Jim Lorimer, Arnold Sports Festival co-founder dies at 96.
The bodybuilding world, has been lucky to have a few men dedicate their lives to the sport we love so much.
One of the men that stands out is Jim Lormier, who sadly passed away at 96 on 24 November 2022.
Jim Lorimer was not a bodybuilder, but his involvement with bodybuilding changed the sport forever.
Lorimer was a football star in high school. He served in the Navy in World War II. He joined the FBI out of college. He worked for decades for Nationwide Insurance. He was/is still the mayor of his hometown, but his great talent is as a promoter.
He watched the USSR beat the USA in an Olympic-style dual meet in 1959. The defeat spurred him to organize an Olympic prep course for teen girls that changed the way the U.S. prepares for Olympiads. In 1970, after revolutionizing women’s sports in America, Lorimer made a call to a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger. This conversation would eventually change the face of bodybuilding forever.
Along with Arnold, Jim called some of the best bodybuilders at the time to compete at the World Weightlifting Championships he was organizing. Jim decided to include bodybuilding to make the event more exciting.
Arnold was a 4x Mr Universe at the time, but he lost the Mr Olympia to Sergio Oliva the year before. Arnold told Jim that he couldn’t compete in his show because he was competing in London at the NABBA Mr Universe that weekend. Even though Arnold had very close ties with the Weiders, he was very loyal to the NABBA Federation, that at the time, had some of the most prestigious bodybuilding events in the world.
Jim arranged to fly Arnold to Columbus, Ohio the day after he competed in the Mr Universe by having a private jet fly Arnold (along with Franco Columbu, Dave Draper and Boyer Coe) from New York to Columbus after they flew in from London.
Arnold competed in the Mr World in Columbus one day after winning the Mr Universe in London. Arnold went on to win the contest, defeating Sergio for the first time just a year after he was defeated at the Mr. Olympia.
The contest had great coverage as it was broadcast on ABC TV’s Wide World of Sports, providing Arnold great exposure. Immediately after the event came to an end, Arnold spoke to Jim Lorimer and told him how impressed he was with his promotional skills and professionalism. Arnold then promised Jim that when he retires, he wanted to team up with him to promote bodybuilding events.
Five years later, Arnold kept his promise, and after he won his sixth consecutive Mr Olympia title in South Africa, he traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to discuss with Jim the possible promotion of the Mr Olympia the following year.
In 1976, Arnold and Jim Lorimer went on to organize the Mr. Olympia, changing the sport of bodybuilding by bringing a whole new level of professionalism to the event.
Arnold and Jim, upgraded every aspect to the event, from the stage to promotion, no stone was left unturned. Arnold and Jim raised the prize money for the competitors and opened up the prejudging to the fans.
Arnold and Jim continued promoting professional bodybuilding competitions in Columbus, Ohio for the next five decades. In 1989, both Jim and Arnold created the Arnold Classic, an event that would expand worldwide, catering to thousands of athletes and entertaining fans with their incredible expos.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tribute to Jim Lorimer
Jim Lorimer will live forever through the millions of people he inspired to join our fitness crusade and tune into this little niche sport called bodybuilding.
I am devastated that I won’t sit with him again and hear his wisdom, or critique bodybuilders together, or just laugh and laugh. My thoughts are with Bob, Kathy, Jeff, and the whole Lorimer family, but I also know that Jim isn’t gone.
Jim lives on in every member of his family, and he lives on in me. He’s one reason I would never call myself self-made. When I met him 52 years ago at the Mr. World bodybuilding championship he organized so fantastically in Columbus, Ohio, I immediately knew Jim would be a big part of my life. I told him when I retired from competing, we would be partners and promote bodybuilding together.
Starting in 1976, we did just that with a handshake agreement for more than 50 years, expanding from a small bodybuilding show to a sports festival with 200,000 visitors and more athletes than the Olympics, while we branched out from Ohio to inspire people on every continent except Antarctica. When I was appointed the Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by President Bush in 1990, I knew that I needed Jim by my side, and boy, was I right. He helped make the impossible possible with his brilliant legal mind when we worked with all of the federal agencies and hundreds of bureaucrats to organize the Great American Workout on the White House lawn.
Jim also lives on in every single person he inspired to live a healthier life. Some people assume Jim started promoting sports with me – that couldn’t be further from the truth. His sports and fitness crusade started much earlier, when he was lifting up women’s track and field. In the 50’s and 60’s, when promoting women’s sports wasn’t as popular as it is now, Jim was a pioneer. He founded the Ohio Track Club woman’s team, and then he became the chair of the US Olympic Committee for Women’s Sports. In between his jobs as an FBI agent and an executive at Nationwide Insurance, he helped turn around our Olympic team so we could start beating the Russians. He became so legendary for his promotion of sports that he was asked to host the 1970 World Weightlifting Championships.
He decided to host the Mr. World competition to sell more tickets, and the rest is history. To Jim, the Mr. World was just a way to pack the theater, but to me, winning that title changed my life. I beat Sergio Oliva for the first time, and I saw how well Jim treated the athletes and made the commitment then and there to work together to elevate the sport of bodybuilding. It was one of those magical moments, and it was destiny that we met, but it was Jim’s fanatical commitment to sports and fitness that laid the foundation for our fate.
I will miss his wisdom, I will miss his mentorship, I will miss his kind, kind heart. I will miss his sense of humor and his desire to make the world a better place and his friendship. But Jim will always be with me. He helped make me who I am. He’ll always be with all of us.
So while I grieve today, I will also remember how lucky I was – how lucky the world was – to have so much of this wonderful man’s time. This Thanksgiving, I remember Jim Lorimer, and I am so, so grateful he was such a big part of my life.
Thank you, Jim.
We at Evolutionofbodybuilding.net send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jim Lorimer during this difficult time.
Interview by Wayne R. Gallasch
