"I don't think he thought he was going to be in the top 60, and he was No. 60."
On his 19th birthday, Trevor James didn’t celebrate in the traditional way. He drove nearly five hours from Shrewsbury, N.J., to Canton, Mass., for the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games North East Regional. The teenager was one of the youngest athletes to compete at the Regional level as an individual.
But he almost didn’t make it that far.
After discovering CrossFit in high school, James made his way to CrossFit Shrewsbury in the summer of 2010. There, he offered to “do anything you need” because he couldn’t afford a membership. As the Open neared, he bemoaned the fact that he wouldn’t be participating.
“I asked, ‘What’s stopping you?’” recalls Stefanie Hicks, co-owner of the affiliate. “When he started comparing himself, doing these workouts, he finally realized he could do it,” she says. “I don’t think that in his first year he thought he was going to be in the top 60, and he was No. 60.”
To read the full article, go to the CrossFit Journal.