Well done to Emily Steel who has become the Crossfit European champion for her category.
Emily has been doing Crossfit since she was 14 she said: “I started off as a swimmer for 10 years but started to try something different and have loved it ever since!”
She was dedicated and trained hard for the competition. She said: “A couple weeks before the competition I trained really hard, around 2-3 hours each day, whenever I could fit it in. Then up to a week before the competition I tapered and eased off a little in training up to the day before, where I just did some active recovery and stretching to prepare for the long weekend.
“I also watched what I was eating the week before, and made sure I was getting in more carbs than usual, to store up plenty of energy to get me through the weekend.”
She was calm and collected for the big day, saying: “I never really get nervous when it comes to Crossfit competitions, I’m more excited than anything, so I was really looking forward to just getting into the arena and starting the first workout.
“When I won I didn’t really know how to feel because, being in first place all weekend but then losing the final, I thought I had lost first place. Turns out I had done enough over the other 5 workouts and had enough points to luckily stay on top, I was so happy.”
Emily hopes to carry on her winning streak in her future competitions. She said: “In a few weeks, I have the most important qualifiers of the year for me. There’s the Crossfit games, which is like the Olympics of Crossfit. It’s a bit worldwide event held in Madison, US. Starting the second week of March, I have 5 days to complete 5 qualifying workouts, which are filmed for standards and then sent off.
“The top 10 teen females aged 16-17 worldwide qualify to go to the Crossfit games, so where I rank in these 5 workouts will determine whether I get a place at the games or not. It would be a dream come true if I could go to the games, so from now until the qualifiers, I’m head down focused on training really hard, to get the best ranking in the qualifiers – hopefully top 10.”
We wish the best of luck to Emily in her competitions!
