Famous Austrian bodybuilder and coach KURT MARNUL is renowned not for his contest victories, but for being the first trainer of ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. MARNUL started his bodybuilding career in 1952 and opened his private gym in 1958.
He participated in the F.I.H.C. “Mr. Universe” and F.I.H.C. “Mr. Europe” competitions in 1961, but was not successful. However, he went on to become the Austria National Bodybuilding Champion in 1962, 1963, and 1964.
It was MARNUL who brought ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER to the 1966 F.I.H.C. “Mr. Universe” competition held in East Berlin, where ARNOLD won in his category but was defeated in the overall title by American BOB GAJDA (Robert Steven Gajda, also known as “The Darkhorse”).
Arnold Schwarzenegger share the news in a Facebook post.
Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote “I still remember the day in class that my teacher handed me the sports page and asked me to pick a story and write an essay. I saw this guy with glasses bench pressing a record, and I wrote about how someone who looked like a professor from the neck up bench pressed 190 kilos. My class laughed at that line, but my interest in lifting was no joke. When my friends and I met Kurt that summer, he was gracious with us even though we were little teenagers just learning to lift and he was Mr. Austria. He was the leader of our little lifting tribe, inspiring us and giving us a program.”
He added, “People like Kurt are why I won’t call myself a self-made man. In Kurt’s memory, look around and see if there’s anyone you can lift up today. I know you can do it.”
