Topic: News: Red Tape Can Be A Workout At Arnold Sports Festival

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Arnold Sports Festival: Red tape can be a workout for athletes

Overseas entrants often face obstacles reaching ’the Arnold’
By Sherri Williams

A preliminary weigh-in put Finnish powerlifter Sakari Selkainaho a few ounces above weight. It might have been a little water retention from his 12-hour flight.

It's a problem global competitors face after hours of traveling. It's also why Selkainaho, who competes today in the Arnold Sports Festival for the second time, arrived three days early to lose the weight and adjust to the time change.

The hours of travel and working and sweating off the ounces are worth it to compete in Columbus this weekend, said Selkainaho, who weighed in at 166 pounds.

"It is the highest-ranked competition by any standard," said Selkainaho, 43, who has been powerlifting for 30 years. "Everything is top-notch."

The festival has attracted about 100 athletes, including former Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, from 26 countries, including Poland, Australia, China, Georgia and Brazil. That includes a third of the 90 powerlifters.

"We have injected more energy into the international scene," said Mike Sweeney, a judge for the powerlifting competition. "They are very hungry to show what they can do."

For international athletes the toughest part of the competition sometimes is getting to "the Arnold." Before some competitors can pump up, they must push pencils to start a trail of documents to get them here.

The event's namesake, California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a native of Austria. From travel visas to interpreters, the festival's organizers have prepared for international athletes.

The process to bring three Olympic weightlifting medalists for an exhibition started eight months ago, said Randall Strossen, who runs the powerlifting exhibition.

Besides immigration and State Department clearance, some weightlifters had to gain approval from the sport's federation and the Olympic committee in their nations, Strossen said.

"A lot of cooperation is required," he said. "This is international sports diplomacy. It's as complicated and as wonderful as diplomacy is in any other venue."

A 2 a.m. phone call from U.S. officials in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to the festival helped get an athlete from that country into the United States, said Mark Cannella, co-chairman of the Arnold weightlifting championships.

The hurdles don't end once athletes arrive on U.S. soil.

Two years ago, Armenian weightlifter Armen Ghazaryan was questioned by airport officials in Washington, D.C., for nearly two hours, Cannella said.

Airport representatives called Cannella to confirm Ghazaryan's reason for being in the country.

Because of Schwarzenegger's global reputation, participating in his event is as fulfilling as competing in the Olympics to weightlifter George Asanidze, who won a gold medal in Athens.

"Every time I looked on the television I saw this man, a perfect man, a strong man, a good man," said Asanidze, 31, a member of the Georgian parliament.

The travel expenses of international athletes such as Asanidze, who are invited to show off their top-shelf talents but not to compete, are paid by event organizers and athletes competing in top-level contests.

Event organizers sometimes arrange for language interpreters to assist athletes. Three Ohio State University students who speak Chinese will assist weightlifters from China and a Chinese weightlifting champion from Michigan.

Athens Olympic silver-medalist Maosheng Le, a Chinese weightlifter participating in the exhibition, said he is grateful to have been invited.

"It's an honor to be here involved in one of the best competitions in one of the best countries in the world," Le, 28, said through an interpreter. "American people are friendly and hospitable."