@juliefoucher1483 : I think this moment at the 2015 Central Regional will forever be one of the most powerful of my life. It was simultaneously both devastating and beautiful. I had worked harder and enjoyed the process more in my final Games season than ever before. I’d achieved lifetime milestones in training that I’d been chasing for years. And I think, for the first time ever, I truly believed that I was capable of winning the #CrossFitGames. But, instead of earning a spot to compete at one last CrossFit Games before turning to my medical training full-time, I tore my Achilles tendon in front of the entire CrossFit community. Just like that my season - and my Games career - was over. I don’t think it was a coincidence that it happened this way, that the very next event was a handstand walk, or that I had been practicing handstand walks with ankle weights with Dominique Moceanu and Mike Canales all year.

Going back out on that floor to do the handstand walk in a boot and feeling the emotion of the crowd was an experience I will never forget. When I was hurting the most, the CrossFit community was there to support me, in full embodiment of what this CrossFit thing is really all about. In the days and weeks following this moment, I’d go on to have surgery (done by Mike- again, probably not a coincidence), and rehab with one of my good friends Matt Stevens motivated by wanting to be able to dance at my wedding two months later. The more I reflected on this ending to my Games career, the more I realized that although it is not the ending I would have planned for myself, in many ways it was perfect.

This unexpected ending was a wonderful expression of the fact that the outcome of our training is not what truly matters. Yes, I would much rather have competed and stood on top of the podium at the Games that year, but at the end of the day it was not actually the achievement of that goal itself but the process of chasing it that was most valuable. As they say, it’s about the journey, not the destination, and I will always be grateful for the lessons learned and the person I’ve grown into because of my journey chasing the goal of becoming the Fittest On Earth. #CrossFitGamesHistory #Sports

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