“Smashed His Trophy to Smithereens”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Detailed the Chaos He Unleashed After His Controversial 1980 Mr. Olympia Victory in His Book

The 1980 Mr. Olympia was held at the iconic Sydney Opera House, and will forever go down in history as it was the last time bodybuilding great Arnold Schwarzenegger competed and subsequently won. However, the story behind his entry into the competition, and the aftermath of his victory, stand out as some of the most interesting yet controversial anecdotes ever to come out of the Olympia competitions to date. From “boos” in the audience to “flying chairs,” it was complete madness in there. The scenes after Schwarzenegger won his 7th and final Mr. Olympia title were completely unprecedented.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won his 6th Olympia title in 1975 and subsequently retired from professional bodybuilding. His comeback at the 1980 competitions did not sit well initially with his then-girlfriend Maria Shriver. But for Schwarzenegger, it was merely a small hiccup as opposed to what he faced from fellow competitors and the audience at the Opera House after his victory. Here’s what it was like:

Despite his comeback victory, the reaction wasn’t as Arnold Schwarzenegger expected

“Only half the two thousand people in the opera house cheered, and for the first time in my life, I heard boos. Right afterward, one of the top five finishers threw around chairs backstage, while another smashed his trophy to smithereens in the parking lot, and yet another announced he was quitting bodybuilding for good,” detailed Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2012 autobiography ‘Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story’.

It was unheard of in the history of Olympia till then. While there may have been instances of ruffled feathers and discontentment with the final results, it had never reached such extremities till then. The polarization ran deep within the audience, and so within the judges. It was the first time that a nonunanimous decision was made in the history of Mr. Olympia.

READ MORE – “He Couldn’t Look Me in the Eye”: Bodybuilding Veteran “Scared” a “Frantic, Hysterical” Arnold Schwarzenegger at 1980 Mr. Olympia

And yet after all of this brouhaha, Schwarzenegger remains the winner. His 7th title then became the highest Olympias won by anyone, until Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman broke it (with 8 titles).

It remains a unique experience in Schwarzenegger’s life

Schwarzenegger won that day, and by a good voting margin of 5-2. He beat his nearest competitor, Chris Dickerson (of the US), and none of that bode well with his fellow competitors. It was a strange experience for the Austrian, who had otherwise till then been an inspiring figure in bodybuilding.

Maria Shriver’s premonition about Schwarzenegger’s loss, akin to Muhammad Ali, may not have come true. But the bodybuilding great sure brought other kinds of troubles after his win. Schwarzenegger eventually moved past that experience. But some of his heated moments that day, especially with that of Mike Mentzer, are still relevant today.

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