Zhabotinksy Arrives at the Arnold
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Two-time Olympic gold medallist Leonid Zhabotinksy arrived in Columbus, Ohio last night, and will be part of a special ceremony honoring Olympic champions in weightlifting tomorrow afternoon.
Welcomed by Arnold Expo weightlifting competition director Megan Tornstrom, along with Mike Ramsey and Randall Strossen, the former Soviet star Leonid Zhabotinksky and his son Ruslan explained how happy they were to be part of the Arnold Expo, and that they were coming as goodwill ambassadors, using the great sport of weightlifting to build bonds between countries, and they hoped mayor Mike Coleman of Columbus would accept their offer to make their home, Zaporozhye, Ukraine, and Columbus, Ohio sister cities.
They also said that they hope that with the support of the International Weightlifting Federation they will be able to host a special superheavyweight competition in their hometown next year.
Zhabotinsky will be honored tomorrow afternoon along with Tommy Kono, Issac Berger and Chuck Vinci, all of whom won Olympic gold medals in weightlifting for the USA when it was a world power in the sport. This ceremony will be in the weightlifting competition hall at the Arnold Expo, so if you are in Columbus, Ohio tomorrow, be sure to come by and see some of the legendary names in the sport.