As a Crossfit athlete it does not necessarily matter how good you were at your previous sport or your proficiency in the skills of that sport, because that is only going to be one aspect of your functional fitness competition.
But, once an athlete, always an athlete. The competitive mindset and constant desire for physical improvement and increased performance is ingrained in all professional athletes.
Crossfit athletes are a true testament to that.
Let’s take a look below at the athletic backgrounds of some of the world’s fittest people.
Mat Fraser
Before becoming the fittest man on earth 5 times in a row and winning practically every event along the way, Fraser started off in olympic weightlifting.
Before injuring his back in 2009 he was climbing the ranks of the weightlifting world quickly, but in his own words “I didn’t want to be good, I wanted to be the best”.
A couple years later he made his transition into Crossfit where he immediately dominated strength events due to his background.
He still is one of the strongest athletes in all of Crossfit, proving it when he won the clean max event at the 2019 Games.
Related: How Strong Are The Crossfit Games Champions Compared To Pro Olympic Weightlifters?
Kari Pearce
There’s a reason why Kari Pearce wins almost every gymnastics event along with having some of the best abs in Crossfit, and it ain’t luck.
Pearce used to be a Divison 1 gymnast at the University of Michigan where she received 3x Academic All-Big Ten Achievement Honors.
Her background in gymnastics provided a solid foundation into the highly technical side of Crossfit that many athletes struggle with.
Because of this you can find Pearce in the top 3 in any Crossfit gymnastics event.
Brent Fikowski
As the current tallest athlete in Crossfit Fikowski had a good amount of success during his volleyball days.
During his junior year in high school his team was inducted into the Lethbridge sports hall of fame for going undefeated with a record of 59 wins and 0 losses.
After he moved to Australia in 2012 and started attending Griffith University Gold Coast he competed on the Queensland AA beach volleyball circuit where he won the state silver medal.
“I also competed for the Griffith University Gryphons Indoor Men’s Volleyball Team while in Australia. We won the 2012 Northern University Games, 2012 Australian University Games, and the 2013 Northern University Games going undefeated in each of the three tournaments.”
https://www.brentfikowski.com/the-fikowski-story/
Related: Brent Fikowski, Crossfit Underdog?
Cole Sager
Before getting into Crossfit Cole Sager played Division 1 football at the University of Washington where he played tailback.
Sager excelled primarily on special teams where he played all 13 games in 2011.
Before playing at Washington he rushed for 1,084 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, which caused him to earn such an impressive scholarship.
His football background has prepared him for short, high intensity sprint workouts, which he usually wins or finishes top 3 in.
Related: This Shows Just How Good Cole Sager Really Is
Brooke Wells
Brooke Wells initially started Crossfit in 2011 after her dad suggested that it would help with her track career.
“Wells was an all-around track standout at Southside, specializing in the 100 and 300 intermediate hurdles. She also competed on the 4X400 and 4X100 meter relay teams.
https://www.swtimes.com/sports/crossfit-former-southside-track-star-brooke-wells-earns-win-regional-qualifier
Because of her track background Wells has a solid foundation of strength and is one of Crossfit’s strongest female athletes.
She has also finished in the top 20 at the Crossfit Games for the past 5 years.
Related: How Strong Are Crossfit Women? This Chart Shows
Jacob Heppner
Before becoming a constant threat at the Crossfit Games Jacob Heppner played defensive back at Central Methodist University.
As a DB he rotated between playing strong safety and outside linebacker.
The athleticism obviously carried over to Crossfit as Heppner has placed in the top 10 at the Games 3/4 times that he has competed.
Related: Where Are They Now? The Last 6 Crossfit Games Rookies of The Year
These are some, of course not all of the athletes that have competed in sports prior to Crossfit.
1,714 responses to “Athletic Backgrounds of Top Crossfit Athletes”