Chicago mom is one of the most decorated Black athletes in the CrossFit world
CHICAGO (CBS) – Those who compete and master the CrossFit Games are considered some of the fittest athletes in the world.
The competitors combine weightlifting, squatting, jumping, and more, and they make it look easy. Elisabeth Akinwale, one of the most decorated Black athletes in the CrossFit world, just happens to call Chicago home.
Akinwale is a poster child for the elite athlete.
Reporter: "What's the most you can lift?"
Akinwale: "My PR ever would be about 250 [pounds]."
She's referring to her "personal record," an impressive feat.
The 45-year-old South Sider, single mother with a master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago is the most decorated Black athlete in the CrossFit world.
Akinwale embraced CrossFit after spending 15 years as a gymnast. A series of injuries led her to the weight room.
"The feeling of that power of doing an explosive lift, lifting something heavy, doing something very athletic," she said. "That was different."
With only six months of training, in 2011, she didn't just compete in her first regional games, she crushed it.
"It was really just in the moment like 'Grab the bar. Grab the bar,'" Akinwale said.
In the coming years, she won two regional titles, finished strong in the international games in 2015 and at one point was named the seventh-fittest woman on earth.
Reporter: "And being at the top of your game all those years, what was that like?"
Akinwale: "It was really fun. I mean, I truly enjoyed training and I often think about it's work, but it's work that you love."
But it's a love she didn't share with many Black women. So, why aren't there more Black women in the sport?
"If you look in a space and you don't see yourself reflected, you're not going to be as apt to [say], 'Oh I might want to try that,'" Akinwale said.
It also didn't help that in 2020, the CEO of CrossFit, Greg Glassman posted a tweet some saw as making light of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the police murder of George Floyd. Glassman eventually apologized, but Akinwale wanted to see more.
"During that whole Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, that was a perfect opportunity to start digging in," she said. "What is happening in our spaces that's leaving folks with a bad taste in their mouth or with feeling like it's not welcoming?"
Akinwale tried to address the issue by opening up a gym in Hyde Park. It eventually closed, but she still offers virtual training to private clients and she hopes that her achievements in CrossFit will encourage other Black women to try the sport.
"Anything we want to do, we can do it," she said. "We might have to step out there and be the only one or one of few. We might have to be that trailblazer, but just do it."
So, will Akinwale ever compete again?
"Yeah, I can see it," she said. "I really can see it. I definitely have embraced, like, you never know where life's gonna take you."
So, the CrossFit world may not have seen the last of this pioneer.
"You never know," she said. "Anything is possible."
While it's unclear if Akinwale will compete again, she can be found on social media where she often shares encouraging words to those training for the games or just trying to improve their overall fitness.
