COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to an event as large as the Arnold Sports Festival, preparation is key.

Especially preparing for medical emergencies. 

“The athletes are constantly training, they're constantly trying to improve themselves and make themselves better. And our athletic training team, sports medicine team and our simulation team are no different,” said OhioHealth system medical director for simulation, Dr. Brad Gable. 

They say "practice makes perfect" and this group of sports medicine doctors is making sure they practice until they get it right.  

“They're constantly working to make themselves better, make sure the athletes are as safe as possible. And so, in order to do that, it all culminates with being able to actually practice what we've been planning for,” said Gable.   

The OhioHealth Arnold Sports Festival medical team and Columbus Fire lead a simulation training at the Columbus convention center to prepare for any medical emergency. 

“Everything from a cardiac event where we need to restart somebody's heart to a head injury, to a spine injury, and then a lot of our orthopedic injuries, whether it's soft tissue or broken bones and bleeding and being able to control that as well,” said Gable. 

Dr. Ben Bring is director of the medical team. He’s worked the Arnold Sports Festival for the last 12 years, and he said some of the most common medical emergencies are bicep and pec ruptures, sprains, strains and lots of neck injuries. He also said that emergencies have changed throughout the years. 

“Every year, we try to come up with new cases, new scenarios, things that we may not have thought of in years past, and always working towards that continuous improvement to try to get better, to better train our team,” said Bring.  

With over 20,000 athletes and hundreds of thousands of spectators, having a plan for any medical emergency is critical.