Stephanie Knapp: Athlete Games Competitor January 2016

There is a buzz in the air at the moment in the CrossFit community with the CrossFit Games Open only around the corner. No matter whether you’ve been in the game for years or your journey has only just started, it is an exciting time!

Whilst the anticipation for the Open is everywhere, my focus at the moment is preparing for the Athlete Games on 29th-30th January. This event holds great significance for me as it was my first experience of competing in the sport of CrossFit. Last year, I entered qualifiers with little expectation of getting through to the live finals. The top 100 women Europe would qualify for the live finals. I was ecstatic to place 104th and got an invite due to dropouts a few weeks after those in qualifying position were offered spots.

I can’t describe what an incredible experience it was. Not only taking part but also watching athletes I look up to and admire in action! It was a spectacle. I battled through the 4 workouts along side such amazing women and was very proud to have finished in 63rd place overall.

Since then I was determined to make it back to the competition floor. This past year, one of primary goals was to qualify for The Athlete Games in 2016 and with that in mind I put more into my training – time, energy, strategy, nutrition and mental game to ensure I could put myself in the best possible position to make it happen!

I was eagerly awaiting the announcement for qualifiers when it finally came in early December, but there was a drawback… The qualifying positions had been cut from 100 to 48. My goal just got that bit harder. The 3 weeks of qualifiers were tough but the perseverance paid off as I finished in 44th place earning my place in the finals.

This will be my second consecutive year at the event and this time I will be approaching it from a whole new perspective with a years worth of preparation under my belt. This time I will be ready to put in to practice what I have been training for, with focus and confidence. And I can’t wait for the chance to test my limits and go all out, no matter what challenge lies ahead.

A special thank you to all my friends, family, CrossFit Swindon and Team Tikiboo for all the support this year, who have helped make this all possible.

Stephanie Knapp
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