COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN)--It's one of the largest yearly events in Central Ohio, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to Columbus from over 80 countries, and it begins today.
The annual Arnold Sports Festival continues to offer new events and attractions for competitors and visitors alike. It now offers over 80 sports, with events taking place at both the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Ohio Expo Center through Sunday.
New for 2019 is an event that's part of the "strongman" competition dubbed the "wheel of pain". It's modeled after the contraption featured in the Arnold move "Conan the Barbarian." It's 20-thousand pounds, consists of six wheels filled with sand, and pushes back when it's pushed.
Rogue Fitness designed and constructed the contraption. Competitors have 60-seconds to push it as far as they can. Whoever pushes it farthest wins.
Also, attendees can run a scaled-down version of the "America Ninja Warrior" course, hosted by Columbus-native Michelle Warnky, who competes on the hit show.
"The Arnold" originally began as a bodybuilding competition at the old Veterans Memorial in 1989, and has grown ever since.