Longest time between Mr Olympia titles

The longest time between Mr Olympia titles is 5 years. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austria) won Mr Olympia for the sixth time in 1975 and announced his retirement immediately afterwards. In 1980 he came out of retirement to win again, in Australia. Franco Columbu (Italy) won the first Mr Olympia after Schwarzenegger retired in 1976. After years of injuries, he too made a comeback to win his second title in 1981. In 1980, Arnold was seen training but it was assumed that he was preparing for a new film. When he boarded a flight to Australia (where Mr Olympia was held that year) with the other competitors, they thought he was making a TV documentary. That year he won the Mr Olympia title for the seventh time.

In 1977, Franco injured himself competing in the World's Strongest Man competition. He severely dislocated his leg during the competition and the resulting surgery took six hours to complete. Doctors said he'd never walk again but Franco recovered fully within three years. He returned to Mr Olympia in 1981 to take the crown.