Former all-American volleyball player and Olympic weightlifter Lindsey Valenzuela went from 34th at last year’s Games to ninth this year—and she has bigger goals in 2012. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.
In July, Lindsey Valenzuela finished the CrossFit Games in ninth place, jumping 25 spots from 2011 and meeting her goal of making the top 10 in 2012.
“It was an amazing arc in a year,” said her coach, Dusty Hyland. “She climbed the ladder and the competition got stiffer. For her, we’ve seen a lot of growth as an athlete on a mental level, on a competitive level and on a physical level.”
For the new training year, Valenzuela’s programming will mostly be the same. For Hyland, he wants to address weaknesses that led to low finishes at the Games, including 37th in the O-Course, 39th in the Broad Jump and 25th in the Rope-Sled.
“What we’re going to do this season is get her more prepared for the unknown,” he said. “She’s going to get a heavy dose of gymnastics and weightlifting.”