Arnold Gets His Mr. Universe Trophy for a Second Time

By: Loan Cat

Mr. Universe was a legendary competition for bodybuilders that ran from 1926 to 2000. It was the blueprint for many great competitions such as Mr. Olympia and the Arnold Classic. So it’s no surprise that Schwarzenegger wanted to be reunited with his “lost” Mr. Universe trophy.

In 1969, a 22-year-old Schwarzenegger won the coveted Mr. Universe title for the second year in a row. He brought the trophy home to his mother for safekeeping, as he continued his competition tour.

Almost 50 years later, Arnold got a tip about the trophy during a visit to a local gym in Budapest. The owner put him in touch with a bench press champion named Lorand Berke (seen here with Arnold), who had the trophy!

Schwarzenegger is caught on video with Berke, where he says,

“I won this trophy in 1969, in London, at the Mr. Universe contest. The minute I won the trophy, I gave it to my mother. And she would collect them at home. So, at one point or the other, someone visited her. As she usually did, she was so excited when people visited her, she gave this trophy away. This is how the trophy eventually ended up in his hands [Lorand Berke]. So it’s great, now, to get it back and have a complete trophy assembly and collection of all my victories. Thank you very much!”