Editing Franco Columbu (section)

==Early life==
Columbu was born on August 7, 1941, in [[Ollolai]] on the island of [[Sardinia]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]]. He was a son of shepherds Maria Grazia Sedda and Antonio Columbu. He said in 1982: "I was always skinny. Until I was 11, I got beat up a lot. Then one day, I started beating people up. Nobody could touch me." He worked as a shepherd while training as a boxer. He won over 30 fights as a boxer before quitting the sport in favor of weightlifting and bodybuilding, stating: "Boxing's too rough on your face and head."<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|url =https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/sports/franco-columbu-dead.html|title =Franco Columbu, Bodybuilder and Schwarzenegger Friend, Dies at 78|first =Daniel E.|last =Slotnik|website =[[The New York Times]]|date =September 2, 2019}}</ref>

Columbu moved to Germany at a young age for work,<ref name="gallura" /> and met [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] in 1965 at a bodybuilding competition in [[Stuttgart]], Germany.<ref name="asyt">{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msf8JMVku7Y&t=1m42s  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Msf8JMVku7Y| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=The 51 Year Bromance: Arnold and Franco |last=Schwarzenegger |first=Arnold |date=October 31, 2016 |website=YouTube |access-date=April 21, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="gmv">{{cite web |url=http://www.gmv.com.au/default.asp?pageid=HOME&template=CONTENT&sid=283 |title=Arnold Schwarzenegger's competitive bodybuilding history 1963-1966 |website=GMV Productions |access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref> Columbu formed a lifelong friendship with Schwarzenegger,<ref name="twsJun11a">{{cite magazine|title=Ahhnold!? |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote=One crowd that Arnold has stayed with for a while are old bodybuilding friends, a faithful circle that includes Franco Columbu, the Sancho Panza of Schwarzenegger's early days, who says Arnold is running for Governor to give something back to the country that has been so good to him. 'He wants to do a big, beneficial thing, more than a movie—like straightening out this problem in California.' |date=August 18, 2003 |url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030818/narnold2.html |access-date=June 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707111558/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030818/narnold2.html |archive-date=July 7, 2011 }}</ref> and was Schwarzenegger's [[best man]] for his marriage to [[Maria Shriver]] in 1986 and godfather to their daughter Christina.<ref name="twsJun11d">{{cite news |title= Maria Owings Shriver Wed To Arnold Schwarzenegger |newspaper= The New York Times |quote= Maria Owings Shriver, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. Sargent Shriver of Washington, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, a son of Aurelia Schwarzenegger of Graz, Austria, and the late Gustav Schwarzenegger, were married yesterday in Hyannis, Mass.&nbsp;... Dr. Franco Columbu served as best man. |date= April 27, 1986 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/27/style/maria-owings-shriver-wed-to-arnold-schwarzenegger.html |access-date= June 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/franco-columbu-dead-bodybuilder-arnold-schwarzenegger-best-friend|title =Franco Columbu dead: Bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger best friend was 78|website =[[Fox News]]|date =September 1, 2019}}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite web|url =https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/01/arnold-schwarzenegger-pays-tribute-to-best-friend-franco-columbu-who-dies-aged-78|title =Arnold Schwarzenegger pays emotional tribute as 'best friend' Franco Columbu dies|first =Michael|last =McGowan|website =[[The Guardian]]|date =September 1, 2019}}</ref> Columbu and Schwarzenegger remained very close friends until Columbu's death, with Schwarzenegger stating in 2016, "He was my favourite training partner four decades ago and he is my favourite training partner today."<ref>{{Citation|title=Franco and Arnold are...<!-- ellipsis in the original --> Still Hungry|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7pOvT9fQ98 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/i7pOvT9fQ98| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=April 25, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>