Famous Austrian bodybuilder Kurt Marnul has passed away. Marnul was also a renowned bodybuilding coach that is known for being 7-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger’s idol and first trainer when he started his bodybuilding journey back in the day. The Austrian legend was 93 years old and more details about the cause of his death are yet to surface. The news of Marnul’s passing was revealed on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal Instagram account.
Kurt Marnul started bodybuilding in 1952 and opened his own gym by 1958. He competed professionally at the 1961 FIHC Mr. Universe and FIHC Mr. Europe. However, success eluded him in both competitions. However, Marnul kept working and tasted success in competitive bodybuilding the very next year. He became the Austrian National Bodybuilding Champion in 1962, 1963 and 1964. Arnold Schwarzenegger met Marnul during this time as a teenage fan that has just started lifting weights.
Marnul trained Arnold and brought him at the 1966 FIHC Mr. Universe show. Arnold emerged victorious in his weight class. However, he could not win the overall title to American bodybuilder Bob Gajda at the show. Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to become one of the most successful bodybuilders in the history of the sport in the years that followed. However, he always revered Kurt Marnul as one of his first fitness idols.
Happy 90th birthday, Kurt Marnul! You were a mentor to @Schwarzenegger when he got started as The Oak's trainer. We honor you for all you've done for Arnold and for your contributions to the world of bodybuilding! #KurtMarnul pic.twitter.com/RCE8bTQ2xI
— The Arnold Fans (@TheArnoldFans) May 30, 2019
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Arnold Schwarzenegger gives a tribute to Kurt Marnul in an emotional Instagram post
Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the news of Kurt Marnul’s passing in an Instagram post on 9th February 2023. However, the date of Marnul’s passing is not revealed in the post. Schwarzenegger shed light on how he met Marnul and detailed the beginning of their coach-student relationship back in the day. Courtesy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal Instagram account, you can see the post here:
“Kurt Marnul, one of my first fitness idols, has passed away, and my thoughts are with his family.
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.
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,” Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in the caption to his post.
I met Kurt Marnul years ago in Graz @Schwarzenegger pic.twitter.com/JOHgZm37Cn
— Jennifer đź’Ž (@jey1jey11) February 9, 2023
Kurt Marnul’s passing is the end of an Era in not just European but the global bodybuilding industry. Although he is no more, his legacy continues to live on. Fitness Volt offers heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Kurt Marnul.
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