Rotorua teens to test fitness at Crossfit Games

Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis, 15, (left) and Riley Martin, 17, are going to the Crossfit Games. Photo / Stephen Parker

Every year, the fittest athletes on Earth congregate in the United States to test themselves against each other at the Crossfit Games. Just qualifying to compete takes a near super human effort, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world attempt to do so. This year, two Rotorua teenagers made the cut - one for the first time and the other making his second appearance at the games. They finished in the top 200 in their age groups in the worldwide Crossfit Open and then in the top 10 in an online qualifier to book their tickets.

When he returned from his first Crossfit Games appearance where he finished eighth in the Teens 14-15 category in 2017, Riley Martin said the experience had given him the hunger to keep training and working on his weaknesses.

He was not lying - two years later, as a 17-year-old, he has qualified again, this time to compete in the Teens Category. It is his last shot at glory in the teenage divisions before he moves on to Open Men's.

Meanwhile, another Rotorua teenager Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis, 15, a young man with seemingly unlimited potential in the sport, has qualified for the first time, in the Teens 15-16 division.

Hiko said about five years ago, unhappy with his lifestyle and the way he looked, he started doing Crossfit workouts.

"I was a really chubby little kid and I decided I didn't want my life to be like that, I didn't want myself to be fat.

"I asked my parents if they could wake me up every morning and take me to the gym. They'd been doing it for a couple of years so they taught me all the moves."

Hiko is certainly not the "chubby little kid" he saw himself as five years ago anymore. In fact, based on the online qualifiers he is the fifth fittest athlete in his age group in the world.

"I'm more active than I used to be, I have heaps of energy and the mental toughness is 90 per cent of my performance, especially during the qualifiers."

I was a really chubby little kid and I decided I didn't want my life to be like that.

Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis

He was "really excited" to finish in the top 200 in the Open but said the online qualifiers after that, in which he needed to be top 10, were a little stressful at some stages, making it all the more rewarding when he made the cut.

"At the end, I was so happy with my results and excited. I finished fifth in the world. [During a workout] I just focus on my plan and the first movement that comes to me because I always fail when I think too far ahead."

His goal at the games is to make it onto the podium which he says will take a lot of time working harder on his weaknesses.

Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis, 15, (left) and Riley Martin, 17, work on their muscle ups. Photo / Stephen Parker

Meanwhile, Riley was confident that his previous experience at the Games would be an asset during his second appearance.

"I feel way more confident going into this year just because I know it's not all about how much you can lift. There's a lot of people in my grade who can lift heaps but it's about how fit you are.

"I know what I need to train and what I need to do better than last time."

He finished 16th in the Open and said the online qualifiers were tense but he scraped through in 10th place. When he qualified in 2017, the format was different and it was the top 20 teens of each age group who competed at the Games.

"I reckon I'll be more confident and it won't be so nerve-racking but it will also be harder because it's the top 10.

"I want to make the podium, hopefully win it, but it's a big ask coming from 10th place in the qualifiers. I think it is possible just because it was only the last workout in the qualifier that made me come 10th. If it was just the first four workouts I would've been about fifth place.

"You've got to be good at everything and you don't know what the workouts will be when you get there. Anything can happen."

The boys fly to America at the end of July and the Crossfit Games are held from August 1-4. They are both fundraising to get themselves and can be donated to at; givealittle.co.nz/cause/crossfit-games-2019 for Riley and www.facebook.com/donate/617283778751826/2255179104542979/ for Hiko.