Dedicated To Excellence:
Honouring An Icon of Arnold Sports Festival:
Our much respected icon of the iron game promoter Sir Jim Lorimer who was instrumental in creating the Arnold Sports Festival more than four decades ago passed into eternity on Nov 24th aged 96.
As Arnold says Jim Lorimer will live forever through the millions of people he had inspired worldwide to Follow on a Fitness & Sporting lifestyle.
I post below the many tributes and pictures that have been posted online in honour of our respected Lorimer.
From Arnold Schwarzenegger:
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.
Jim Lorimer, one of the most gifted, hard working men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing--and working with-- died on Thanksiving at the age of 96.
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. And 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.
From the City Of Worthington:
The City of Worthington is extremely saddened with the passing of our friend, colleague, and neighbor, Jim Lorimer.
He was the ultimate public servant, dedicating 52 years of his life to the City of Worthington, serving as a City Council member, Mayor and Vice Mayor, before retiring from public service in 2019.
Our hearts go out to his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all his family and friends. Jim had an incredible impact on our community and leaves a lasting legacy.
His contributions to the Worthington community are immeasurable. He impacted countless people, especially the hundreds of young people he has recognized and encouraged so eloquently during City Council meetings over the years for their achievements in sports, academics and other pursuits.
In addition to his public service with the City of Worthington, Jim Lorimer is also well known for his advocacy and passion for health, wellness and sports. He was an early Title IX advocate for equal rights in women’s sports, and founder of the National Champion Ohio Track Club Girls Team. He also served as Secretary and Chair of the U.S. Olympic Committee for Women’s Track and Field and is co-founder of the Arnold Sports Festival with his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, which has grown to be the largest multi-sport event in the world with over 80 sports and events in central Ohio and competitions on five continents around the world.
The James J. Lorimer Fitness Floor at the Worthington Community Center is named in his honor, to express the appreciation of the City of Worthington for his contributions to the Worthington community and lifelong commitment to good health and physical and mental wellbeing.
We are grateful for the tremendous support, knowledge and dedication Jim Lorimer has shown to the people of Worthington.
With these words, he inspires us to work hard and live our best lives:
“You get back from every aspect of life in direct proportion to what you put into it.” – James J. Lorimer
So sorry to hear about the passing of Jim Lorimer today at the age of 96 years old. Jim was such a classy gentleman who accomplished so much in his life and made an incredible impact on the sport of Bodybuilding. Jim promoted the 1967 AAU Mr America in Columbus, Ohio and he did such a great job, he was asked to promote the World Weightlifting Championships three years later. In order to sell more tickets, Jim decided to hold a bodybuilding contest along with the weightlifting event.
He called all the top professional bodybuilders to invite them to compete in his contest. One of those he called was Arnold Schwarzenegger. 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. 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. He won the contest, beating Sergio for the first time. The contest was also broadcast on ABC TV’s Wide World of Sports, providing Arnold his first taste of national media exposure. After the contest was over, Arnold told Jim Lorimer that he was so impressed with his promotional skills and his professionalism that he wanted to promote bodybuilding contests with him when he retired from competition.
Five years later, after Arnold won his sixth consecutive Mr Olympia in South Africa, he stopped off at Columbus, Ohio to ask Jim to start promoting the Mr Olympia the following year. In 1976, Arnold and Jim Lorimer changed the sport of bodybuilding by bringing a whole new level of professionalism to the staging of the competitions. Upgrading the set designs, the lighting and the promotion of the whole event, Arnold and Jim raised the prize money for the competitors and opened up the prejudging to the fans. As someone who was lucky enough to attend the Mr Olympia from 1977-1979, I can attest to the magic and electricity that was a part of each of those competitions. They were the best produced and most exciting competitions ever!
Arnold and Jim continued promoting professional bodybuilding competitions in Columbus, Ohio for the next five decades. In 1989, they created the Arnold Classic, eventually expanding that event into a worldwide sports festival that was bigger in competitors and events than the Olympic Games.
领英推荐
Rest in Peace Mr Lorimer. Your vision, your hard work and your amazing organizational skills helped to make the sport of Bodybuilding what it is today. You changed the sport from a small cult activity to a multimillion dollar worldwide industry. We will never forget your kindness towards others, your intelligent decisions and your impact on the sport.
INDUSTRY ICON JIM LORIMER, RIP
Jim Lorimer, one of the most gifted, hard working men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing--and working with-- died on Thanksiving at the age of 96.
Lorimer may be best known for his partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Mr. Olympia, the Arnold Classic and eventually the Arnold Sports Festival, but this gentleman wore enough hats to fill up a walk-in closet during his life's journey.
Check out this partial lists of achievements: accountant, attorney, founder of the Ohio Track Club's women's team, special agent in the F.B.I,.Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Worthington for 52 years. He and wife Jean, who married in 1949, had three children and four grandchildren.
I had the honor of working with Lorimer and Schwarzenegger for 25 years as emcee of the Arnold Classic (well, to be accurate I did commentary on the Pay-Per-View on two of those shows) and I saw from the inside out what it took to put together the most amazing weekend, year in and year out, in the history of the sport.
I flew into Columbus in October, 2016, to help honor Lorimer on his 90th birthday, an event well organized by son Bob. No surprise--still sharp as a tack, he gave the best speech of the evening, Arnold not withstanding.
I gave him the moniker "The Energizer" years ago for his seemingness boundless energy and creativity. Forget Batman & Robin-- Lorimer and Schwarzenegger, the perfect match if there ever was one.
I was a lucky man to be at the podium when Lorimer was honored with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the Arnold Classic in 2002 and at the IRON MAN PRO in 2005.
We were all lucky to have a man with his vision, values and resolution be such a major part of our world for such a long time.
We'll miss you Jim, gone but never forgotten. RIP.
Digital Muscle Media- NEWS
We extend our sincere Condolences to the Lorimer Family as we mourn the loss of their patriarch, Jim Lorimer today.
Jim was a pioneer in the industry and co-founder of the second longest running bodybuilding Pro-Am show The Arnold Classic and much more to all who knew and loved him.
Jim Lorimer was ?an attorney and former Special Agent of the F.B.I. who has promoted the Arnold Sports Festival since 1989.
Lorimer has promoted a wide range of sports events in Columbu since the 1960s. After service with the F.B.I., Lorimer joined Nationwide Insurance Company in Columbus as Vice President of Government Relations and established that company’s leading corporate fitness program.
Mr. Lorimer has served as Mayor and Vice Mayor of Worthington, Ohio, for the past 52 years.
Lorimer founded the National Championship Ohio Track Club in 1959 and served as Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee for Women’s Athletics during the 1960s. He promoted National Championships in track and field and weightlifting in Columbus – and in 1970 directed the World Weightlifting Championships and Mr. World Contest. Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 1970 event and that developed into a friendship and partnership that has lasted 42 years. When Arnold became Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports – Jim Lorimer served on that Council with him.
The sports promotion partnership between Schwarzenegger and Lorimer began in 1976 when the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest was held in Columbus. The pair promoted events almost annually in Columbus until the creation of the Arnold Classic in 1989. Since then the annual event has grown to be the largest multi-sport event in the world with 80 sports and events, 22,000 athletes from 80 nations and 220,000 attendees. In 2019, the Arnold Sports Festival will be presented on five continents – Columbus, Ohio; Melbourne Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Johannesburg, South America; and Barcelona, Spain.
Arnold Sports Festival
Mr. Olympia LLC
What a shock it was to open up my facebook page to see that legendary fitness promoter Jim Lorimer has just passed away at the age of 96.
I confess, that I am very saddened as memories of Jim come flooding back. It was 1979 when I first met him at the Mr. Olympia and IFBB World Championships. Over the years I got to know Jim as I excitedly journeyed to Columbus every year to cover the Arnold Classic. Very few people in the Fitness world can hold a candle to Jim's integrity, honesty, intellect and ability to generate respect and admiration.
It is rare that you meet someone like Jim, who immediately puts you at ease, making you feel like you have known him your entire life.
I will always remember how Jim each year, would stand and politely instruct the athletes as to what is expected of them during the competition. His love and respect for the athletes was obvious.
As the years passed, and the Arnold weekend grew and grew to the point of hosting thousands of athletes becoming the Arnold Sports Festival, the only thing that didn't grow was Jim's head, as he remained the same down to earth person that I met 43 years ago.
I am so grateful to Jim for his years of friendship and providing me with the opportunity to cover his historic event for so many years.
But more importantly, he taught me to always treat others like you would like to be treated.
My condolences to Bob and all his family and friends.