By Mandy Moraes, NLPS staff
Graham Giske, Nanaimo District Secondary School teacher-counsellor and coach, knows what it means to put in the work and compete with the world’s fittest.
The Nanaimo District Secondary School coach was one out of roughly 260 athletes from around the world to contend for the top of the podium at the adaptive CrossFit Games during an epic Las Vegas weekend in mid-September.
“I started because I was kind of looking for something to compete in since my accident happened [ten years ago, above the knee amputee]. I was trying different sports and getting out there and figuring out what’s to offer. And then my friend showed me what CrossFit has to offer … so I saw an opportunity to compete.”
CrossFit Games ran athletes through a gamut of challenges that tested their cardiovascular endurance, stamina, strength, coordination, flexibility, and accuracy. To ensure fair and inclusive competition, the adaptive games were broken into divisions based on the athlete’s sex and diverse ability.
In hopes of selection for the games, prospective competitors sent videos of workout sessions to a team of CrossFit judges for their review. Each round whittled the list of competitors down until only 10 finalists for each division remained.
Since workouts were released incrementally for about a month before the competition started, Giske had a pretty good idea of what to expect when he arrived in Las Vegas.
“I wished I had a bit more time to prepare for some of the skills of handstand walking and handstand pushups … Although, the tricky part is just finding that work-life balance,” he said.
Leading up to the games, the 40-year-old coach was training six days a week — on top of being a father, working for the Nanaimo Ladysmith Public School district, and working as a clinical counsellor. He had even set up his garage like a CrossFit gym.
By the end of the Las Vegas weekend, Giske finished as high as sixth place in his best event — a barbell complex. The winner of the games was determined by how many points each athlete accumulated per round.
“Some of the most elite CrossFit athletes come from a background in gymnastics or Olympic lifting, and so they have those foundational skills. But it’s also a great thing just for anyone to try and do,” he said. “It is a very inspiring event and just to be around all these people with different abilities that fully go for it, pushing themselves and injuring themselves a bit … And I’m very proud of the adaptive community. So, I came back a little inspired.”