Skip to main content
Franco Columbu profile photo

2x Mr. Olympia, 1976 and 1981

Franco Columbu

CountryItaly
GenderMale
Born1941
DiedAugust 30, 2019, aged 78
StatusRetired

Franco Columbu was a Men's Open Bodybuilding competitor from Italy with a competitive record spanning 1972–1981.

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 contest entered (in the years the Olympia also judged weight classes, one appearance can carry two placings), an Olympia title is the overall win in that division, and Top 3 counts first, second and third together. The last row is every professional contest on record for Franco Columbu.

Mr. Olympia

6Appearances
2Titles
5Top 3

All contests on record

8Contests
4Wins
7Top 3

Professional results

Every professional contest result on record for Franco Columbu, 8 in all. 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 Mr. Olympia Men's Bodybuilding (Lightweight) #1 Winner
1975 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #2 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1974 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #3 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1974 Mr. Olympia Men's Bodybuilding (Lightweight) #1 Winner
1973 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #2 Arnold Schwarzenegger
1972 Mr. Olympia Men's Open Bodybuilding #5 Arnold Schwarzenegger

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.

Every professional season

1972 to 1981 shown · 8 professional results
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1981
Olympia 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Other
Pro Debut
1972
First Win
1974
Last Contest
1981

Franco Columbu at the Olympia, year by year

Franco Columbu at the Mr. Olympia: 2 titles (1976 and 1981), first appearance 1972. In 1974 and 1975 the Olympia also judged weight classes before naming one overall champion; Franco Columbu's lightweight class wins those years count as wins on this page but not as Mr. Olympia titles. Source: Fitness Volt Bodybuilding Database.
Year Placement Division
1972 5 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1973 2 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1974 3 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1975 2 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1976 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding
1981 1 Men's Open Bodybuilding

Data updated

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: 74 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.

Amateur and other shows not counted above

13 results from amateur shows and other contests this archive does not class as professional. Every total on this page covers the professional career only, so these are listed here but never counted, and they have no contest page.

Show the list
YearContestDivisionPlace
1973 Mr International Division not recorded (Professional) #1
1971 Mr World Division not recorded (Short) #1
1970 Mr Europe Division not recorded (Short) #1
1970 Mr Universe Division not recorded (Short) #2
1970 Mr World Division not recorded (Pro Short) #1
1970 Mr World Division not recorded (Short) #1
1969 Mr Europe Division not recorded (Medium) #1
1969 Mr Universe Division not recorded (Short) #1
1969 Mr Universe Division not recorded (Most Muscular) #1
1969 Mr World Division not recorded (Short) #2
1968 Mr Universe Division not recorded (Short) #2
1968 Mr Universe Division not recorded (Most Muscular) #1
1966 Mr Europe (1) Men's Open Bodybuilding #4

In 4 meetings, Arnold Schwarzenegger finished ahead of Franco Columbu 4 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.

Win rate here is first-place finishes as a share of all 8 professional 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.

High confidence 8 professional results, Well-verified source Updated September 30, 2026 Accurate?

Latest Coverage

View all coverage →