When it comes to international CrossFit, South Africa is one spot to keep an eye on. Africa’s southernmost country has a steadily growing scene with over 80 affiliates dotted across its nine provinces.
Over the last few years, South Africa’s fittest have made it onto CrossFit’s biggest stages, and each year the scene introduces us to new names making waves locally and internationally.
With the Fittest in Cape Town CrossFit Semifinal held in the Cape of Good Hope this year (or at least until it moves online), let’s cast an eye over South African CrossFit with a few of the athletes to follow and learn from.
Mariska Smit
The results of the 2021 CrossFit Open are in, and Mariska Smit can currently claim the title of South Africa’s National Champion.
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Mariska got into CrossFit in 2017 after catching a competition taking place in a Cape Town mall. “I was so intrigued with it,” she told BOXROX, “I immediately knew I wanted to try this as I was done with all the competitive sports I had done in University. I signed up that same evening and did my first class the very next day! And loved it. Could not even do a pull up though!”
Before the lockdown, Mariska set out her goals for the 2021 season with coach Cillie Malan. “Initially I wrote Top 3 in SA, and he scratched it out and wrote number 1. So as soon as it was on the list I knew I had to work hard to achieve each and every goal.”
Mariska trains with CrossFit Eikestad in Stellenbosch, and since that first CrossFit class in 2017 she’s slowly been climbing up the ranks of the SA Individual Women’s leaderboard; with a 4th place finish in 2020 and a 7th place finish in 2019. Overall she finished at 110 on the leaderboard in 2021.
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While South Africa has a growing and enthusiastic scene, it still doesn’t have the kind of enthusiasm and popularity other countries in Oceania or Europe do, making it harder for SA athletes to really commit.
“I think we do have some great local competitions as well as some bigger competitions in SA which really serves as a great platform to spot talent and to give the opportunity for athletes to test their abilities in a competitive environment,” she said,”but SA does not really provide a platform for athletes doing Crossfit as a profession, it really does make it difficult as most athletes have an 8-5, or in my case a 7-7 job.”
That said, the challenge of training elite-level CrossFit alongside a full-time job hasn’t put Mariska Smit off her next challenge;
“My goals for the future definitely includes going to the Games both with the team and individually. Also achieving a Top 40 in the world with the Open.”
Mariska will be competing in the 2021 Teams Quarterfinals with Mighty Oaks from Crossfit Eikestad.
Kealan Henry
The second National Champion to top the leaderboard in the 2021 Open is Kealan Henry. An athlete for many years, Kealan has a background in waterpolo, athletics, and soccer but his passion for rugby led him to pursue a career in the sport.
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In 2015, Kealan joined CrossFit Pamiers in the south of France to stay in shape during the off-season and ended up losing over 20kgs. Once retiring from rugby, he coached at the box for two years before deciding to compete, taking part in his first Open in 2017.
When I watched Jason Smith and Ruan Duvenage compete in Dubai,” Kealan told BOXROX, “It motivated me to get to that level. South Africa has a huge fitness culture.”
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Since 2017 Kealan has competed in the Open representing France and South Africa, coming second to SA CrossFit icon Jason Smith in 2020. After his first place Open finish in 2021, Kealan has his sights on the Semifinals:
“My goals were to finish in top 10% and qualify for the Quarterfinals. Would like to compete in the Semifinals in Cape Town this year and maybe one day the CrossFit games.”
Jason Smith
A list of South Africa’s CrossFit athletes wouldn’t be complete without Jason Smith. The only South African athlete to make the Games, Jason has been working hard in the scene and representing Africa and SA for 11 years.
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Jason was always into sports and competition, playing soccer and rugby in school and racing motorcross for a decade. He was introduced to CrossFit by his brother and was hooked ever since.
A Johannesburg native who trains at CrossFit Sunninghill in Gauteng, Jason has competed in the Dubai CrossFit Championship twice, as well as the CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Sanctional events in 2019. He finished 29th in the Games that year. However his highest finish was in 2017 with a 10th place finish at the Games.
Jason was one of the many athletes who lost their invites to the 2020 Games due to the pandemic, where he indicated this might be his last year as an individual competitor;
“With what’s going on around the world it was inevitable that I was going to receive the news that this year’s Games wasn’t going to happen for me, but to officially receive the email. I feel heartsore I won’t be able to represent South Africa and showcase what was possibly going to be my final year as an individual competitor.”
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That said, Jason competed in his 11th CrossFit Open this year, coming 3rd in Africa and 2nd in South Africa behind Kealan Henry.
Letchen Du Plessis
The 23-year-old South African athlete landed at number one overall in the Women’s Neuromuscular Division in the Open this year, following the inclusion of the Adaptive categories.
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Letchen first got into CrossFit as a teenager, and used it to supplement her netball training while she was on a netball scholarship. But unfortunately all that was put on hold in 2017:
“I landed awkwardly and ended up tearing the cartilage in my hip as well as a couple of hip flexors and had to have surgery to fix everything.” She told BOXROX, “I struggled with that hip for the next year with 3 more operations in the span of a year. After the last operation to that hip in 2018 I woke up one morning and couldn’t move my left leg. After months of trying to figure out what was causing everything the doctor confirmed that developed a nerve disease (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) and a movement disorder (Dystonia). Nobody knows why it happened to me as it can happen to anyone. Mine was just a series of unfortunate events.”
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Of course, this meant that her career in netball came to an abrupt end, and she spent the next couple of years relearning how to walk. A devastating blow for an athlete formally training 3-4 hours a day.
Which is why the next part of Letchen’s story is even more impressive. Rather than giving up her dreams of becoming an elite athlete entirely, she focused on a sport she used to do to supplement her netball training: CrossFit.
“One morning I woke up and I said to myself that I am tired of feeling this way. Feeling sorry for myself isn’t gonna solve anything and it’s only making the situation worse.”
Letchen then contacted her local box, and trained alone over the following 4 months, focusing on getting fit and strong. The process was frustrating, but finding the WheelWOD community through Instagram gave her something to work towards. Through the process she figured out how to work with her disability, rather than against it.
Not too long after she started working out with Crossfit PBM (Power Beyond Measure) based in Pretoria. The move took Letchen’s CrossFit career to the next level; connecting her with a community and coaches.
“I can do everything everyone else does in the class it just looks a little bit different,” she told BOXROX, “My Neurosurgeon told me to keep my body strong and CrossFit is functional fitness. I helps me function in my daily life.”
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Her dedication to the sport and the inclusion of the Adaptive divisions in the CrossFit Open meant that Letchen could showcase her hard work — placing first in her division overall.
“My first Open experience was amazing,” she said, “I got to be part a bigger community and that was absolutely fantastic. Our gym did all the workouts together and it was the highlight of my week. I aimed to win the Open in my division because I won the WheelWOD Open in December just to prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Tammi Robinson
While you probably wouldn’t know it from her accent, Tammi Robinson is a South African-born Aussie athlete whose been making waves in the scene for many years.
A two-time CrossFit Games athlete and former CrossFit YAS member, Tammi’s first taste of the Games was with the Abu Dhabi-based team in 2016, placing on the podium in 3rd place that year.
In more recent years she has relocated to Hong Kong with partner Ant Haynes — 2020’s China’s Fittest Man. Together they train at Coastal Fitness (or from their home gym setup in Fortress Hill).
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Tammi’s journey in CrossFit began all the way back in 2013 when she checked out City 4051 CrossFit with a touch football teammate. Until then, she had been a national touch football player in Australia, but gave that up after falling in love with CrossFit. She went on to “scrape” through to Regionals in her first year.
“As anyone who’s done a competitive sport before, it kind of ignited that fire again and made me feel super hungry for it,” Tammi told BOXROX. “What I loved initially was the fact that I couldn’t do things.”
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The 2020 National Champion didn’t compete in the Open this year, but has a wealth of experience that she brings to her work with The Process Programming, a mentorship and coaching community which encourages members to invest in their health and fitness. She is also focusing on her health and happiness, which she shares her learnings as a coach and athlete through her Instagram account.
Michelle Basnett
The 24-year-old US-SA athlete is currently sitting at number one on the Women’s Individual Quarterfinal leaderboard for the African region.
Michelle came began her journey with CrossFit when she was 17, having formally trained gymnastics, tumbling and cheerleading. A year later she decided to start competing and is now a CrossFit coach and personal trainer who trains out of CrossFit Cornelius in North Carolina.
“I found Crossfit when I was 17 and have been hooked ever since. I started to get serious about competing in the sport in 2016 and have put sweat, tears, and a lot of hours in the gym to make it to the elite level.”
While spending most of her time in the US, Michelle has roots in Cape Town and therefore had the chance to compete in the 2019 Fittest in Cape Town Santional where she placed 8th overall. She also competed in the 2019 Filthy 150 in Ireland where she came 23rd. She also placed 2nd in South Africa the Open that year.
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With a very impressive overall finish in the 2021 Open (3rd in Africa) and Quarterfinals (1st in Africa), Michelle is looking at another appearance at the Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal.
Read More: 8 Great UK CrossFit Athletes to Follow and Learn From
