COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Arnold Sports Festival is back in full force at the Columbus Convention Center.
10TV spoke with a men's physique athlete who didn’t let life’s hardships keep him from the big event.
After years of training, Alvaro Pena injured his back.
"He couldn't get out of bed for at least a week," said Vanessa Sara, Pena's posing coach.
On his journey to recovery, his coach, Sergio Fernandez, was murdered. Fernandez introduced him to the sport, and Pena said that he meant the world to him. They even shared the same tattoo that reads, "The Champions never come back because they never leave." Now Fernandez is his motivation on the stage.
Just as athletes have triumphed to get here, event organizers praised their teams for making it all possible.
Brent LaLonde, the Arnold Sports Festival event director, said, "It's a good sign for the city that big events are coming back. The hotels are busy, the restaurants are busy, and the airport is buzzing. "
The festival will host two new events:
- Slap Fighting Championships on Saturday, March 5 from 2-5 p.m. The World's
- Strongest Firefighter on Sunday, March 6 from 2-4 p.m.
For athletes like Pena, the festival is a reminder to never give up on your dreams.
Instead of just giving up, he used that pain and suffering as strength and wanted to prove to Sergio and everyone else what he was capable of, Sara said.
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