GG: We remember you as a teen here last year, and now here you are as a Pro. That’s a big jump.
Ellie Tarence: A big change.
GG: How does that feel?
ET: So I actually emailed John [Swanson] or direct messaged him on Facebook and was like, “Is there any way you could extend the teenage division to 19 year olds so I could come back?” Because I really didn’t think there was a chance that I would make or qualify for Pro, but I just ended up doing the qualifier hoping to see if I could qualify, and now I’m so excited to see where I stand against girls I’ve looked up to.
GG: That’s so cool. I know you guys seemed to have such a blast in the teen division last year.
ET: Oh, for sure, for sure. I met girls last year who are some my best friends now. We’ve gone on trips together; they live in Iowa and I live in Alabama and we would meet up halfway. And we went to Regionals together!
GG: You made Regionals this year on a team, didn’t you?
ET: I was supposed to, we qualified to go. But one of the girls on our team had to withdraw and we didn’t have any alternates so we didn’t get to go. I still went to watch, though. Hopefully next year.
GG: Haha yes, you are quite young yet. You also mentioned that you made this a trip with your dad last year? And you guys are repeating that tradition this year. What does that mean to you to be able to share this with your dad?
ET: It means a lot to me because CrossFit is one of my biggest passions, one of my favorite things, and my dad is my best friend so it’s a very special trip to be able to come all the way from Alabama and spend the whole weekend together. He gets to see me do something I love and it means a lot for him to come support me. I really appreciate the sacrifice he makes by taking off work and such.
GG: It’s so very cool that you have that support. Last question: what workout are you most excited about this weekend?
ET: Definitely the swim! I was planning on swimming in college, but then I didn’t because I found CrossFit. So I’ve never been able to swim competitively before now, so it’s exciting to be able to put the two together.
But I’m also excited about the legless rope climb, burpee box jump combo. Legless rope climbs were one of my worst movements at last year’s games but I worked on it all year and burpee box jumps are my best movement so I’m excited to take on my worst and best movements together and see how my hard work has paid off.
