Franco Columbu has died!

Author: František Randáček

01.09.2019

7 minut čtení

On Friday, August 30th, not only this world, but also the world of bodybuilding, the world of powerlifting and the world of cinema received a very sad news: the legend of the so-called golden era of bodybuilding, two-time holder of the title Mr.

Franco, who was born on August 7, 1941 in Ollolai, Sardinia (Italy) and was 78 years old, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while swimming in the sea in San Teodoro, in his native Sardinia.
Despite all attempts at resuscitation, which were carried out not only on the spot, but also after being taken to the hospital in Nuoro, Franco lost his fight for life!

Franco started his sporting career as a boxer, then switched to weightlifting, from where his path led to powerlifting, and later ended as a bodybuilder.
It should be noted that he did very well in all these sports! However, judge for yourself in the summary we offer at the end of the article.

In 1965, two prestigious sports competitions were held in Stuttgart, namely the European Powerlifting Championships, which Franco not only participated in but also dominated, and then the European Junior Bodybuilding Championships, in which Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger competed. He also scored a valuable victory here !
It was here that the inseparable friendship of Franco Columbo and Arnold Schwarzenegger was formed!

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu

Franco also decided to try bodybuilding. His first competitive start in this sport was the 1966 European Men's Championships.
Franco came 4th then, with Arnold as the winner.

In 1968, Franco became a domestic champion, and also participated in the NABBA Mr. Universe competition, where he won the title of Most Muscular for his impressive most muscular pose.

Franco Columbu Italian Champion 1968

In 1969 Franco, as well as Arnold, competed in the European Championships, where they both dominated their respective weight classes. Arnold was more successful in the battle for the overall winner.
The same scenario was written at the Mr. Universe IFBB competition.

In 1970 he took part in several prestigious competitions. At the European Championships he scored both the victory in his weight category and the absolute victory. He did equally well at the IFBB Mr. Universe.
Next came the AAU Mr. World pro competition, where Franco dominated his height category, but in the battle for the overall winner he again came up against Arnold, who beat him.
The IFBB Mr. World competition had a similar scenario, where Franco lost to Dave Draper in the battle for the overall winner.
His only defeats in his categories came at the NABBA Mr. Universe, where he was beaten by Chris Dickerson, and at the IFBB Mr. World, where Pierre Vandensteen was the winner.

Ed Corney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu

The year 1971 was marked by two prestigious IFBB competitions, namely Mr. Universe and Mr. World. At both competitions Franco scored both a triumph in his weight class and an overall victory.

A year later, Franco competed in the Mr. Olympia competition, where he finished fifth. Despite this "failure", Franco never forgot this competition.
He had an exhibition performance there, during which he had to pull 330 kilograms off the ground on a deadlift. However, the organizers used the wrong discs, which started to fall off the barbell during the attempt. With huge support from the crowd, Franco performed repetition after repetition until he was left with just the dumbbell in his hand!

In 1973, Franco competed in the Mr. International IFBB competition, where he took the absolute triumph among the pro-resionals.

From the following year he competed exclusively in the Mr. Olympia competition. For the first time, the competition was divided into two weight categories, the Lightweight category, where fighters weighing less than 200 pounds competed, and then the Open category, where everyone else competed.
Franco dominated his lighter weight class in 1974 and 1975, but always lost to his friend Arnold Scwarzenegger in the battle for the overall triumph.

Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger at Mr. Olympia 1974

Ed Corney, Franco Columbu and Albert Beckles at Mr. Olympia 1975

By 1976, Arnold was no longer competing, so Franco fought his way not only to victory in his category, but also to the Mr. Olympia title, beating Ken Waller!

In 1977, Franco competed in the World's Strongest Man competition. He even led the competition on points, despite weighing much less than all of his competitors. The last event of the competition was carrying a refrigerator, which was placed on a structure that the competitors had attached to their backs.
However, Franco tripped and dislocated his knee during his attempt, tearing his knee ligaments, hamstring and calf muscle.
The surgery on his leg lasted 6 hours and the subsequent recovery took a long 3 years.
Doctors even told Franco at the time that he might never walk again. Interestingly, the insurance company with which Franco was insured refused to honor his claim.
After a court settlement, he received a hard to believe $1 million for his injuries !

An unfortunate moment during the 1977 World's Strongest Man competition:

During his convalescence, Franco graduated from the Cleveland Academy of Chiropractic, specializing in the treatment of back disorders and injuries. (He even served as chairman of the California Chiropractic Auditors during Arnold's governorship)

Franco even entered the Guinness Book of World Records during this time, as the man with the strongest lungs!
In fact, he could inflate a rubber thermophore (a heated water bottle) to bursting in 55 seconds ! The judges measured a pressure of 196 kPa, which is about 2 ^kg/cm2!

Inflating a rubber thermophore:

After a successful convalescence, Franco returned to the stage of the Mr. Olympia competition in 1981, which he won, despite the prognosis of the doctors!