“This Too Shall Pass”: Ellie Turner Returns to the Games
Already a two-time CrossFit Games athlete in 2023, Australia’s Ellie Turner traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, confident.
- She was experienced, having improved her leaderboard finishes each year, primed to hit some home runs over the weekend and eke out a top overall position.
On Friday morning during the competition, the athletes headed to North Park for the “Alpaca Redux,” a heavy workout featuring sled pushes, legless rope climbs, and double-kettlebell clean-and-jerks. Midway through the workout, Turner felt immediate, severe back pain that persisted through the next two workouts, “Ski Bag” and “Helena.”
As Friday night came to a close, Turner decided to cut her Games weekend short and medically withdraw from the competition on Saturday morning.
- She was later diagnosed with a bulging disc at L5 and root compression, with a six- to eight-week recovery – truly a best-case scenario, a minor setback in a long career.
But that’s not quite how it went.
Over the next two and a half years, Turner fell into a cycle of rehabbing, recovering, and reinjury.
After multiple heartbreaks, she reached a point where she no longer saw CrossFit as a viable career that would align with her body’s limitations. What mattered most was long-term health, both physically and mentally.
- “I just wanted to get my body to a point where it was capable of functioning again,” Turner told Morning Chalk Up. “So then it was just about approaching every day with that in mind – ‘I’m going to do what I can do that day to make my body feel good.’”
She recognized that her life was worth more than competing in CrossFit, especially if it meant physical limitations, persistent injuries, and mental duress.
- “I got to a point where I was like, this is not who I am as a person. And as I became more accepting of that, and realized that there was so much more to life than this one pursuit, I was able to shift focus,” Turner said.
This shift in perspective also brought about a shift in identity. Turner had uprooted her life to chase a dream. She had relocated to the United States on a temporary visa and was sharing her life with her partner, Justin Medeiros, whose life was also centered on the sport.
- “I really needed to work out who I was and be okay with who I was without CrossFit, because I think that was the biggest thing – just accepting who I am as a person. It took a lot of work to rediscover who I am without CrossFit and be okay with that,” Turner said.
As Turner’s mindset shifted, her body continued to recover, and competing again became a reality.
When we asked Turner if she thought she was a better athlete now, she said yes, taking into account the physical, mental, and emotional strength she has gained. She took time off from CrossFit, came back, and surprisingly (even to her), improved in many components she had set aside for years.
- She attributes this to low expectations, no pressure, and simply enjoying her day-to-day, being able to finally train without pain.
Turner shared that she was able to create a sense of freedom for herself, allowing her to train and move as she wanted, all for the love of the game.
- “There was no longer this negativity or criticism on my end. I used to get so frustrated when things weren’t going well, or I couldn’t do something. Whereas with my injury and the fact that I wasn’t competing, it was like, who cares? I’ll just try again tomorrow,” Turner said.
As Turner re-entered the ring and regained confidence in her body, her sole goal was to return to her home court to compete at Torian. The fact that it was a Semifinal, from which she could qualify for the CrossFit Games, was a secondary consideration. Her end goal was to make it through the weekend at Pat Rafter Arena, happy and healthy.
But in the end, she took second, earning her a spot on the 2026 Games roster. As thrilling as that was, it was just a bonus.
- “I had no expectations for Torian, and I just wanted to have fun and enjoy it. And now that I’ve proved to myself that I can compete with the best again. And I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not done yet. I really enjoyed that – I enjoyed it so much that I don’t want to be done yet,” Turner said.
Turner’s boyfriend, training partner, and best friend, Justin Medeiros, shared with us that while so many people have been part of her journey to recovery, nobody has quite witnessed it like he has.
- “There were so many days where I could see that she wanted to give up, and I would have to be that positive voice in her ear being like, ‘No, like you got this. I believe in you.’ Over those three years, in my heart of hearts, I always believed that she could do it, but at the same time, I saw how hard the journey was on her,” Medeiros told Morning Chalk Up.
While Medeiros knew she was capable of competing again, he told us he struggled with doubts as well, wondering whether he was pushing her too hard or giving her false hope.
- “And that was definitely a battle that I had for myself, even though I knew she could do it. And then just to see it all come to fruition, that was just like an overwhelming sense of emotion to see it come together,” Medeiros said.
Turner told us that when she was in the thick of her injury, she longed to feel exhausted after a full day of training. These last few weeks, as she and Medeiros have been racking up long sessions to prepare for the Games, she is filled with gratitude for a functioning body.
As she prepares for her fourth Games appearance, Turner isn’t chasing the version of herself who once measured every workout against a leaderboard. She’s chasing something steadier – a career and a life, built on the kind of health that can sustain a season rather than end one.
That doesn’t mean the ambition is gone. If anything, two and a half years of rehab, reinjury, and rebuilding gave her a clearer sense of what she’s willing to trade for it and what she isn’t. She’ll compete to win in San Jose, as she always has. But the edge that used to follow her into every workout has been replaced by something better – a willingness to see what her body can do now that it’s finally allowed to just do it.
