Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane met one another shortly after the Austrian came to America. In 1968, Zane also defeated Schwarzenegger at the Mr. Universe contest. However, the rivals turned into friends and the bodybuilders trained with one another in the early 70s. As their friendship grew and Arnold became Mr. Olympia, Zane often went to the Austrian Oak for advice. However, in 1980, Schwarzenegger lied to the then-defending Mr. Olympia.

Despite knowing that Schwarzenegger was “very particular with what he told me.” Zane didn’t suspect the former Mr. Olympia would lie to him. The bodybuilding icon had suffered a horrific accident before the 1980 Mr. Olympia and wasn’t in the best shape. However, Arnie told Zane to compete and defend his title in Australia.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger hid the truth from Frank Zane

In 2022, the 80-year-old sat down for an interview with Lisa Alastuey on her YouTube channel. During the 44-minute interview the three-time, Mr. Olympia talked about his career. While speaking about the 1980 Mr. Olympia, Zane revealed he relied on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s advice. After the seven-time Mr. Olympia told him to compete, he asked why Schwarzenegger was traveling to Australia.

However, the Austrian Oak lied to the defending champion. “I said, ‘are you going there to compete?’ He says ‘no I’m going there to do the color commentary for ABC.’ So I took his word for it.” Zane told the interviewer. However, the Pumping Iron star had lied to Zane about not competing. “He showed up, and he competed.” added Zane.

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A day before the 1980 Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he would make his return. Leading up to the contest, people spotted the former Mr. Olympia training hard in the gym. However, they thought it was for a film. Even today, that year’s Mr. Olympia contest remains among the most controversial editions of the bodybuilding competition.

Arguably the most controversial Mr. Olympia contest in the history of bodybuilding

While the premier bodybuilding contest has had its fair share of controversies, many say the 1980 Mr. Olympia was the most controversial. Many competitors felt blindsided after Schwarzenegger’s last-minute announcement. The IFBB also merged all the weight classes, which was detrimental for the under-200 lbs bodybuilders.

However, fans and experts became outraged when Schwarzenegger won the contest. Many fans and experts said the Austrian Oak was a shadow of his former self and didn’t deserve to win the show. Frank Zane boycotted the contest the following year, and Mike Mentzer retired from bodybuilding on the spot.

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Schwarzenegger was known for playing mind games to give himself a mental edge. Do you think he lied to Zane for the same reason? Write your thoughts in the comments.