WE NEED HEROES Today, while on vacation, I watched most of the North America East SemiFinals at the Syndicate Crown in Knoxville. Arguably, most of the fittest athletes in the world were competing for a ticket to the CrossFit Games later this year. Despite watching and participating in CrossFit competitions for almost 20 years, I was entranced by the events and inspired by the athletes. I found myself coaching from the sidelines, screaming at the monitor, cheering for my favorite athletes and even getting watery eyed when athletes were overwhelmed by their success or worse, devastated by failure. Today, 20yr old Lydia Fish was in 10th place (the top 10 overall go to the Games) headed into Event 5, the Snatch Ladder which ended with 2 reps at 175lbs. Lydia’s published max snatch is 160lbs. She reached the 175# bar with 3 minutes-ish on the clock and missed her first attempt. She re-grouped and on her 2nd attempt, she nailed it! With only 1 rep to go, she missed her next attempt. Finally, with only 30secs left on the clock, her parents standing in the crowd and the other athletes cheering her on, she nailed the last attempt and finished the workout under the time cap. The crowd went nuts and her parents were ecstatic – shouting and pointing at her. Lydia was overwhelmed with excitement. I felt a surge of pride, relief and most of all, inspiration, as she waved to the crowd and spoke to the announcer. I found myself looking forward to my next workout. At that moment, I realized again why the CrossFit Games continue to be so beneficial for CrossFit. We need heroes. The fittest athletes in the world act as torch bearers in the darkness – guiding us to our best potential physical selves. Their incredible accomplishments on the field of competition demonstrate what humans are physically capable of and inspire us to be better physical versions of ourselves. When the best athletes are training, we bear witness to the results of hard work. Their work ethic is an example for the rest of us. So, for all the Lydias, Fronings, Frasers, Tias and our Diablo competition athletes, thank you! We’re motivated by your effort and inspired by your success. | 
