Arnold Fitness Classic

Columbus, OH · March 4-6, 2005

Contributing to the article were Suzanne Irwin, Mike Styles & Steve Slaback

The annual Arnold Fitness Weekend celebrated thirty years of fitness and fun for the entire family, March 4-6, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio. The weekend packed central Ohio with competitors of every variety and thrilled downtown Columbus business establishments with more than 115,000 visitors who annually fill 50 hotels, and generated $27.5 million for the city of Columbus.

The weekend’s inspiration and namesake, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, visited the weekend’s 20 competitions. Joining him were many 2004 top Olympians and prior Olympians in the sports of table tennis, fencing, gymnastics, archery, judo, taekwondo, and Olympic weightlifting. Highly recognizable faces at this weekend included film star Wesley Snipes, Scott and Austin Preiss, Jack La Lanne, Kyle Maynard, Franco Columbu, and Lou “The Hulk” Ferrigno.

“We had an incredible line-up of U.S. and international Olympians at the 2005 Arnold Fitness Weekend,” said Columbus resident Jim Lorimer, the weekend’s promoter. “Our guests had the rare opportunity to witness the medal winning talents of many 2004 Olympians.” Among those competing were:

[To read the rest of this article, join USA Table Tennis, and get a free subscription to USATT Magazine!]