The first ever Arnold Classic Wheelchair Competition happened at Columbus Convention Center, Ohio. Ten men entered took the stage for the chance to win a $3,000 prize. The event, started by action star and odd politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 1989 added a wheelchair-bound category in 2016.
Former champion bodybuilder Nick Scott, 34, introduced the contestants. A promising football player and powerlifter, Scott was paralysed in a car crash at age 16. He founded WheelchairBodyBuilding.com in 2005, and he’s been organising competitions ever since.
The competition was won by 44-year-old Harold Kelley, of Grand Prairie, Texas, who was injured in a 2007 car crash after swerving to avoid a deer. Despite wearing a seat belt, he tore his lower spine and was bound to a wheelchair. The father-of-three says bodybuilding has given his life a focus.
Competitors included guys like Johnny Quinn, 38, who survived a motorcycle accident after doctors gave him a 10 percent chance of survival.
