Local Ipswich rugby league player Adam Smidt is looking to become “the fittest teenager in the world”.
The Ipswich Brothers player has qualified to compete in the upcoming CrossFit Games in the US city of Madison, Wisconsin, in August – but needs some help to get there.
With a preferred position of lock, Adam has been playing rugby league since 2012 and currently plays for Ipswich Brothers in club football and for St Peter Claver College (the same school as Anthony Milford and Joe Ofahengaue) at school. His school team will contest the upcoming Confraternity Shield carnival later this month.
The Reebok CrossFit Games are held every year in the US and Adam has qualified to represent Australia in the 16-17 years teenage division at the event being held from August 1-6 this year.
To quality, Adam was required to compete in the CrossFit Open which is a worldwide event held across five weeks from February 23 to March 27 where athletes complete a different workout each week and submit scores online.
Adam completed the five weeks and was ranked 1st in Queensland, 4th in the Australian region and 15th worldwide.
Adam Smidt performs muscle-ups during his last qualifying workout. Photo: supplied
Adam took up CrossFit in December 2014 as extra off-season training to increase his strength and conditioning for his rugby league after missing selection for the 2014 SEQ squad.
He is learning his new sport at Wiser1Crossfit in Ipswich, which is owned and operated by Adam's coach Alex Felagai, who has been tremendous in his support and has developed programs to help Adam perform at his best on the rugby league field.
As part of the weightlifting component of CrossFit, Adam has also been receiving additional training from Miles Wydall at Cougars Weightlifting, located at the Sleeman Centre, Chandler.
He recently competed in the Queensland Youth Championships for weightlifting and earned a silver medal, which qualified him for the Queensland Youth team that will compete at the 2017 National Youth Championships on July 8-9.
As the cost to get Adam to Madison is quite high, Wiser1Crossfit members have banded together and will host a fundraising CrossFit event on June 25 at the gym (Wiser1Crossfit, Shed 1 Westlink Business Park 170, Mt Crosby Rd, Ipswich).
Find out more information and register for the APPRENTICE ASCENSION event here.
You can watch Adam’s CrossFit promo video HERE.
