A group of Kiwi athletes are training up to seven days a week - sometimes three times a day - in the hope of being the fittest on Earth.
Representing Plus64 CrossFit in Christchurch, the team of Marnie Sykes, Clint Kohl, Madeline Shelling and David Wiggin are competing in the 2021 CrossFit Games in the United States.
Masters athlete Tessa Te Kahu and the team’s coach, Komihana Mitchell, will also travel to Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday.
The group first had to compete against 500,000 others in an online qualifier, before eventually being whittled down to the top 30 individuals from teams of four around the world.
Taking a punt by travelling to Brisbane ensured the Kiwis booked their spot in the final stage of the competition.
“The easiest way to put it is the person who comes last place at the CrossFit Games will be one of the fittest people you'll ever meet on planet Earth,” said Mitchell.
“You're looking to lift like a weightlifter, run like a runner, swim like a swimmer, bike like a biker, do gymnastics like a gymnast, then also mesh them all together.”
Mitchell told 1 NEWS that his team trains all week, up to three times a day.
He said the “aspiration is to be quite competitive” and “not just turn up and participate”.
Kohl believes they can get to the top five in the world because “of how we all train together”.
Although they don’t know what the workouts will be, Kohl said he’s trained for every scenario.
“The CrossFit games is like the Olympics for CrossFit ... it's pretty much just 0.01 per cent of all people doing CrossFit going to the CrossFit Games,” said Kohl.
The team has been vaccinated for Covid-19, and will spend an extra three-and-a-half weeks in America due to limited isolation spots being available in New Zealand.
“One mantra that will hold dearly to ourselves is that no one gets left behind, that it doesn’t matter whether you’re first or last,” said Mitchell.
The competition has taken place since 2007, with winners receiving cash prizes and the title of “Fittest on Earth”.
The 2021 CrossFit Games will be held from July 27.
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