MD Tribute

Jim Lorimer: the Passing of an Icon

By Ron Harris

On Thanksgiving Day of 2022, we lost the man who made the Arnold Classic possible, Jim Lorimer, at the age of 96. Though we in the bodybuilding world know Mr. Lorimer primarily through his partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger in promoting the annual extravaganza since 1989, Jim led a rich life with accomplishments in several highly diverse arenas.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Lorimer was a multisport athlete in high school who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. When he returned, he attended Ursinus College before going on to earn his law degree at Dickinson School of Law. Interestingly, he had written FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover at the age of 13 to inquire as to how to become an agent, and Hoover had advised him to earn a law degree. Jim became a Special Agent for the FBI working in the field of intelligence for several years before moving on to the private sector to work for Nationwide Insurance for a 37-year career in their office of Government Relations, where he served as Vice President. He also founded Nationwide’s Corporate Fitness Center, the first of its kind.

Lorimer was also a key figure in local politics, and for 52 years served as Mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Councilman of Worthington, Ohio for 52 years. Jim was an early Title IX advocate for women’s sports as well. In the 1960s he founded the Ohio Track Club Girls Team that won several National Championships and served as Secretary and Chairman for the U.S. Olympic Committee for Women’s Track & Field and managed the U.S. Team in several international competitions.

Jim entered “our world” in 1967 when he chaired the World Weightlifting Championship in Columbus, which ultimately led to him promoting the 1970 Mr. World contest. For that event, he invited Arnold Schwarzenegger to compete. Arnold was so impressed with Lorimer’s organizational skills that they agreed on a handshake deal to promote bodybuilding events together once Arnold retired from competition. After Arnold did so in 1975 after winning his sixth Mr. Olympia title, Jim and Arnold promoted the 1976 Mr. Olympia in Columbus, and would hold the contest there again in 1981.

In 1989 they debuted what would become their signature event, the Arnold Classic, which eventually grew into a massive sports festival held on five continents. With prestige and prize money that rivaled the Mr. Olympia, Jim and Arnold’s contest gave bodybuilders another elite event to strive for and helped grow the sport to a higher level. The sport of bodybuilding would not be as popular and well-respected as it became without the Arnold Classic, and there never could have been an Arnold Classic without Jim Lorimer, may he rest in peace.

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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