 5th * 1984 Mr. Olympia 6th *1984 World Grand Prix 5th *1985 WABBA World Championship 1st *1986 WABBA World Championship 1st *1988 Grand Prix England 10th *1988 Grand Prix Italy 9th * 1988 Mr. Olympia 8th *1989 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic 4th *1989 Grand Prix Finland 6th *1989 Grand Prix France 8th *1989 Grand Prix Germany 5th *1989 Grand Prix Holland 5th *1989 Grand Prix Spain 5th *1989 Grand Prix Spain (2nd) 5th *1989 Grand Prix Sweden 3rd * 1989 Mr. Olympia 9th *1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic 4th *1990 Grand Prix England 6th *1990 Grand Prix Finland 5th *1990 Grand Prix Italy 6th *1990 Houston Pro Invitational 2rd * 1990 Mr. Olympia 8th *1990 Pittsburgh Pro Invitational 1st (Winner) *1990 NABBA World Championships Professional 2nd * 1991 Mr. Olympia 16th *1992 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic N/A *1992 Grand Prix Germany 11th *

1992 Mr. Olympia The 1992 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held on September 12, 1992, at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland. Results The total prize money awarded was $275,000. Notable events * Ronnie Coleman, a ...

16th *1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic 13th *1993 Ironman Pro Invitational 13th *1993 San Jose Pro Invitational 10th *1994 Grand Prix England 14th *1994 Grand Prix Germany 13th *1994 Grand Prix Italy 12th *1994 Grand Prix Spain 12th *

1994 Mr. Olympia The 1994 Mr. Olympia contest was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held on September 10, 1994, at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Results The total prize mo ...

19th *1996 Masters Mr. Olympia 6th *2011 IFBB Pro World Masters Bodybuilding 11th

Distinctions

*The first Middle Eastern bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia. *The only bodybuilder to defeat eight-time Mr. Olympia

Lee Haney Lee Haney (born November 11, 1959) is an American former IFBB professional bodybuilder. Haney shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Ronnie Coleman and is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders to ever grace th ...

in a Mr. Olympia contest. *The only bodybuilder to have won the Mr. Olympia as his first professional bodybuilding title. *The last Mr. Olympia to weigh under 200 lbs.

References

Notes

*Roark, Joe. (December, 2002)
"Factoids - History - Samir Bannout"
Flex

External links

MuscleSport Radio interview with Joe Pietaro, 11/25/08
, colspan = 3 align = center ,

, - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:
Chris Dickerson , width = 40% align = center , First (1983) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by: