"I want to be on a team that is in the Games when I'm 17. I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet at CrossFit, but I'm going to work really hard to get there."
Photos courtesy of Todd D Lynch.
At an age when most kids are more concerned with hanging out with friends, 12-year-old Kirstyn Lynch competed in her first local competition in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Now, two years later, the 14-year-old managed to complete all five workouts of the CrossFit Games Open as prescribed, and came in 2,335th place in the South East.
“It felt good to finish every workout and get through all five weeks,” Lynch said. “Last year, I did the Open workouts but was not old enough to officially participate. This year, I got to actually sign up, which was really exciting.”
“I was the youngest person competing in our gym,” she said. “Our gym is just like one big family. We are all really close, and everyone cheers each other on and pushes each other through the workouts.”
It truly is a family affair at Lynch’s gym, CrossFit BGI, which is owned by her mother, Dana. Her father, Todd, is a firefighter who programs many of the workouts at CrossFit BGI and is the Competition Director for the 2014 South East Regional. Lynch often works out with her father during her five days a week of training.
“I love competition and the push that it gives you,” Lynch said. “The Open this year reminded me that I have to work really hard to get where I want to be in CrossFit.”
And Lynch has definite goals when it comes to her future in CrossFit.
“I want to go to the Games when I’m older,” she said. “I want to be on a team that is in the Games when I am 17. I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet at CrossFit, but I’m going to work really hard to get there.”
No stranger to hard work, Lynch started on the weightlifting team at her high school as a freshman this past year. She was the only freshman high school student in the entire state of Florida to make it to the state competition. She ended up placing 23rd in her weight category after a 105-lb. pause bench press and a 150-lb. clean and jerk.
“My athleticism has really increased since last year,” Lynch said. “I am lifting more weight and running faster. Last year, I really only worked on things I actually liked doing. This year, I have started focusing more on my weaknesses and trying to improve. I will continue to do that so I continue to get better.”
Lynch knew the Open would be challenging but also knew that she would be able to handle the weights that were required.
“I had a lot of fun in the Open. My favorite workout was 14.3 with the deadlifts and box jumps. My least favorite was 14.4 with toes-to-bars, which I don’t like very much,” she said. “I was proud of how I did on 14.5. I ended up finishing in 19:35. I had a plan of breaking up the thrusters into three sets each time, and I stuck to my plan. I knew for the burpees that I would need to just keep moving and use that as a chance to catch my breath. I was happy with my performance on that one.”
Considering that Lynch’s least favorite lift is the thruster and that she’s 14 years old, finishing Open Workout 14.5 with a time of 19:35, faster than the average time of 20:56 by women competing in the Open, is quite an accomplishment.
Outside of CrossFit, Lynch fills her day with flag football, weightlifting, school and making time for friends. Like most teenagers, she enjoys going to the beach or to the movies.
“I’m not much different than most teenagers besides that I can out-lift most boys,” she said.
“I love that CrossFit is for everyone,” she added. “It is for a 5-year-old child or an 80-year-old adult. It helps you get better and stronger at movements that you can use in real life, like picking up a bag of groceries. It allows you to compete. I like that it is a community.”