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Franco Columbu was a Men's Open Bodybuilding competitor from Italy. Franco Columbu has a verified height of 5'5" (165 cm) and a recorded contest weight of 185 lb (84 kg).

Franco Columbu profile photo

2x Mr. Olympia, 1976–1981

Franco Columbu

CountryItaly
GenderMale
Born1941
DiedAugust 30, 2019, aged 78
StatusRetired
High confidence 21 recorded results, Well-verified source Updated August 14, 2026 Accurate?

Franco Columbu was a Men's Open Bodybuilding competitor from Italy with a competitive record spanning 1966–1981.

Across 21 recorded contest results, Franco Columbu had 13 first-place finishes (a 61.9% win rate), including 4× Olympia titles.

Win rate here is first-place finishes as a share of all 21 recorded contest results. It is published only where a career holds at least five, because below that a single placing moves the figure by twenty points or more.

Franco Columbu, a bodybuilder from Italy, stands 5'5" (165 cm) tall and competed at a contest weight of around 185 lb (84 kg). He was born on August 7, 1941 and died on August 30, 2019, aged 78.

Career Record

Total Results
21
Wins
13
Win Rate
61.9%
Career
1966–1981
Height
5'5" (165 cm)
Weight
185 lb (84 kg)
Lifespan
1941-2019 (aged 78)
Country
Italy
Olympia Titles
4
Verified
Sources
8

Every season on record

1966 to 1981 shown · 21 results on record

Peak Year 1969 (3 wins)

Measured against Franco Columbu’s own seasons, not against the field. See the full peak window →

1966
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1981
Olympia 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Other
Pro Debut
1966
First Win
1968
Peak Year
1969
Olympia Debut
1972
Last Contest
1981
Franco Columbu Olympia Career: 4 title(s) (1974 to 1981). First appeared at the Olympia in 1972 and placed 5. Source: Fitness Volt Bodybuilding Database.
Year Placement Division
1972 5 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1973 2 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1974 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1975 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1976 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1981 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding

Data updated

About

Francesco Maria Columbu was an Italian-American bodybuilder and actor.

Championship record

Where the titles came from

Counted from the same results table below: an appearance is one recorded placing at that series, a title is a first place, and Top 3 counts first, second and third together. The last row is every contest on record for Franco Columbu, amateur shows included.

Mr. Olympia

8Appearances
4Titles
7Top 3

All contests on record

21Contests
13Wins
19Top 3
Physique benchmark

How Franco Columbu measures up

Fat-free mass index turns the height and weight on this profile into one number for how much muscle a frame carries, so a shorter competitor is not flattered by a bodyweight comparison. The normalised figure adjusts it again to a standard height, which is the version worth ranking. Both assume the 6% body fat a competitor steps on stage at, because that is the only condition the recorded weight was taken in.

29.0FFMI
29.9Normalised FFMI
156thOf 316 measured men

The closest Olympia champion on that measure is Samir Bannout, at 29.8.

What this rank is not. This database holds a height and a weight for just 463 athletes, and they are overwhelmingly the ones somebody bothered to measure: 73 of them hold an Olympia title. Almost every competitor on record carries no measurement at all. The pool also mixes every division and era together, from the lightweight women's classes to the open heavyweights, so it ranks size and nothing else. It says where Franco Columbu sits among the athletes we hold measurements for, not among competitors.

All results

Every contest result on record for Franco Columbu, 21 in all. The table opens on the first 15 and expands in place from there. Nothing sits on a separate page. Won by names the winner of the division Franco Columbu competed in, and shows a dash where that winner cannot be pinned to one person in the database.

YearContestDivisionPlaceWon by
1981 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #1 Winner
1976 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #1 Winner
1975 Olympia Other Divisions #1 Winner
1975 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #2 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1974 Olympia Other Divisions #1 Winner
1974 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #3 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1973 Mr International Other Divisions #1 Winner
1973 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #2 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1972 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1971 Mr World Other Divisions #1 Winner
1970 Mr Europe Other Divisions #1 Winner
1970 Mr Universe Other Divisions #2 Chris Dickerson
1970 Mr World Other Divisions #1 Winner
1970 Mr World Other Divisions #1 Winner
1969 Mr Europe Other Divisions #1 Winner
1969 Mr Universe Other Divisions #1 Winner
1969 Mr Universe Other Divisions #1 Winner
1969 Mr World Other Divisions #2 Pierre Vandensteen
1968 Mr Universe Other Divisions #1 Winner
1968 Mr Universe Other Divisions #2 Wilfred Sylvester
1966 Mr Europe (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding #4 Arnold Schwarzenegger

Showing 15 of 21 recorded results. Showing all 21 recorded results.

Where these results come from. Each contest in the table was recorded from a named source, and for Franco Columbu that source is MuscleMemory. Open any contest above and that page names its own source and links to it where the source is still reachable. That archive no longer answers at the addresses we hold, so it is credited by name here and not offered as a link.

In 5 meetings, Arnold Schwarzenegger finished ahead of Franco Columbu 5 times to 0.

Opponents are ranked by how often they shared a stage and how big the stage was, not by reputation. A meeting is one contest where both competed in the same division and both were placed.

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