Arnold Fitness Expo 2004
Every year, thousands gather in Columbus, Ohio, for the Arnold Classic and Fitness Weekend. The Arnold Classic features a competition among the world's best professional bodybuilders. Both men and women compete for more than $400,000 in prize money. The fitness weekend showcases international fitness and strength competitions, a world-class fitness expo and continuous entertainment. The 2004 Arnold Classic was the sixteenth year of a show started in 1989 by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer. Both Arnold and Jim are men of great vision, but even they could never have foreseen that what began as a bodybuilding show — although a major one — would have morphed through the years into a ten ring physical fitness circus featuring approximately ten thousand athletes in over 12 sports, a crowd of one hundred thousand people, and a trade show with over six hundred booths promoting everything from supplements to Hummers and everything in between.
The massive crowd at the Arnold.
Held in the huge Columbus Convention Center, the Expo opened on Friday March 5, and continued through Sunday, playing host to contests in arm wrestling, powerlifting, gymnastics, martial arts, fencing, cheerleading, running, military fitness, and, of course, bodybuilding. They joined a list of 18 events, including seven Olympic sports. The Arnold Fitness Weekend now fills all 1 million square feet of the convention center, which was expanded five years ago in part because of the event's growth. The enormous room in which the trade show was set up featured a 48’x 48’ raised stage, flanked on either side by a Jumbotron screen and a state of the art sound system. This stage was the scene of a continuing series of exhibitions and competitions throughout the three days of the Expo, and at any given time — depending on the event — crowds of between one thousand and ten thousand would be watching. One thing the crowd was sure to watch was the Arnold Classic Finals on Saturday Night at Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Jay Cutler took his third straight Arnold Classic title by one point over Chris Cormier. The victory upheld Iron-Jay’s bold promise that he would become the first man in history to claim three consecutive Arnold Classic crowns. In case you’re counting, that’s 3 Hummers, a nice collection of Gold Rolexes and a hefty $300,000 in cash winnings. Iris Kyle took her first major championship by winning the 2004 Ms. International after taking the runner-up spot so many times. In a repeat of last year's decision Jenny Lynn edged out Monica Brant for the Arnold Figure Championship title. To cap off a great evening an emotional Adela Garcia-Friedmansky tumbled her way to victory as she squeaked out a three point victory over Kelly Ryan to take the Fitness Championship winner's trophy.
Once again Europa's booth was a huge hit. Our booth, a 20 x 80 foot space, was a major success and provided plenty of room to check out our products, chat with celebrities or grab a bite of grilled chicken or a smoothie. Sylvester Stallone made a stop by the booth and posed for a few photos and NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Hugh Douglas could be seen throughout the Expo taking refuge in the Europa Booth. Arnold made an appearance at the booth and delighted all of the Sunday Expo attendees. The booth also hosted many bodybuilding and fitness celebrities including Son of the Beach star Roland Kickinger who signed autographs for the fans throughout the weekend. It was great to see all of our customers and friends, and exciting to see several new faces as well. We look forward to the Arnold 2005 March 4-6. We will see you there!
= FlexTime Members Only - © 2005 Europa
Sports Products - November 20, 2009
