“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”- John Steinbeck
COMPETITIONS
Masters Athletes Wrap Up Their Season at Legends Championship 2023
The 2023 Legends Championship has concluded after a grueling four days of competition for the top masters athletes in the sport. While there wasn’t a machine in sight for any of the eight workouts, the athletes faced tight time caps and a whole lot of dumbbells. They even had to get into the pool on the first day.
Remind me: The Legends Championship is taking over as the host of the end-of-season event for masters athletes in 2024. CrossFit HQ announced changes to the Games format for next season for both age division athletes and adaptive athletes.
Among these changes is that age division athletes will no longer compete at the Games with elite individuals and teams. They will instead have their own event programmed and hosted by the Legends Championship.
This year’s competition brought together athletes in 30 divisions, including individual, scaled, and teams ranging in age from 35 through 65 and above.
CrossFit introduced the Masters Division at the Games in 2010, offering seven divisions for age group athletes. But by 2022 and 2023, the Games only opened the field to 10 athletes, limiting the hopes of all but the elite athletes from a realistic shot at experiencing a live multi-day CrossFit event.
Joe Linton and Bob Jennings started the Legends in 2017 and have worked to make it bigger year after year. Read more on this here.
Below are the podium winners for the individual 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65+ divisions. Check out the complete leaderboard.
Age Group 35-39
Men
1. Michael Paas
2. Gavin Birkett
3. Ryan Smith
Women
1. Megan Markee
2. Amanda Norton
3. Brittany Simon
Get caught up! Check out our recaps from the Dubai Fitness Championship from Day 1 and Day 2 (women) (men).
Association of Fitness Judges Update: The Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association announced that it welcomed the creation of the AFJ and “appreciate[s] the opportunity to collaborate with judges to advance the sport.”
How to Crush Your Nutrition and Fitness Goals While Covering Media in CrossFit
We all love to follow along with a live CrossFit event, but all that coverage online requires hard work by the countless media pros on the ground. There are early mornings, long days, and minimal downtime, making it even harder for the writers, photographers, and video teams at the events to stick to their own fitness routines.
In this article, we offer some sound advice for media members looking to hit their nutrition and fitness goals while covering live CrossFit events. We couldn’t get the right information without first going to the right people for the job, so we reached out to the following pros in the media for some tips:
Lauren Kalil, BA in Sports Communication and Media, CF-L1, Precision Nutrition Coach
Preslie Hirsch, Media Director for HWPO Training
Richard Bloomer, Filmmaker and Owner of Stata House Films
Carly Walters and Gemma Fox “Compete for a Cure” Together Between Chemotherapy Treatments
Last January, just a month after her 26th birthday, Carly Walters heard the words, “You have cancer.”
The long-time CrossFit athlete who was training five or six times a week and was in the best shape of her life went to a dark place. And when her doctor told her she would have to give up CrossFit, that place got even darker.
A few weeks later, while going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, Walters came across a video put out by Compete for a Cure about a woman named Gemma Fox.
Fox, 43, had the same kind of breast cancer as Walters, and her journey looked very similar. But Fox wasn’t just continuing to train in CrossFit — she was still competing.
Walters reached out to Fox online. At the time, Walters said she was, “ready to stop working out, or at least really, really scale it down.” But Fox convinced her not only was it possible, but it would be helpful for her to continue doing CrossFit through her breast cancer journey.
After that, the two began bouncing ideas off each other and sharing tips and tricks.
“I was really concerned I wasn’t going to be able to use the barbell (because of the port in her chest), and Gemma had had the same concerns and learned she could continue to use the barbell, so I was able to follow in her footsteps…She gave me the courage to try things,” said Walters, a member of CrossFit Unlocked in Georgetown, DE.
“When I would workout in the beginning, I was like, ‘Gemma is doing it and she’s going through chemo.’ And her chemo regimen was more frequent than mine. ‘If she’s doing it, you have to do it,’” Walters said about the inspiration her new friend started giving her.
The two women grew closer and closer in the following months, and their support for each other only strengthened when they found out that, after multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries, they still were not cancer-free.
Stuck on what to gift the CrossFit lover in your life this holiday season? Look no further! Surprise them with gear that elevates every workout. And guess what? You deserve the gift of peak performance too! Treat them (or yourself) to the latest in fitness essentials – from performance-enhancing gear to recovery essentials, we’ve curated the ultimate gift guide to make every workout merry and bright.
This spiced nuts recipe from Nom Nom Paleo is the perfect thing for a holiday party or a host/hostess gift. You’ll love them because they’re spicy, smokey, tangy and crunchy.
The Mouthpiece That Will Give You A Competitive Edge
The AIRWAAV Mouthpiece is backed by peer-reviewed research and engineered to improve strength, endurance, recovery and mobility. Don’t miss out on their 15% holiday sale available through the end of December.
Low prices on shoes, pants, sweatshirts and more; all items that could be wrapped up, under the tree. Keep ticking names off your shopping list while saving big.
Try these six drills, designed to strengthen your core and improve your stamina. Each drill requires minimal equipment and can drastically improve your toe to bar game.
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