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Franco Columbu (born August 7, 1941) is an Italian actor, former bodybuilder and World's Strongest Man competitor. Columbu was born in Ollolai, Sardinia (Italy). Starting out his athletic career as a boxer, Columbu progressed into the sport of Olympic Weightlifting, powerlifting and later bodybuilding, winning the title of Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. At 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height (some magazines reported as short as 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m)), Columbu is shorter than most of his bodybuilding competitors, but that did not prevent him from achieving widespread success. Columbu... MORE

Franco Columbu (born August 7, 1941) is an Italian actor, former bodybuilder and World's Strongest Man competitor. Columbu was born in Ollolai, Sardinia (Italy). Starting out his athletic career as a boxer, Columbu progressed into the sport of Olympic Weightlifting, powerlifting and later bodybuilding, winning the title of Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. At 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height (some magazines reported as short as 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m)), Columbu is shorter than most of his bodybuilding competitors, but that did not prevent him from achieving widespread success. Columbu competed in the 1977 World's Strongest Man competition and was actually in first place in total points during the competition; a remarkable outing, considering that Franco weighed much less than all his competitors. Then came the refrigerator race, which called for a downhill race in which a heavy, bulky, unwieldy refrigerator is strapped to the racer's back. While actually ahead, Franco stumbled, and was shown on national television collapsing with a grotesquely dislocated leg. This ended his participation in the World's Strongest Man contest (in the end, he finished in fifth place). After a court LESS