"I’m a little surprised. I knew I was in pretty good shape, but at the same time, you really don’t know how you’re going to measure up.”
Photos by Jennifer Kavanagh
Scott Snarr snagged a spot at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games after finishing 11th worldwide in the 55-59 Masters Division during the Open.
“It’s an honor,” he says.
“I’m a little surprised. I knew I was in pretty good shape, but at the same time, you really don’t know how you’re going to measure up.”
The 54-year-old Mississauga, Ontario native will turn 55 right before the Games, and will undoubtedly face many challenges once the competition begins in Carson, Calif.
But the retired firefighter is no stranger to overcoming adversity. Three years ago, he lost his wife of 30 years, Jacqueline, in a tragic snowboarding accident. She was 48.
“CrossFit was a big part of what helped me get through that,” he explains. “It opens up a lot of doors for you. Even the way you think about yourself and the way you think about life. I’m sure it’s helped me heal from my loss.”
Snarr heard about CrossFit toward the end of his firefighting career. A conversation with fellow firefighter, Lars Bredahl, now a coach at CrossFit Kitchener, inspired him to give it a try.
Now, just more than five years later, Snarr says CrossFit is a part of his life he never saw coming.
“As you get fit, you start doing things that you never thought you would do in your life,” he says. “You realize, ‘Hey, I can actually do this.’”
In the past year, Snarr has made some changes to his training. Although he mostly programs for himself and doesn’t have a specific coach, he says he gets a lot of guidance from the other athletes at his home box, CrossFit Select.
“At our box, we have a lot of really good athletes. Different guys are able to help you out in different areas.”
