Posted on 03/03/2005 6:04:00 PM PST by NormsRevenge
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Arnold Schwarzenegger returns this weekend to the bodybuilding contest that bears his name, continuing his embrace of a sport in which steroid use endures from his own days - at a time when talk of doping is a national pastime.
California's governor, who acknowledges taking steroids as a competitor, makes his annual pilgrimage to the Arnold Classic to reconnect with adoring fans of the sport that made him famous, far from a gathering political storm back home.
Instead of politics, the weekend is about athletes and big muscles. But just below the surface, it's also about steroids.
A cavernous hall at Columbus' convention center was being filled Thursday with exhibits including one booth that hawked protein supplements with the taunting slogan "Ban This." Nearby, a pair of attorneys advertised their expertise in steroid law while selling copies of a book called "Legal Muscle."
Schwarzenegger, who is scheduled to arrive Friday, recently said he opposes steroids now and dislikes the eye-popping physiques they produce, but doesn't regret taking them when they were legal. The comment drew criticism from some California Democrats, but he has plenty of defenders here, where attendees say steroids are no more rampant in bodybuilding than other sports.
"In my book, at least he's being honest, he's being upfront," said fitness photographer Amir Marandi, whose booth displayed photos of bikini-clad women flexing their muscles, some reclined and sprinkled with rose petals. "I've got to respect that because politicians lie all the time."
A few yards away, New York lawyer Marc Gann was preparing his booth.
"He's trying to take a responsible approach to all of this and he's being criticized for a community that he was involved in many years ago, at a time when steroids were not criminal," said Gann, who said business has picked up since events in California, where federal officials are prosecuting an alleged steroid distribution ring in the San Francisco Bay area.
At least one bodybuilder in this year's competition has admitted using steroids; another spent time in jail for a steroid-related offense. Last year, federal agents investigating steroids served grand jury subpoenas at the Arnold Classic.
Bodybuilding "by virtually everyone's account is totally saturated, immersed with illegal drug use," said Charles Yesalis, a Pennsylvania State University professor who has written books on steroids. "His standing up there with them I think delivers a very, very inappropriate message."
Schwarzenegger, typically undeterred by critics, remains the weekend's headliner. Fans and critics alike will be waiting to see whether the seven-time Mr. Olympia addresses bodybuilding's worst-kept secret.
Last weekend, Schwarzenegger said in a television interview that he disapproves of "huge monsters on the stage" who have taken steroids. He also defended his own drug use.
"It was a new thing," he told ABC's "This Week" in an interview aired Sunday, "so you can't roll the clock back and say, 'No, I would change my mind,' or anything, because for those days that's what we did."
Those comments amount to "a very unclear message and one that suggests, 'Do as I say, not as I do,'" said California state Sen. Jackie Speier, a Democrat who wrote a bill Schwarzenegger vetoed last year that would have created a list of banned substances for interscholastic sports and barred supplement manufacturers from sponsoring school events.
"I would expect that he would be making much stronger statements than he's made," Speier said.
Schwarzenegger's sojourn allows an escape from politics in California, where Speier and other Democrats are bunkering down for a special election which Schwarzenegger wants to call to pass an agenda that the Legislature will not.
In Columbus, Schwarzenegger plans to watch the women's finals Friday night and he will attend Saturday when the top men's prizes - $100,000 and a Hummer - are handed out.
The annual fitness contest began as a much smaller bodybuilding competition that Schwarzenegger entered, and won, in 1970. He was so impressed with the event he promised organizer Jim Lorimer a partnership after he retired from competing.
He kept his promise, and the first Arnold Classic was held in Columbus in 1989. Since then it has mushroomed into the Arnold Fitness Weekend: this year, 14,000 athletes will compete in 20 different sports. About 100,000 spectators are expected.
"It's where he came from," said spokeswoman Margita Thompson, "and he's proud of it."
CA: Critics say Schwarzenegger sends mixed messages on steroids
I would say that it depends on what he mixed his steroids with
When were steroids actually made illegal?
A lot of guys that were body Builders back in the late 70's used them, from Arnold to Hulk Hogan to a ton of football and probably hockey players. If they were legal when taken, they shouldnt be held to the fire too much I dont think...
now guys like canseco, who still advocates the use of them and readily admits using them, need to be prosecuted.
1991, I believe.
A little history on steroids.
http://www.realbodybuildingsecrets.com/bodybuilding_steroids/history-of-steroids.php
http://www.steroidinformation.com/history.htm
ok so I was 10 or 11 when that happened...
up until that point, it was fair game IMHO. After that though, it's not a good thing. He can't deny that he used them obviously because he has said in the past he did. I doubt he advocates using them now, but he says that he wouldnt be where he is without them. at least hes honest, I guess....
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