5. SHEILA BARDEN
Sheila started Crossfit in October 2011 after seeing CrossFit Games reruns on ESPN. She looked at her husband and said “Why do those girls get to be on TV? I can do that,” without realizing just how hard those ladies in the Games worked. She found herself at CrossFit Dewitt the following Monday.
Before starting Crossfit in October 2011, Sheila was a gym rat who religiously curled dumbbells and spent hours each week on an elliptical with minimal results and a hunger for a workout that tested her more and was much more exciting. She started like most people, hitting one WOD a day, but before long her “normal” training turned into a full on “addiction” and she found herself on an individualised program, hitting several WODs a day, setting new goals and crushing her weaknesses.
‘At the end of the day if you’re doing what you love then you’re going to be happy’
Wanting to incorporate Crossfit into her entire life, she took her Level 1, CF Kids, Powerlifting and Mobility certifications and became a coach. This Hunger led her to a phenomenal win at the 2016 Central Regionals. Can she carry this awesome momentum over into the CrossFit Games in a few weeks time?
4. KARI PEARCE
Having been a competitive gymnast for 18 years and being a part of the University of Michigan’s team, Kari is familiar with the dedication and hard work required for success.
After retiring from her gymnastics career, Kari picked up weightlifting and was a part of a physique show, followed by a powerlifting competition. She officially started her Crossfit training in November 2014 and has been unstoppable ever since!
After finishing in third place at her first Regional, Kari qualified for the 2015 CrossFit games. She earned the title 21st fittest female on Earth in her rookie year. Despite her incredible ascent in the Crossfit world, she still struggles a little bit with consistency, which is to be expected of an athlete who has yet to hit her two-year Crossfit-aversary. Of course, she still managed a top 10 finish in every Regional event except one, showing just how much she’s grown as an athlete in the past year.
3. MARGAUX ALVAREZ
Already a two-time podium finisher at the NorCal Regionals, Margaux Alvarez took her skills outside the Golden State in 2015, finishing 2nd overall at the South Regional in Dallas (behind only Camille Leblanc-Bazinet). From there, it was on to her first Top 10 placement at the CrossFit Games, proving why she’s long been considered one of the rising stars and toughest competitors in the sport.
Margaux spent much of her childhood in Montana, where she gained her love for almost any kind of athletic endeavor—from swimming and volleyball to ballet, horseback riding, and Taekwondo. She was turned on to Crossfit while working as a trainer in the Bay Area in 2011 and took to it immediately.
Margaux has been a crowd-favorite since 2012 when she qualified for her first Regional a year after starting Crossfit. Before that, she spent the 2011 CrossFit Games working as a volunteer, soaking in the atmosphere and building hopes and dreams of competing under the big lights.
Margaux competing with the USA Team at the Invitationals
Now, five years later, she is a perennial power and is preparing for her fourth Games appearance. She’s tall and strong, excelling at things like wall balls, rowing, rope climbs and long-grueling events where she can show off the power of her engine.
2. JAIME HAGIYA
The 29year old was a former Division I collegiate basketball player. She won 3 Ocean League championships and was named the MVP three times. She received a scholarship to the University of Southern California in 2003, where she was a two-time team captain and led her team to two NCAA tournament appearances. She finished her career 4th all-time in career assists, and 2nd all-time in career 3 pointers. After graduating from USC with a degree in Communication, Jamie played professionally in Greece and Spain. She had a tryout with the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks in 2012. While preparing for a WNBA tryout in 2011 she was introduced to Crossfit. Since then, Jamie has won several local competitions and placed 5th at the 2013 CrossFit Games Regionals in the very competitive Southern California region
She trains at Torrance Crossfit, and made her way to the CrossFit Games this year by securing impressive 2nd place finishes in WOD 1 and 7 at the Regionals.
1. US CROSSFIT GIRLS: TENNIL REED
This Year was Tennil’s third individual regional appearance, after taking ninth last year and sixth in the South West in 2014. This year, she makes her Games debut after four top-three finishes in the Regionals. This included a win in Event 3 but also a low 34th placement in Event 2.
The 28-year-old physical therapist made her ascent up the leaderboard slowly, not entering the top 10 until after Event 4. Before the final event, she sat in seventh, just 4 points outside Games qualification.
Reed’s third-place event finish launched her to fourth overall, the first time all weekend she’d held a qualifying spot.
‘I concentrated on me and what I could do in those workouts and thought about my game plan over and over and over again in my head’ Reed said. ‘I knew what I had to do to get there; it was just a matter of getting it done.’
