Muscles of steel, but skeletons in the closet... Bodybuilder Cibuľa went straight from the European Championships to sit!

He recently fascinated the sporting world when he returned to the competition podium after an eleven-year hiatus and overcoming a personal hell, in great form. Slovakian bodybuilder Adam Cibuľa showed that even after 60 he is not an old man. But now his dark past has caught up with him and the sixty-one-year-old strongman has ended up behind bars.

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like Adam Cibuľa's story had the best possible ending. After eleven long years, the former top European bodybuilder showed up at the European Championships in Spain, where he took a beautiful fifth place in the Masters over 60 category. This achievement was all the more valuable because it was preceded by an extremely dark period in his life. Cibuľa had a history of alcohol abuse, lost his job and the roof over his head and ended up homeless on the streets for eight years.

It was only his former coach, Dusan Ďubek, who helped him out of this imaginary bottom, by organising help through the TV show In the Seventh Heaven. This gave Cibuľa a second chance at life. He started working hard again, got rid of his unhealthy lifestyle and sharpened his incredible form, with which he returned to the sport he loved.

The old sins echoed

But according to the Slovak daily Nový Čas, the sports fairy tale was unexpectedly interrupted by a harsh reality. Adam Cibuľa had to serve his prison sentence on May 19. What put him behind bars was not a fresh misdemeanour from after his big comeback, but shadows from his past, when he lived on the streets and battled his demons.

This is because of an earlier incident in the square in Hnúst, which took place before the bodybuilder's life began to turn around.

"By the judgment of the Rimavska Sobota District Court of 7 April 2025, he was found guilty of committing the offence of disorderly conduct and was given a cumulative sentence of six months' imprisonment."

Nina Uhrovičová, a spokeswoman for the Banská Bystrica Regional Court, confirmed the case to Nový Čas.

The story of the ageless bodybuilder has a bitter aftertaste. Although he was able to rise from the bottom of the bottom by his own will and impress the sports world with his physicality and determination, the debts from the past unfortunately caught up with him at the least opportune moment.