Franco Columbu
 

We lost one of the greats today. Franco Columbu, two time Mr. Olympia. One of the strongest bodybuilders ever. RIP, Mr. Columbu.

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Sad to hear... one of the early greats. Assume Arnold is raising a glass tonight to his friend..

When I saw his name as the thread title, my first thought was "well, crap." Back in the 70s and 80s when I followed bodybuilding, this was one of the guys I kept an eye on. Sorry to hear he's passed.

One of my favorites at the time. Along with Frank Zane.

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Steve Reeves from those Italian Hercules movies, I think is still alive, another great one. Saw him at my gym, nothing like he used to be, as none of us are.
Reg Park
Bill Pearl
Sergio Oliva

Yep, my top two, though I'd likely put Zane first. Zane was the last champion before the size monsters took the stage, in the same way Rachel McLish and Cory Everson were the last women to win before steroids became common in women's competition.

Columbu and Schwarzenneger, imo, embodied size and aesthetics in a way that Ferrigno didn't, bridging the Zane era.

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Reminds me of this.

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3f...i.jpg?w968h681