Contestants Leap Into Aerobics Finals

In a fight among the fittest, more than 100 competitors have kicked their way through the South Bay this week in hopes of becoming one of the 40 finalists in today’s National Aerobics Championships competition.

Contestants in the three-day event, which culminates at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center at 7:30 tonight, must choreograph a 100-second routine that demonstrates flexibility, strength and artistic abilities.

During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the Internationale Federation Gymnastique adopted aerobics and is hoping it will become an Olympic sport.

Participants in the national contest will compete for a spot in the World Aerobic Championships.

“Everyone knows aerobics from their health club,” said Laurence Cohen, a spokesman for the competition, “but now they can see how you can take that kind of aerobics to the level of a sport.”