Arnold Sports Festival day 1

We are at the moment attending the Arnold Fitness Expo 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. As expected, it is a massive event, with as many as 18.000 athletes from 80 nations attending. They are competing in 70 different sports, amongst them 14 Olympic sports. The number of visitors attending the expo over the tree days is expected to exceed 200 000.

During our first day here we took a stroll amongst the approximately 1000 exhibition booths, had a look at the different products the vendors where offering. We met up with the British Strongman Team and of course Karen had her registration done. In the course of the day whilst soaking up the vibrant atmosphere we got a chance to catch up with some of our international friends in the industry. Exchanging exiting news about what is going on in adaptive sports around the globe. As always when discussing we all get new ideas about how to work together in the global network to make the adaptive athletes thrive and the different sports to grow.

As always representing our motherland Norway in our team gear we wandered the expo and were picked out in the crowd by a team from the local NBC4 TV channel who were reporting from the excitement at the Expo and looking to find some international attendants. When they learned about why we were here and our background for coming to the Arnold, the first Arnold Disabled Strongman Competition they asked for an interview with Karen. This resulted in a teaser in the Ellen Show, and as their headliner in their news program straight after. A great promotion for the Arnold Disabled Strongman Competition, founded by Arnar Màr Jònsson, 4 times the worlds strongest man Magnùs Ver Magnùsson and Toby George. NBC4 Feature 

A bit of jet lag and lot of impressions made us ready to head on back for possibly the best tasting gluten free pizza and chill place to hang out in Columbus,  Massey`s Pizza. Days on the road are always a bit rough when dealing with respiratory issues, the cold weather and city air puts a bit of strain on the airways so proper rest is always key to success. With full bellies we headed on back to our hotel for a very relaxing evening and an early night.