Battle at the Blue Bridge

August 19, 2018 | 4:12 am

Updated September 10, 2018 | 10:50 pm

CrossFit competition | Photo courtesy of AP Imagery

Athletes, spectators and vendors turned out for the 2018 Complete Nutrition KY Open Sports Festival & Expo, Battle at the Blue Bridge at the Owensboro Convention Center.

Hosted by Owensboro CrossFit, competitor events included challenging tests of fitness that determined which team would win the Blue Bridge Battle. A strongman and national bodybuilding competition also took place during the event.

Gene Goode with the KY Open approached Jay Lineback, owner of Owensboro CrossFit, to organize the event. In previous years, the expo was held at the Frankfort Convention Center, but it was torn down this past year.

Despite little experience organizing such a large-scale event and lack of time, Jay embraced the opportunity.

“With the help of local gyms, we were able to reach out to some good athletes to compete against each other.  We tested strength, endurance, gymnastic skills, stamina, and explosiveness, everything that makes a well-rounded athlete,” Lineback said.

Photo courtesy of AP Imagery

Crossfit competitors sweat through workouts consisting of muscle-ups, double-unders and box jumps.

Strongman athletes competed to see how much weight they could lift and pull, while the bodybuilding competition displayed chiseled competitors performing various poses that displayed their physiques to judges.

Photo courtesy of AP Imagery

The event brought in athletes from Kentucky, Indiana and a few from Tennessee.

Lineback said, “The goal for this year was to put on an organized, well-rounded event. Judging is done well and everyone is friendly. The goal for next year is to do the same, but to have several athletes from every state that borders Kentucky.”

Also in attendance was Lindy Barber, who competed in the recent CrossFit Games with team CrossFit Mayhem Freedom and is a Reebok sponsored athlete. She is ranked 234 worldwide and her mother is on the board of directors at the Wendell Foster Center.

The Wendell Foster Center sits adjacent to Owensboro CrossFit and the two hope to join forces one day to develop a program to benefit the Wendell Foster residents.

Jesse James Ayers produced several announcements and videos on social media leading up to the Blue Bridge Battle. Jesse spoke about his experience with health and wellness in Owensboro.

“Being at the gym has always been my thing. I’m from the West Coast where living a healthy lifestyle, working out and being active is just a way of life. I moved to Owensboro back in 2010, and there was little to no health and wellness movement. Within the past few years, health and wellness have exploded in this town. There are more gyms, more events, health stores, juice bars popping up and people taking an interest and participating in sports and fitness. It’s becoming a way of life for people in this town.”

If anyone has interest in attending or competing in the 2019 Complete Nutrition KY Open Sports Festival & Expo, follow KY Open Bodybuilding on Facebook for the latest updates.

August 19, 2018 | 4:12 am

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