Arnold Schwarzenegger is a 7-time Mr. Olympia winner. However, his first six wins came back-to-back from 1970 to 1975, but the seventh win came after a gap of four years in 1980. Did he lose all four Mr. Olympia competitions in between? No, he did not. Instead, Arnold retired after the 1975 Olympia and hosted the one the following year. He made an unexpected comeback in 1980 to record his seventh title.

There are several speculations against Arnold for the 1980 victory. Recently, former Mr. Olympia, Samir Bannout, revealed his opinion on the same. What did Samir Bannout have to say about Arnold’s historical comeback victory?

Was Arnold Schwarzenegger not at his best that day?

Arnold Schwarzenegger took a four-year break before coming back into professional competition. However, he might have stopped competing, but he never stopped training hard on his muscles. One can say this because even at 75, he probably never misses his training sessions. Nonetheless, was Arnold training hard enough to win a Mr. Olympia title? Let’s see what the experts recently said about it.

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The 1983 Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout recently said, “I’m not going to tell you bul*sh**, that Arnold deserved to win. On that day I did not vote for Arnold personally. Arnold — I love you but that’s the truth.

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Bannout, while speaking with John Hansen and Nick Trigili for a YouTube video, discussed on the 1980 Mr. Olympia controversy. He added, “It tells you… that something was going on. What you’re telling me now is that it’s more obvious. I’m sorry Arnold… you were good. You’ve always looked good but, on that day, [you weren’t].”

The controversial comeback of Schwarzenegger in the 1980 Mr. Olympia 

Winning Mr. Olympia is one thing, but the controversy didn’t start after Arnold’s win, as his surprise return was the main reason for it. Arnold announced his comeback one day before the competition. Arnold’s wish to run in multiple weight categories, i.e. under and over 200 pounds, became the reason for more annoyance from other bodybuilders.

What Arnold was demanding wasn’t anymore in the criteria since 1979. However, Boyer Coe and Mike Mentzer had a heated argument with Arnold that was later settled by Joe Weider himself. The fellow competitors weren’t happy with the overall decisions and the way the 1980 Olympia was carried out. As a result, Mike Mentzer even stopped competing after that event.

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The 1980 Mr. Olympia is one of the most controversial ones. Many former bodybuilders still question the decision of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s win that year. Samir Bannout and John Hansen did the same. They confessed Arnold is one of the greatest bodybuilders ever but didn’t deserve the 1980 win.