Atlanta police sergeant was on original 'Gladiators'

Arts and Culture

Atlanta Police Sgt. Carolyn Whitmire was on the original 'American Gladiator' TV show in 1992. She says she briefly thought about trying again on the new show.

Atlanta police Sgt. Carolyn Whitmire poses in front of a motivational sign titled "The Warrior," a fitting metaphor for Whitmire's athletic exploits years ago on the first TV incarnation of 'American Gladiators.' The sign is at the Atlanta Police Academy.

Sgt. Carolyn Whitmire works out her shoulders with weights at the Atlanta Police Academy gym. Whitmire still works out regularly 16 years after competing on 'American Gladiators.'

Sgt. Carolyn Whitmire does leg lifts at the Atlanta Police Academy gym. She still has a T-shirt from the show. She said the new version of 'American Gladiators' looks challenging, specifically the events during which competitors are surrounded by water.

Because she's maintained her "physical capabilities," Whitmire says she briefly thought about trying out for the new 'Gladiators,' then decided once was enough.

Whitmire's gym routine includes running, lifting weights and doing pushups. She tore ligaments in her right knee on 'American Gladiators' during an event called the Assault in which contestants had to dodge tennis balls.

Carolyn Whitmire trying out for 'American Gladiators' at the Omni coliseum, near the current site of Philips Arena, in March 1992. In this photo, she's doing the "Powerball" competition.

Whitmire posing under an American Gladiators sign in a Los Angeles-area studio after she was invited to compete on the nationally televised show a couple months after her 1992 tryout in Atlanta.

Whitmire earned five points in this competition, "The Joust," for staying on the perch for 30 seconds against a Gladiator named "Sky."

Carolyn Whitmire signing an autograph for a boy during the Los Angeles competition. "I had so much fun," she said.

Whitmire posing with an American Gladiator named "Storm" during the first week she spent in Los Angeles, practicing for the televised competition.

Whitmire getting taped up by a trainer after cutting two fingers trying to scale a wall during the Los Angeles competition.

Whitmire ran into one of the Gladiators, named "Tower," while she was working out at a Gold's Gym during her free time in Los Angeles.

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Atlanta police Sgt. Carolyn Whitmire poses in front of a motivational sign titled "The Warrior," a fitting metaphor for Whitmire's athletic exploits years ago on the first TV incarnation of 'American Gladiators.' The sign is at the Atlanta Police Academy.

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