Townsville CrossFit athlete Emily de Rooy makes world Games in Madison, Wisconsin
A young Townsville woman is one of North Queensland’s best all-around athletes after winning passage to the world CrossFit Games. See how you can help.
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A 22-year-old Townsville woman can lay claim to being one of North Queensland’s best all-around athletes after securing passage to the world 2023 CrossFit Games in the United States.
Emily de Rooy came third in the women’s open section of the Torian Pro Oceania Championships in Brisbane late last month to win the right to take on the world’s best CrossFit competitors in Madison, Wisconsin from August 1-6.
Ranked 26th in the world, de Rooy said she was gunning for a top-20 finish in the highly competitive fitness sport but was under no illusions.
“There are so many strong girls out there so it is going to be a tough, tough battle,” she said at her gym, CrossFit Townsville, on Wednesday.
“This being my first year, I am kind of just there to do my best, cement my name a little bit, and then see where we can go from there.”
The CrossFit coach, in her fifth year in the sport, will be measured in a range of disciplines, including gymnastics, heavy lifting and cardio.
Heading into the games, de Rooy said she had been training three to five hours a day.
“CrossFit is pretty much anything so it could be swimming, running, bike riding, then there’s lifting weights, gymnastics, all of that so I have to make sure that I’ve touched base on everything so it requires a lot of training.”
She said when she travelled to compete, people were often surprised that she was born and bred in Townsville.
“They are like, ‘where is that?’, so no one really knows about us here, I guess no one really knows about what type of athletes we are producing here, so it definitely gives people a bit of a shock when we say we are from this little town in North Queensland.”
De Rooy is being supported and coached by Daniel Strickland, owner of CrossFit Townsville, and has secured sponsorship to help fund the United States trip.
She said she had also launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising $5000 to help her realise her sporting ambitions.
“We’re at about $3600, I’m pretty happy with that but really any little donation helps.”
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Originally published as Townsville CrossFit athlete Emily de Rooy makes world Games in Madison, Wisconsin
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