“Strong Like Moose” Freya Moosbrugger Checks off Bucket List Item with Dubai
“It’s like my first week back”, 21-year-old Freya Moosbrugger said, joking about how the Dubai Fitness Championship is a demonstration of her kicking the dust off. The Canadian resident took most of August and September off after her rookie appearance at the 2022 CrossFit Games, and really didn’t expect to be at the biggest throwdown in the UAE.
“I wasn’t anticipating qualifying. I just did a qualifier and I didn’t book anything…I only did the qualifier just to get back into training,” she said. “And then I qualified and I was like, well, why not? I wanted to come. Dubai has always been a bucket list thing, so I’m happy that I qualified in the first place, and I just want to get going and get motivated to train for the next season.”
After feeling like the Rogue Invitational qualifier was too soon after her debut with the Fittest on Earth, Moosbrugger decided the DFC lined up perfectly timing wise. However, not for the schedules of everyone in her support circle.
A close friend of hers, her dad and coach, Michele Letendre, all weren’t able to make the last minute flight arrangements work. So, with three days notice, her mom, a physician, moved her clients around and hopped on a flight across the world to support her daughter on the competition floor.
“I feel 100% supported,” Moosbrugger said. “(Michele) wasn’t able to come because it was a last minute decision for me to come — so it’s totally okay, we’re in constant communication.”
And in addition to her upbeat mother grabbing water, helping carry bags and serving as moral support in a foreign country to the young athlete (the youngest in the field, in fact), Moosbrugger found support in a fellow Canadian competitor: Brent Fikowski.
“Pat (Vellner) put me in touch with Brent because I was traveling here alone before the competition. He kindly invited me to come with him to the gym and I’m grateful to have a friendly face while I’m here,” she explained. “Brent’s been great with offering advice with anything and everything related to CrossFit. He’s super knowledgeable and I respect his level of passion for the sport a lot — it’s inspiring to me.”
Moosbrugger, who has only competed in four live competitions to date, has an infectious positive attitude going into a long weekend in Dubai with a stacked field of athletes. However, channeling the power of her personal hashtag, #StrongLikeMoose, she’s not deterred.
“I think any experience that I can get competing, especially with how little I’ve done, is a good one. No matter the outcome. I’m just going to surrender to the outcome, regardless of what happens,” she said. “I’m just here to get experience and to have some fun.”
She usually trains alone, but “occasionally I can coerce some of my gym friends to jump in on a workout with me.” To continue getting stage practice, she’s gearing up for TYR Wodapalooza in January where she’ll be competing both individually and on a team. Her teammates have not yet been announced at the time of publishing, and she wouldn’t spill the beans — although, she did admit they’re “all Canadian girls.”
For more on the Dubai Fitness Championship and to follow along with the leaderboard, check out our competition page.
Get the Newsletter
For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.
"*" indicates required fields
