CrossFit Games

Will Moorad’s Comeback Tour

May 4, 2019 by
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Five seasons in an athlete’s CrossFit career can seem like a lifetime, but Will Moorad is hoping it’s the perfect time for a comeback. Moorad, who’s competing this weekend at the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship, has found himself on the competition floor once again after a crazy turn of events nearly ended his career for good.

Back in 2014, Moorad completed his rookie season at the CrossFit Games, finishing a respectable 14th and having qualified out of an ultra-competitive Central East Regional. What looked like the start of legitimate career at the top of the sport quickly became a string of bad beats, and tough breaks.

“Went into kidney failure, I got a biopsy in my kidney, the doctor said I have an autoimmune disorder.”

In 2015, he missed qualifying by two spots despite competing with a broken rib. In 2016, he missed qualifying by one spot – with just five points and three seconds in the final workout separating him from another trip to the Games. In 2017, Moorad went to Wodapalooza in Miami as a tune-up for the season when disaster struck.

“Went into kidney failure, I got a biopsy in my kidney, the doctor said I have an autoimmune disorder,” Moorad revealed between events. “It didn’t cause the kidney failure, just a coincidental finding.”

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The diagnosis meant Moorad’s competitive CrossFit career was over, and in an instant an athlete a few seasons removed from the pinnacle of his sport was working a nine to five in corporate America. Thankfully for Moorad, the pendulum was about to swing back his way.

“I was seeing a doctor, he went back and looked at my path report and was like ‘there’s no evidence of this disease, I don’t think you have it, all your blood work looks amazing, you can go back to your sport if you want,'” said Moorad.

Suddenly Moorad had a second lease on a competitive CrossFit career, but the journey back would take time. In 2018 he did the Open, but missed qualifying for the Central Regional by 8 spots. This year, despite not being able to qualify directly for the Games through the Open, Moorad is taking full advantage of the opportunities to compete that the new system provides.

“I’m gonna do as many sanctioned events as I can to get this experience back,” stated Moorad. “It’s a different intensity out here with these guys who are doing this for a living, so there’s a learning curve to come back to that.”

Moorad finished third at Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge a few weeks ago, and is planning on competing at the Brazil CrossFit Championships later this month, and at the CrossFit French Throwdown in June.

Through two days in Iceland Moorad sits in 6th, ten points out from third, and notched a win in event 4b. Even if his comeback tour in 2019 doesn’t include a stop at the Games in August, the chance to continue competing in the sport he loves is something that won’t go to waste.

“I have a lot healthier perspective, about what all this really means, and it’s an amazing opportunity.”

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