November 11, 1959 -
Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
Mr. Olympia
1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
Lee
“Total-Lee Awesome” Haney’s IFBB Mr. Olympia career comprises a
catalog of superlatives: he won more IFBB Mr. Olympia’s than anyone else (eight:
1984-1991); defeated more bodybuilders than anyone else in IFBB Mr. Olympia
competition (83); traveled more extensively in doing so (all his IFBB Mr.
Olympia wins were in different cities – five in the United States and three in
Europe); and in his last IFBB Mr. Olympia victory (1991, when he handed Dorian
Yates his last defeat) weighed 248 pounds, which up until that time made him the
heaviest winner ever. Besides
mass, Haney possessed flowing lines and an onstage presence that defied anyone
to beat him. After winning the 1979 Teenage Mr. America, Haney became the
National Physique Committee’s first Nationals Overall Champion in 1982, then
went on to win the IFBB World Amateur Championships heavyweight title that same
year. At
age 23, he finished third in his IFBB Mr. Olympia debut in 1983, but took up his
near-decade-long residency of the IFBB Mr. Olympia throne the following year.
Lee lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Shirley and runs his own gym
business. A spiritual man, he has also established Harvest House, a
nonprofit retreat for children of deprived backgrounds.
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