"I really think this year the Aussie boys are going to give the Leaderboard a good shake up."
In the lead up to the 2014 Australia Regional, many were convinced the veteran trio of Rob Forte, Chad Mackay and Brandon Swan once again had the podium places locked down.
There were rumors, however, that Khan Porter was “one to watch.”
By the end of the weekend, Mackay failed to qualify for his third straight appearance at the Games and Porter proved he was indeed one to watch, securing the third ticket to the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games.
"It's so known that those three have had such a stronghold on the regionals,” Porter said, “and Ben Garard as well is such a phenomenal athlete.”
"I believed I was capable of making the Games but I knew it was going to be a massive fight between all of us boys and there's so many other phenomenal athletes as well in Australia,” he added. “There's 10 or so guys on any given day, depending on the workouts, (that) could be on that podium."
The Sydney-based 24-year-old grew up playing rugby union in winter and spent his summers as a competitive surf lifesaver, excelling in both sports. After finishing his studies, Porter continued to train at a traditional gym before finding CrossFit in early 2012.
Porter decided almost immediately competition, and more specifically, the 2013 Australia Regional was the goal. Porter finished in an impressive 10th place at the 2013 regional and reset his focus to the CrossFit Games.
With the Games in mind, Porter made significant changes in the lead up to 2014 and began working with coach Drew Griffith's CoachRX program.
"I went from doing what I thought I needed to do to actually doing what I needed to do in terms of my training," Porter said. "2013 was great and I got fantastic results ... but it kind of highlighted that there were a few deficiencies, a few huge weaknesses. I couldn't even do a non-false-grip muscle-up last year at regionals. There were a lot of things that had to change pretty quick-smart if I wanted to (continue to) compete."
"We basically had a list of all the things I wasn't very good at and made sure we were doing them all the time," Porter added.
Porter also focused on working with training partners, Matt Healey and Nathan Beves, in order to push himself.
“(Whether) it's training with or just to compare results with, having someone like that to push me was invaluable," Porter said. "It's a huge reason why I was so successful."
The investment in becoming a well-rounded athlete paid off for Porter who welcomed the move to high-end, high-skill movements at the 2014 regional. With the exception of the handstand walk, Porter excelled throughout the weekend and headed into the last event of Day 3 in third place.
While the crowd was breeding excitement, anxious to know if Porter would be the new face of the Australia Region or whether there would be a last-minute upset, Porter was quietly confident.
"The last workout for me was very simple,” he said. “It was just don't fuck up … We knew that we had enough points, we knew that I'm strong enough at both of those movements. All I really needed to do to make sure I went to the Games was not make a mistake. It was just a matter of executing perfectly rather than trying to push for the win or anything like that."
Porter said he is excited to be heading to Carson, California, with Forte and Swan, and predicts big things from the Australia Region.
"I really think this year the Aussie boys are going to give the Leaderboard a good shake-up," Porter said. "You know Chad obviously always (showed) up really well at the Games, but this year, I'm really excited to see how all three of us go … and the girls, as well.”
"I'm incredibly proud to be going over there,” Porter added. “It's a pretty massive honor to be representing my country in a sport, and as a kid I always dreamt of playing footy for Australia but you know … that never happened but now I get to be one of the top CrossFit athletes. For me, being able to say that I represent my country in something is a pretty phenomenal sort of thing to wrap my head around and pretty exciting."
Australia is not the only country in the region with a claim on Porter.
"My dad's half Cook Islander, so I'm a quarter Cook Islander," Porter explained.
Porter spent time in the Cook Islands visiting with family after the Open and trained with Tumuora CrossFit. His visit and subsequent regional placing were covered by local newspaper and television.
"I went in there and I was just blown away by the support from the community over there. They have supported me since then," he said. "Just walking in and the fact that … they've just embraced me as a Cook Islander, which was really kind of cool and very humbling."
With the Australia Region firmly behind him, Porter said he is also overwhelmed by the support he has received from those closest to him with good mates, his coach and family all making the trip to support his debut at the Games.
"A few of the boys are coming across to support me and I've got my family coming across,” he said. “You know, I did not expect that in a million years. They've had to take out a loan to get there, which is insane. I'm I try and help them out as much as possible with that … just to have my family there is going to be pretty incredible.”
"I think if I didn't have them when I'm over there I would probably stress out," he added. "Just having people you know, especially the boys to go and sit and joke with and take my mind away from the competition will be really beneficial."
