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Arnold Schwarzenegger, the seven-time Mr. Olympia Champion, recently shared an Instagram post to share a tribute to his former coach Kurt Marnul. Arnie is often said to be the man who developed the sport of bodybuilding.
In his post, Arnie shared that Marnul was his first bodybuilding idol and the first trainer when he started his fitness journey. He wrote:
"Kurt Marnul, one of my first fitness idols, has passed away, and my thoughts are with his family."
Kurt Marnul, a well-known Austrian bodybuilder, has passed. Marnul was a well-known bodybuilding instructor who served as Arnold Schwarzenegger's first and idol trainer when the actor initially began his bodybuilding career.
On February 9, 2023, Arnold announced Kurt Marnul's demise. Though the post does not specify Marnul's passing date. Schwarzenegger shed light on how he met Marnul and detailed the beginning of their coach-student relationship back in the day. More information on the 93-year-old Austrian legend's cause of death is yet unknown.
Arnie recalled an instance when he first saw Kurt Marnul and how he inspired him to take bodybuilding. In his Instagram caption, Arnie 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."
Arnold Schwarzenegger even said that it was because of people like Marnul that made him so successful:
"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."
Marnul's death marks the end of an era in the bodybuilding profession both domestically and internationally. Even though he is no longer among us, his legacy endures.
Kurt Marnul's incredible bodybuilding journey
In 1952, Kurt Marnul began bodybuilding, and in 1958, he launched his own gym. He participated in the 1961 FIHC Mr. Europe and Mr. Universe competitions. He failed to win either of the contests. However, Marnul persisted and the next year achieved success in competitive bodybuilding. In 1962, 1963 and 1964, he won the title of Austrian National Bodybuilding Champion. Marnul was introduced to Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was a young weightlifting devotee.
Arnold was brought to the 1966 FIHC Mr. Universe competition by Marnul, who coached him. Arnold triumphed in his weight division. He lost out on the overall championship in the competition to American bodybuilder Bob Gajda. In the years that followed, Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to become one of the most prosperous bodybuilders in the history of the sport. Marnul was one of his early fitness heroes, someone he always admired.
