Schwarzenegger back in SA

LEGENDARY professional body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to South Africa on Friday, 41 years after winning the Mr Olympia title in the country.

Schwarzenegger is in South Africa for the inaugural Arnold Classic Africa held at Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, between 27-29 May. On the opening day of the three-day health and fitness sports festival, Schwarzenegger recalled fond memories of the time he spent in the country before he was launched into international stardom.

“I’ve been coming to South Africa since 1967 because my idol lived here, the man that inspired me to get into lifting, bodybuilding and fitness, Reg Park,” Schwarzenegger said.

“Since then the sport has grown tremendously so this is why it is so great for me to be back here. I won the Mr Olympia competition here in 1975. We were the first sports competition that insisted to have a mixed audience in the same auditorium and on the stage.”

He said he was delighted to be back in the country of the late former president Nelson Mandela, who Schwarzenegger idolised.

“It is great to be back in South Africa and it is the first time we are hosting it here, and it is going to be exploding, it is going to be huge.”

The African event, held in partnership with the Gauteng provincial government and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), hosts professional and amateur athletes from across South Africa and around the world.

The event hosts 47 sports and events under the same roof and includes a Health and Fitness Trade Expo, with 30 000 people expected to attend the event, including around 10 000 athletes.

The Arnold Classic Africa is one of the most inclusive sports festivals in the world which Schwarzenegger said was one the reasons for its great global success.

For more information on the Arnold Classic Africa visit www.arnoldclassicafrica.com