2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson shared a post on Instagram where he discussed his 2019 Olympia placing (4th) and how he hopes to improve on that placing next year. So the competitor with the most pro wins in IFBB Pro League history has committed to the 2020 contest. The significance behind that statement is that should he make it to that competition, it will be at 50 years of age.
Jackson shared his excitement for his plans in the post that featured a photo apparently before he competed in Las Vegas. “I’m so motivated to beat this physique from this past Olympia. My lifetime goal has always been to be better than my previous competition. I worked my ass off this year to achieve this physique… so I can only imagine the hard work I gotta put in next year to be better. I’ll be the big 50 next week so my age ain’t helping.”
History of “The Blade”
Jackson made his pro debut in the 1999 Arnold Classic where he placed 7th. He made his debut on the Mr. Olympia stage that same year and placed 9th in that contest. To put that into perspective, the late Nasser El Sonbaty won the Arnold Classic and Ronnie Coleman won the Olympia that year. It would be the second of Coleman’s eight titles. As a matter of fact, every competitor in those contests are now retired except Jackson.
He won the first of his record 29 contests at the 2002 Grand Prix England contest. He upset Jay Cutler at the 2003 Show of Strength which was the biggest win to that point of his career. He scored his first major title by taking the 2005 Arnold Classic. To date, Jackson has won that title five times which is the most of anyone in the contest’s 30 plus year history.
His most famous victory came at the expense of Cutler for the second time when he won the Mr. Olympia in 2008, becoming the 12th man in history to win bodybuilding’s ultimate title. The only competitors in that contest who are still active are Jackson, Phil Heath, Silvio Samuel, and David Henry.
He would lose the title back to Cutler the next year and many fans and experts felt that Jackson was on the decline at that point. However, he joined forces with trainer Charles Glass and nutritionist George Farah and rebounded to win the Masters Olympia in 2012 and the Arnold Classic in 2013.
The closest he had come to winning the Olympia was in 2015 where he finished second to Phil Heath. He has managed to stay in the Top 6 of the Olympia every year until 2018 where he finished 7th.
Jackson rebounded again off of that defeat to win the Tampa Pro show this past August which was his 29th career victory The next month, he finished 4th at the Olympia. Since he placed in the Top 5, he is automatically qualified for the 2020 contest. So should he compete to win another show, it would because he chooses to seek his 30th career victory which is a goal for him.
Olympia Competitors Over 50
Jackson actually would not be the first over 50 bodybuilder to compete at the Olympia. Kevin Levrone competed in the 2016 contest at the age of 52. Before that, Albert Beckles competed in the 1985 Olympia and placed second to champion Lee Haney at the age of 55. Jackson would have to compete until 2026 if he were to break that record.
Featured image: @mrolympia08 on Instagram