The Arnold in Columbus,Ohio. While taken from a rather extreme distance and of mediocre quality, at the request of the Snakedoctor, I have to post a shot of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was enjoying the gymnastics events at his sports festival. We saw him again later at the ballroom dancing venue, but it was very dark there and he was even further away from me so I didn't even attempt a shot. Personally, I'm not real big on celebrity worship, but I have to say, he and his staff do a very good job organizing and running the festival. The city of Columbus certainly benefits from the event.
Apparently Columbus holds a certain place in Arnold's heart because he won his first world body building championship there. The feelings are mutual as the City has erected a statue of Arnold in their downtown.
Tags: The Arnold Columbus Ohio the 25th Annual Arnold Sports Festival and Fitness Expo 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger power lifting body building
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The Arnold in Columbus, Ohio. I went to the 25th Annual Arnold Sports Festival and Fitness Expo 2013 not knowing what to expect, but hoping to get some interesting photographs. We call it simply "The Arnold" after it's famous founder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are 700 exhibit booths representing the leading fitness equipment, sports apparel and nutrition suppliers in the world. More that 18,000 athletes from 80 nations were competing in 45 different events, including contests in 12 Olympic sports.
The place was so packed with fans and spectators that I could hardly move around much of the exhibit and the lighting was generally very poor for photography. Therefore my photo output was extremely limited and disappointing, but I still enjoyed the event.
I am not knowledgeable about the "sports" of body building or power lifting, so I had no idea who Tiny Meeker is when I took this shot. All I knew is he is one very big human which makes me wonder how he got his nickname. It turns out that he holds many power lifting records and was elected to the WABDL (World Association Of Benchers And Deadlifters" Hall of Fame in 2012. Among his records is the highest drug tested bench press at 1047 lbs. He is also the heaviest man ever to bench press more than three times his body weight. In other words, I took a photo of a legend.
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The Arnold in Columbus, Ohio. It's amazing how much a workout signing autographs can bulk you up without hurting the definition. YIKE! Again, I had never heard of Branch Warren prior to taking his picture. It turns out that he won the body building contest at The Arnold in 2011 and 2012. I'll bet you can't figure out why. I chose to post this shot of him even though it doesn't show his face because I think it shows his body better than the others I took.
I want to say he is a little guy, because he is fairly short, but obviously, that doesn't describe him accurately. He seemed to be a nice guy (good thing) as he willingly signed autographs and posed for pictures with his fans.
You owe it to yourself to Google Branch and see pictures of him when he is in show trim. Amazing.
Tags: The Arnold Columbus Ohio Branch Warren Black and white B&W the 25th Annual Arnold Sports Festival and Fitness Expo 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger power lifting body building 2011 and 2012 champion body builder
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The Arnold in Columbus, Ohio. This guy passed me in the crowd a couple of times, but I could never get the shot I wanted of him. This hipshot will have to do.
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The Arnold in Columbus, Ohio. Outside the Expo center floor was a much more open area where you could actually move around. I don't know where they were coming from, but quite a few female body builders passed through holding what looked like trophies. If asked, they all seemed to be very willing to pose for pictdures with their fans. These two kids seemed to get a grin out of the whole thing. So did the old fart in the background.
All the body builders (male and female) we saw seemed to use tanning makeup on every inch of their bodies. I guess it helps bring out the definition they were trying to display, but I found it very unattractive.
Tags: The Arnold Columbus Ohio Female body builders the 25th Annual Arnold Sports Festival and Fitness Expo 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger power lifting body building
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