Among most of the known women weight lifter, she is one of the strongest CrossFit’s athletes. She became a last minute substitution for Camille Liblanc-Bazinet to compete against two-time Games champion Annie Thorisdottir in open workout 13.2. Especially well-known in the southern California region, Valenzuela’s expertise and performance with Olympic lifts in competition has expanded to a level where crossFitters worldwide are trying to “Lift like Lindsey Valenzuela”.

Achievements

1. After successfully competing 335reps in 13.2, it comes as no surprise that the 30 years old, two time Games veteran currently sits in second place in the highly competitive Southern California region. The interesting part is, Lindsey is second to early southern California frontrunner Andrea Ager, who she outperformed for the final CrossFit Games qualifying spot out of Southern California in 2012.
2. A 5 foot 4 inch tall, former collegiate volleyball player Valenzuela is always heading to qualify in CrossFit Games. She has made an impressive upsurge in the sport since placing 113^th at the south west Regionals in 2009, just a few month after toting crossFit to her standing Olympic weightlifting working out. As most CrossFit athletes are aware, getting started alone can take months for someone new to CrossFit, even if they were once a professional athlete.
3. She has been an inspiration through her achievements as an Olympic weightlifter. After diverting her focus from volleyball to weightlifting, Lindsey Valenzuela competed in her first Olympic weightlifting competition in 2008.
4. By December 2010, her PR’s were a 152 pound snatch and a 205 pound clean and jerk. At the same Valenzuela was competing in the 69 kilogram weight class. The following month, Lindsey placed first at the American Record Makers meet in January 2011, hitting a 174 pound snatch and 213 pound clean and jerk. Two months later, competing in a heavier weight class, she improved her weightlifting numbers to 178 pound snatch and a 231 pound clean and jerk.
5. By June 2011, she raised her PR’s to new heights with a 191 pound snatch and 238 pound clean and jerk. Just two weeks after competing in the 2011 CrossFit Games, where her training had added the additional gymnastics and metcon elements of the sport, Valenzuela took secon place in the 75 kilogram division at the 2011 national Weightlifting Championships.

There is no hesitation that Valenzuela’s progress is brilliant. As CrossFit has grown-up, it’s equally as inspiring to see how the recitals of the sport’s elite has strapped the entire cluster of top athletes to accomplish at an even higher level, not disparate how competitive training with other members of a box can push athletes to new statures. Though Valenzuela ponders herself as an Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit athlete, she has often been signified to as a “CrossFitter.” As CrossFit lingers to evolve after this year’s games, here’s to courage that we will be able to see even more athletes coming up and continuing to lift CrossFit as a sport as Valenzuela has done in such a short time.