“Discipline is the highest form of love. If you really love someone, you have to give them the level of discipline they need.”- Tom Izzo
PROFILE
These Girls Grew Up in the CrossFit Gym; And They’re Primed to Take Over the Sport
We focus so much on the “teen take-over” in the Individual division, we sometimes miss the trickle-down effect in the Teen division itself.
Long gone is the generation of Mallory O’Brien, Emma Cary, and Dallin Pepper in the teen division, but now the leaderboard is populated by new names. In fact, some of these new up-and-comers have practically been training for the Games since they could walk.
Two girls–14-year-old Stella Atwood and 16-year-old Brooklynn Sittner–grew up with the sport of CrossFit. And now that they’re finally eligible to compete for a spot at the Games, they’re not holding back.
Atwood stumbled upon the 2017 CrossFit Games documentary “Redeemed and the Dominant” when she was 8 years old. She was immediately sold. While she started out in CrossFit Kids classes, she and her mother, Meredith Atwood, quickly decided that she needed higher-level training to fulfill her goal. Which, even at the age of nine, was to win the CrossFit Games.
The family moves often but has settled in Georgia where Atwood trains under two-time Games athlete Griffin Roelle. Now in her first year of official Open eligibility, Atwood’s drive has only intensified. For her mother, her passion for the sport is impressive and almost unbelievable.
“I was thinking, ‘this is a phase, she doesn’t really want to win the CrossFit Games’ but she’s been more and more passionate,” Atwood said. “It’s just really fun to watch. She’s not playing around!”
For Stella, it’s been admittedly hard balancing being a kid with her CrossFit goals. She makes sure to hang out with her friends (and her mom) on the weekends to stave off any burnout she might feel, but it’s a difficult balance.
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SPEED READS
2023 CrossFit Games Leaderboards (updated, but still unofficial)
North America East
1. Jeffrey Adler (47) | Mallory O’Brien (17)
2. Dallin Pepper (50) | Brooke Wells (47)
3. Samuel Cournoyer (59) | Anikha Greer (60)
4. Noah Ohlsen (63) | Emma Lawson (66)
5. Spencer Panchik (107) | Alexis Raptis (68)
North America West
1. Justin Medeiros (9) | Arielle Loewen (29)
2. Patrick Vellner (15) | Alex Gazan (43)
3. William Leahy IV (41) | Dani Speegle (64)
4. Cole Greashaber (51) | Rebecca Fuselier (73)
5. Mitchel Stevenson (65) | Kelly Baker (81)
Europe
1. Fabian Beneito (71) | Gabriela Migala (34)
2. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson (96) | Laura Horvath (35)
3. Victor Hoffer (97) | Emma Tall (56)
4. Lazar Djukic (105) | Manon Angonese (68)
5. Harry Lightfoot (154) | Thuridur Helgadottir (73)
Oceania
1. Ricky Garard (28) | Jamie Simmonds (32)
2. Jay Crouch (37) | Briony Challis (54)
3. William Kearney (111) | Ellie Turner (56)
4. Jake Douglas (120) | Geoorgia Pryor (68)
5. John Champion (134) | Laura Clifton (571)
Asia
1. Morteza Sedaghat (62) | Dawon Jung (13)
2. Andrei Fedotov (76) | Seher Kaya (21)
3. Eren Kim (77) | Kamlia Takeyeva (21)
4. Arthur Semenov (88) | Shahad Budebs (46)
5. Seungjong Kim (93) | Minjeong Kim (60)
Africa
1. Kealan Henry (37) | Christina Livaditakis (31)
2. Darren Zurnamer (42) | Mariska Smit (45)
3. Callum Deeble (54) | Gemma Rader (47)
4. Michael Van Tonder (55) | Michelle Basnett (50)
5. Daniel Griesel (70) | Tanha Bouffe (55)
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Teen Games Champion RJ Mestre Joins PRVN, Has Promising Season Ahead
RJ Mestre started his sophomore CrossFit season with a lofty goal: win every stage of competition. The Open, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and The Games. After getting fifth the previous year at the Games as a 14-year-old, second at Wodapalooza, and second at the Pit Elite Teen Throwdown, he was hungry for a win on the biggest stage in the sport. An intimidating ambition, to be sure, but in the end, a successful one.
Two event wins and a second-place finish in the Open. A 23-point lead over the next highest finisher in Quarterfinals. A 91-point lead over second place in Semifinals.
18-Year-Old Maddie Lancour Loses Her Sight, Gains a CrossFit Community
“She looked up and said, ‘Everything is dark.’”
This moment in August of 2022 is when everything changed for high school senior Madeline Lancour. After three years of symptoms, endless doctor visits, and fighting for a diagnosis that fit, Lancour had been admitted to the emergency room with non-stop vomiting. After days of this, and no results from doctors, the violent illness Lancour had experienced left her permanently blind.
“(It was) one of the scariest things I’ve ever witnessed,” Lancour’s mother, Janine Laliberte, said. “From constant movement (and) people shouting to silence and being the only one in the room.”
Since losing her vision, Lancour has had to adapt to an entirely new world. Formerly a captain of her high school’s cheer team and on her way to a career in health care, she had to adjust to no longer being able to operate independently, which she says was a really difficult transition. Plus, she had to deal with the other effects of her illness which include short-term memory loss, continuing nausea and vomiting, and new medicines.
The one outlet Lancour says doesn’t make her feel like a fish out of water? CrossFit.
Lancour: “Everything has been taken away from me, Crossfit is the one thing that I’m gaining and not losing. When working out it all fades away.”
When Lancour was first discharged from the hospital, she remarked on how weak she felt after spending five weeks in bed. Luckily, Heidi Moody, a coach at CrossFit Charlton and a friend of Laliberte, reached out and offered to provide training for the teen. Since then, Lancour has been going to the gym weekly, slowly building strength and learning more skills. It’s been a bright spot in a dark time in the family’s lives.
“The Crossfit support has been amazing,” Laliberte said. The gym held a Halloween competition to raise money for the family. “She does a WOD but we adapt it to what she can do but still push her limit each time. The goal is for her to do the class, but with the help from the coaches to set her up.”
Lancour is transitioning her training to another gym in the area, CrossFit Sturbridge, but Moody and the team at CrossFit Charlton have been grateful for their experience with her.
“We know some days are hard, really hard, but she keeps pushing through and coming out stronger every day,” Moody said on behalf of the gym. “Maddie is an inspiration to anyone who has faced an obstacle and instead of letting it define them, she persevered.”
Lancour has had an extremely difficult time coming to terms with her new way of life. Her mother said that she used to be extremely outgoing and would never let someone go without a friend, but she can no longer be the one to approach people first. She described her new world as “poopy,” dark, and draining.
However, she’s gained a new perspective that she wishes more people thought about.
“Don’t take what you have for granted, especially your eyesight,” she said. Plus, for herself, Lancour says she’s learned, “disability does not define who I am.”
THINGS TO...
...MAKE
Brown Butter Seared Scallops
Bring a restaurant quality dish to your very own kitchen with this recipe by ButcherBox. Seafood lovers will rejoice with these scallops coated in brown butter sauce!
Spend a week in Tennessee learning from the BEST OF THE BEST in gymnastics, weightlifting, endurance, and more. Listen to lectures from experts, climb the ropes course, enjoy the lake, campfires, and a field trip to CrossFit Mayhem! Perfect for ALL level of athletes AND earn your CEU's! Get $250 off- use code "MCUMONKEY".
We all know that our sport is known for some crazy acronyms. Let’s add another one to the list: RPE. *insert making up new movement in your head until reading the post linked below*
We all love YETI, from water bottles to mugs that ACTUALLY keep our coffee hot (or cold if you’re a cold brew lover), coolers, bags and more! When you spend $20 or more, you’ll get free shipping for a limited time. Don’t miss out on getting all the best products, without the shipping costs.
You do you in the club, but when you are doing squats you don’t want to be compared to a stripper. Use these tips from Squat University to fix this common squat fault.
Congratulations to teen athlete Stella Atwood from CrossFit Dwala in Atlanta, GA on her first bar muscle-up.
Hunter McIntyre beat his own previously held HYROX world record in Barcelona this past weekend when he finished in 54:07.
Watch this clip of McIntyre explaining the math behind his ultimate target of a 52-minute race just days prior to setting the new record.
Congratulations to 98-year-old Betty Lindberg from Atlanta, GA who completed a 5K race last month in 59:06.
Lindberg: “I walk as fast as I can. It takes me a long time to do a race but I start it and I finish it. I have never not finished a race.”
Congratulations to Zack Tremblay from CrossFit Aspinock in Putnam, CT on the 345 pound/156.4kg front squat PR.
🍀 CrossFit Wichita held their third annual Leprechaun Chase this past weekend in Wichita, KS. Anyone could join the free event, in which athletes team up to chase a full-grown adult “leprechaun” through the downtown streets of the Midwestern city.
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