Sam Lycett, a coach at Lighthouse Adventure Fitness, will be taking part in the Adaptive CrossFit Games, an inclusive event aimed at pushing the fitness capabilities of the world’s top adaptive athletes through a variety of high-intensity functional movements. It takes place at Westgate Resort between today and Sunday.
Mr Lycett first got into CrossFit back in 2017 in his hometown of Portland in the UK as an alternative way of keeping fit to his beloved motocross, which he had done since he was a child.
‘I loved the skill involved in CrossFit but also the fact that anyone could do it,’ he said.
He began taking part in competitions and started his career in the fitness industry in 2021.
But in 2022 he suffered a severe left wrist injury in a motocross accident, leading to multiple surgeries and eventually a full wrist fusion in April last year.
He was not able to lift anything for months, and will never regain full mobility in his wrist.
He was even advised by medical specialists to reconsider his career.
But since discovering adaptive CrossFit, he has worked hard to realign and pursue his goals, even receiving support from adaptive CrossFit athletes around the world – including American Adaptive CrossFit Games champion Casey Acree – as part of his recovery.
‘Casey just said to me “why not try?” and that’s stuck with me,’ he said.
‘What happened with the accident was devastating, but I’ve gradually learned how to adapt to my injury and adjust my techniques for the different exercises.’
In January 2024, Mr Lycett competed in the open adaptive division at Wodapalooza Fitness Festival in Miami, and has managed to qualify for next month’s event in Las Vegas after excelling in two online competitions organised by adaptive CrossFit platform WheelWOD earlier this year.
‘For the first event we had to do three workouts and submit a score, there were 40 athletes in my adaptive upper two-point category and I managed to finish in the top 20 which meant I went through to semi-final,’ he said.
‘For the semi we had to submit five workouts and I placed sixth overall, only the top 10 qualified for Vegas.
‘Essentially I’m currently ranked sixth in the world for my category.’
Making the journey out to ‘Sin City’ is not coming cheap, and Mr Lycett has started a GoFundMe page in order to help him cover £3,000-worth of travel expenses and costs.
‘It’s a lot of money but this is a global stage for athletes like myself, such an amazing opportunity,’ he said.
‘I’m fortunate that so many people have already donated. I see it as a chance to represent Guernsey, the UK and the adaptive CrossFit community.’
As for the exercises he would be undertaking, Mr Lycett said he was feeling most confident about the gymnastic-based movements, including a box jump.
He was most nervous about the heavy lifting exercises.
But he said that overall he was excited to show what was possible through resilience and willpower.
‘It would have been easy to give up following my injury, but I’m proud of myself getting as far as I have. It’ll be a pretty cool experience out in Vegas.’