Chloe Gauvin-David - The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series

We catch up with Chloe Gauvin-David as she turns her attention away from competing on a team and now competing as an indivdual.  After a stellar finish in the CrossFit Open, will that carry over to a very stacked North America East Semiinal

What is Clydesdale Media Podcast?

We cover the sport of CrossFit from all angles. We talk with athletes, coaches and celebrities that compete and surround in the sport of CrossFit at all levels. We also bring you Breaking News, Human Interest Stories and report on the Methodology of CrossFit. We also use the methodology to make ourselves the fittest we can be.

I was born to kill it.

I was meant to win.

I am down and willing,

so I will find a way.

It took a minute,

now it didn't happen right away.

When they get hot in the kitchen,

you decide to stay.

That's how a winner's made.

Stick a fork in the hater on

my dinner plate.

What is going on, everybody?

Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,

where we are featuring the

athletes of the 2024

CrossFit Games Semifinals.

And I'm so honored and

privileged to have with me,

and I hope I get this right,

Chloe Govan-David.

Nailed it.

That's perfect.

All right, cool.

Awesome.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah, I really appreciate it.

Thank you for jumping on with me.

I love celebrating the

accomplishments of semifinals.

I think it goes unrecognized too much,

and it's a huge

accomplishment to make it this far.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's well said.

It's so competitive,

and just every year it gets

more competitive.

So getting there is truly, as you say,

an accomplishment.

Yeah, and in North America East,

really a big accomplishment

to make that top 40.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a pretty stacked field.

I mean,

all the podcasts are talking about it.

I mean, Europe and the East.

So again, just making it,

it's like a huge accomplishment.

So happy.

Did I hear a rumor that you retired?

You heard it right.

I think I got maybe like

eight DMs after like, are you going?

Is this just for fun?

Are you trying to get, you know,

the strength of feel?

Like, why are you there?

So I got a bunch of DMs and

you got it right.

Like retirement, that's what I said.

Okay.

And here we are.

And whatever it is, it is, right?

Kind of.

Yeah, I guess you could say it that way.

I mean, for me,

it was more about maybe

changing my focus last year

and making sure that

retirement for me meant

I'm not doing what everybody

else is doing.

So the time in the gym, the priorities,

and it was just a shift of focus.

And the fact that I'm here is amazing,

but it really was about the

shift of focus and what I

wanted to focus on for the year.

And just being here again is just,

I would almost say miracle.

Well,

we'll get into that in a second, but I've,

I've talked to other

athletes who have really

found that when they kind

of shift focus and reduce

the volume they're under,

their bodies are starting

to feel much better.

And like,

I talked to Scott Tetlow in this

series and he was like,

I feel better this year

than I've ever felt.

And I really changed my

focus to family and our

business and less time in the gym.

And it's actually become a benefit.

Yeah, that's pretty close.

I mean, listening to that,

it almost hits home.

It sounds very,

very similar to how I've

been taking my year, changing the focus,

and then seeing that less volume,

your body feels better,

as he said and as you've said,

and seeing how that affects

your performance.

And that, yes,

feeling better means that

when you give it,

you can actually give it 100%.

So like not having to do any re-dos,

really focusing on just

doing it once and your

body's feeling good.

So you don't have to redo

because all my elbow or my knee,

or I was tired from my other trainings,

or there's just nothing

that's influencing it.

You're just giving your a

hundred percent and then

seeing where that lies.

So for people who don't know,

you are a multiple-time games athlete,

once as an individual in 2018,

and then you shifted focus to team.

And your Instagram says three times,

CrossFit site says four times.

Well, either way, it's pretty impressive.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Um,

so why the shift from individual after

a successful year,

finishing 25th top 25 in

the world's pretty

impressive and then shifting to team.

Yeah, that's a good question.

I think it's something

actually I've kind of

thought about and why did I

do that shift in 2019?

Um,

I would definitely say if I can be candid,

2018 was the rookie season

and I think everybody has

their rookie season differently.

Some people have that huge

upward trajectory,

some people live it and

it's almost like a dazed feeling.

And I think I was more in the camp of,

I was I'll say underprepared.

I didn't really have a coach.

I was doing it mostly by

myself and I qualified.

And I feel the coach that

was helping me in my day to day,

he was almost like my gym

coach more than like my personal coach.

And we looked at each other

in 2018 and said,

so you qualified now what?

we didn't even have a game

plan past regionals.

Back then it was regionals.

So I just feel like I was underprepared.

I lived the games and I kind

of had like almost a pit in

my stomach of what did I just live?

Is that really what I want

to continue doing?

So a little bit of

questioning and wonder

mixed with a little bit of, like I said,

daze and confuse of what I

had just lived.

And I just decided that like 2018,

I want to see how I've at 2019, sorry,

following 2018,

I kind of wanted to take a

step back and see how I

felt about CrossFit, my career.

I was also entering teaching at the time.

So I feel like it was a

mixed form that meant I

just had to take a year off.

So 2019,

I didn't compete in any CrossFit events.

Okay.

They have you listed on the team in 2019.

Were you an alternate?

Exactly.

So at the time they said, Oh,

would you like to just be an alternate?

Let's just say something happens.

I mean, you will call you,

you put your shoes on and

you'll show up and you'll,

you'll do your best.

And I said, I'm up for that.

So in your three years on a team,

you never finished outside the top 10.

That's true.

Yep.

That is really impressive.

And so when I,

when I go back and I look

through your Instagram researching you,

and I mean this in the sincerest way,

I couldn't find any holes in what you do.

And I know that Instagram is

a highlight reel,

but you're good on your hands.

You lift a lot of weight.

Everything seems to be sound.

The one thing you can't see

is engine or running,

but you're a very complete athlete.

Well,

that's the biggest compliment I think

I've ever received.

I think that's what CrossFit, right?

That's the whole point is

trying to be the well-rounded athlete.

Like you said, not having any holes.

I think that's the major

point of conversation,

even between coaches and athletes.

We have to make sure we are program proof,

right?

We can show up.

And whatever comes out,

we're able to tackle it and

not be too stressed about it.

I would say you're giving me

a little bit more credit

than maybe I deserve.

If you're asking,

I would definitely say that

strength is my weakness.

So more the clean, the front squat,

the back squat.

Snatch,

which is funny because that's

what's coming out, is my strongest lift.

which is, I mean, great for semifinals,

but I would definitely say

that a front squat clean, as I said,

is definitely something I have worked on.

And speaking of that retirement,

This past year, I've been doing strength.

I was like, I like the strength element.

And that's something I

haven't been able to

develop in my career.

It's been something that's held me back.

So this year I was like, oh,

I'll just do some more

lifting and enjoy that part of the sport.

And actually I've really

made some big gains.

And that's probably what

you've seen on my Instagram

is recently I've posted a

lot of lifting because

that's been my main focus

as an off season, just for fun,

because it's something that

I actually enjoy doing.

Yeah.

I, what's coming to mind is, um,

three 45s on each side on a back squat,

rough math.

I'm thinking just over 300 pounds.

Yeah.

I mean, my, my box.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's fine.

Yeah.

And to give it to the other girls though,

like some girls can take that and just,

you know, go for 10, 10 reps at that,

which I like giving people

credit where it's due.

And if I 300 is one rep,

like everything's aligned,

the stars are aligned.

And I think for other girls,

that's just something they

can hit on any day, barefoot in shorts,

you know?

So I'll give credit where it's due,

but I've definitely made

strength gains and I'm

proud of that for myself.

You should be proud of that.

With what I saw with the

pirouettes on your handstands,

you pirouetted on a box.

Last year at the Games,

your seated legless looked good.

I could not find holes.

So yeah, 300 isn't the heaviest,

but when you pair it with

what else you can do,

I think you're pretty complete.

Thank you.

I really appreciate that.

And looking back,

we're the toughest critics as athletes.

We just want anything that we can just be,

okay, that's not good enough.

And you got to go in the gym.

And I mean,

we really are the toughest

critics on ourselves.

Yeah.

And you need to be right.

Self-assessment is key to

being successful in this sport.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

It's that grind,

that will to go get that

one second where everybody says, oh,

that's good enough.

And for us, that one second is crucial,

right?

On a row, on a run, super important.

Sarah Cooper,

our resident Canadian in the chat.

I joined late.

Is she competing in the East?

Yes, she is.

Oh, yes.

So you come into the East in

13th position.

They take 11 spots.

For being retired,

that's really close to a qualifying spot.

Does that add extra pressure

to this or are you not

letting that factor in?

It's hard, right?

I think anybody who decides

to pay the entrance fee and

show up doesn't want to

show up and just do it.

So I'm not going to say, oh,

I'm just going to show up and do it.

Of course,

I'm going to show up and compete

to the 100% that I can give.

And that'll be what that'll be.

And my personal barometer of

what I want to achieve is

feel that I gave everything

I had in the event.

And I think that's cliche,

but that's really what I'm

trying to hold on to.

What am I able to give in this event?

And you know it, whether you're, I think,

Tia,

you know if you've stepped out on the

floor and given everything you can,

regardless of first or 30th or 40th.

So I think for me,

that's the most important.

And the rankings and the qualifying spot,

I mean, it is what it is.

Our field is stacked, as we've said.

So less about the qualifying

spots and more about what I can give.

And if it happens, it happens,

but it's not necessarily

something I'm like writing

on a board and really just aiming for.

Did I read right that your

gym is a pro one in Montreal?

So that's the gym.

Yeah.

That's the gym that I do.

I'll do half of my,

like half of my training, but I'm also,

I own a gym as well.

C2 athletics.

So I do both.

I own that gym,

but pro one is definitely

where I get more of my like

serious training.

So I'm also coaching the pro

one team that's in the east.

So we've been doing a

YouTube series of Grind to Greatness,

and I've been the head

coach along with Fred,

who's my assistant coach.

So I've been coaching the team,

trying to train,

trying to juggle all of

that all together.

Wow.

So I didn't even know that.

So let's dive down that.

How does that work on the weekend?

Do you need Fred to take

over more of that at the

event because you'll be doing individual?

Yeah,

so that comes with the complexities

of the season.

So of course being, we'll just say retired,

quote unquote.

What I mean by retired in my

language means I'm not

putting the efforts that I

usually have put in the

last 12 years and what may happen,

happen.

But I told the team that I

would be coaching them and

that I would be their main

source of like help and strategy.

I love strategy.

I think that's one of my

biggest strengths as an

athlete is a strategy.

So we've been working on

different variations for the workouts.

So my priority is still being with them.

So Fred will be there.

He has the coaches pass

since I have my athlete pass.

However, we'll be really working together.

And if I need to cut my

warmup five minutes short, well,

that's going to be it

because I've really chosen

to help that team.

And I really want them to make the games.

That's definitely my focus.

And if the audience doesn't know,

you were on move fast,

lift heavy last year,

fourth place at the games,

three times inside the top 10.

Like if anybody knows how to

prepare a team, it would be Chloe.

yeah I i love team I i and I

get the bad rap and all the

podcasts saying oh should

we do away with teams and

all that discussion but I

truly think there are

amazing athletes on the

teams and I think it's

often overlooked like as

you said and I'm not trying

to toot my own horn but I

went to the games

individually in 2018 which

is considered one of the

hardest years with one of

the hardest first days

And then I switched to team

voluntarily and been in the top 10.

So I think it's pretty easy

to write off the team athletes,

but I think,

I think we can hang with the individuals.

I just maybe think it's a

different venue that we enjoy.

Some athletes have done team

all their life, basketball, volleyball,

soccer, and they just like that stream.

It doesn't necessarily mean

you're a lesser athlete.

It might just mean that you

enjoy the team aspect.

Like I love warm and I know

people usually don't say that, but yeah,

The feeling of being on a

team and moving an object

together and just being one

symbiotic unit, I just love that feeling.

And it doesn't almost come

close to doing it alone.

I just love the work.

Is your athletic background

in team sports?

Ironically, no.

Yes.

Soccer.

Yeah.

Okay.

Definitely.

But my main, main, um,

career was gymnast that the,

the pair wet background,

that's where it comes from.

So the gymnastics really

high level and did soccer

as well on the side as my

summer sport that I wanted to enjoy.

So I did love soccer, but gymnastics,

that individual sport was

definitely it for me.

And that's perhaps why I

went 2018 individually.

But then I just fell in love

doing team once.

I remember the first time I

did pro one team,

they invited me and they're like, okay,

we're gonna do a worm

workout from the games.

This is the first workout

ever that I've touched the worm.

They're like,

we just wanna see if you can hang.

And I remember cleaning the

worm and turning the wrong side,

first rep.

And I just go, okay,

this is what it's going to be.

But I mean, as we all do,

we immediately fall in love

with like the struggle and

the want to be better.

And then I was like, okay,

I'm sold on team.

So, you know,

there is a lot of talk about that.

What does team have a place?

And, and I would contend that it's,

it's great.

It's just not great on an indoor venue.

Like it gets,

if the floor gets too packed

and it gets confusing and,

Like when it's outside,

like when it was on North Park,

like I thought it was awesome, right?

Because you can see what

teams wear and the story is

easier to see.

When you're in the Coliseum,

everybody's jam-packed

together and it's really

hard to tell the story.

And I think that's where

CrossFit is missing the

mark some in all of the

aspects is they forget it

needs to be a spectator sport.

Yeah, I agree.

I totally agree.

I mean, I remember my mom telling me,

sometimes I couldn't even

find you on the floor.

And I mean, that's my mom.

It's hard to follow.

I totally agree.

And the camera work as well.

Sometimes the cameramen and

women don't know what's going on exactly.

They haven't been briefed.

So they're trying to catch

the best stories,

but they don't necessarily.

I mean,

CrossFit did do an effort going

from six to four to have

less athletes total on the floor.

Does it mean we need to cut to three?

I don't know.

I'm talking out loud,

but does it mean three?

Does it mean, I mean,

water Palooza just posted

that there would be

different styles of events

on their team roster that

they want to do.

So it's like one relay,

one specialty event.

Like,

is this a venue we can maybe go down

where it's a little bit more predictable,

but you can also get

invested in watch and know

what's coming up.

Like, okay.

Captains are going to go up.

That means, you know,

Fikowski is going to be against, you know,

so-and-so.

And maybe that way you can

tell the athlete stories as

well when they're going one-on-one.

You could say, okay, Chloe,

who's been to the games?

And that story might be a

little bit more interesting

for people to jump in,

especially with super teams like NOAA.

Like now,

like spectators want to follow

those athletes that are

transitioning to teams.

So all great ideas,

but we have to see what

CrossFit wants to do.

Yeah,

and this wasn't supposed to be a team

conversation,

but I like some of the

aspects of grid where you

can have a specialist who

can highlight what they do really,

really well.

And I think if you had a

team where these two people

take the floor for this event,

these two people take it

for another event,

there are some four-person events,

and you mix that up,

I think it would go a long

way to make the sport way

more interesting.

it doesn't mean it's grid it

just means you're you're

changing up the lineup

occasionally yeah and

highlighting as you said

highlighting specialists

like a tola like a gymnast

absolutely you want to show

that and show what the

sport can do so you're

really highlighting the

maximum potential of each

sphere like that pyramid

like weightlifting

gymnastics you're

highlighting the pyramid

individually within a team

so it is still staying true to crossfit

Like this weekend in Europe,

you saw Andrea Soberg do

the handstand run, right?

Wouldn't it be cool that if

she was on one team,

Daniel Brandon's on another,

and they go head-to-head in

a handstand run, right?

Like that's only good for the sport.

Yes.

And you can challenge them

even more knowing you have

that talent hitting the floor.

You can really push the

programming as well in the events because,

you know,

it's going to be specialists

hitting the floor and

you're not trying to cover the 40,

the breadth of 40 athletes as well.

Yeah.

So back to you,

you're listed as a proven athlete.

So why the move to proven athletes?

Yeah, actually, surprisingly,

I've been with proven since 2021.

Okay.

Yeah.

But that's okay.

I don't think I,

I don't really post a lot

on Instagram necessarily, or I don't,

I don't do it because I know,

like I know Christian has

his own like programming

and stuff like that.

And you're on a team together.

You just make that assumption.

You're doing his programming.

Of course, which is, which is normal.

It makes, it makes total sense.

However,

I live in Canada and they live in

the U S so I,

We would,

I would take a flight and do a lot,

a lot of traveling for that,

which I was very happy to do.

We were all really focused

on podium and trying to go

be that top three.

But when I'm in my gym by myself,

I'm not necessarily

following their programming.

Proven has known me a while

and their type of

programming as well suits me.

I think that's the thing with Proven,

Mayhem, hard work pays off.

In my opinion,

there's not necessarily a better program.

I just think different

programs will attack

certain weaknesses or biases.

And I think as an athlete,

you need to find what are your biases and

And find what program is

really like highlighting

and working on those biases.

So for me,

it's more strength and being

consistent in that.

And I've tried, ma'am,

I've tried a few and proven

was really somewhere that I

felt I was consistently getting better,

regardless of the style of

programming that they would

do year round.

I would just keep getting better.

So it just fit with me.

Do you have a coach there?

No, no.

You're just doing the online programming.

Exactly.

You got it.

No, no coach.

I don't think I've ever had a coach.

Nope.

No, my entire career has been,

I'll say coachless.

I've had, I mean, nutrition coaches,

but I've always done things by myself.

I think that's something I'm proud of.

I think it's pretty rare.

I'm completely alone,

adjusting some programming,

some volume things,

like of course proven

writes down things and I'll check in.

Um, but I need to adjust for myself.

If a day you don't feel good

just because it's written 90%,

you're going to get injured if you do it.

So it's been a lot of

listening to myself and

seeing how I feel day to

day and then adjusting there.

Are you still working as a teacher?

Right now I'm contractless,

but I do coach at my gym, but yes,

I do teach.

Um, by contract,

I haven't yet been able to

find a full-time positions of Quebec.

I live in Quebec.

It's very difficult.

It can take up to five years

to get your like permanency where you are,

you know,

every year you're going to have

that class.

So for now it's been

contract work contacting, okay.

Six months at this school, secondary level,

primary level.

I've been running around

trying to find my permanency.

So I don't know if you know this,

but Carolyn Prevost is a

co-host of mine on my show.

And she's a teacher.

She's a CrossFit Games athlete.

She talks about how difficult it is.

Not difficult,

but it's just a different

way of doing things because

of her teaching schedule

and trying to fit in

working out and training

and all of that stuff.

Is that something you can

commiserate with her on?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

No, she's one of the,

few left that are not full-time athletes.

Even Europe,

I was listening to the commentators,

and you can hear, you know,

so-and-so has made the

switch to being a full-time athlete.

So-and-so has switched,

and this full year has a

coach and is a full-time athlete.

And I always think of the

and of this world where I go, wow,

that's amazing that they're

at this level with the

insane schedule that they

have to maintain,

where you have no choice

but to sacrifice some of your recovery,

Things come up, meetings,

parent-teacher interviews.

There's just things you can't move.

You can ask for time off.

And of course,

they're going to adjust your schedule.

But there's some things in

the year that are just set

and you have to do it.

So the Pribos of this world

are absolutely amazing.

And they're showing that

anything is possible.

So as we say, no excuses.

And she takes pride in that.

She should.

She absolutely should.

And it's crazy, like her schedule,

like she'll leave a

semifinal right after it's

done on Sunday to get back

in time to teach on Monday.

Yep.

Like it's insane.

So much respect for her.

Exactly.

No, it's amazing, but it's also inspiring.

It's one thing to live it and to be proud,

but it's also inspiring.

Like I know a lot of people tell me, oh,

I know I can do it because you do it.

And you're an inspiration in

the sense that you don't

have to put all the eggs in

one basket to necessarily

be successful and to be

able to push your body and

do the amazing things that we do.

And I know Prevost is even another level.

She was doing hockey as well as teaching.

Like I follow her.

I know her.

We're pretty close.

It's fun.

We write on Instagram.

So like, I just can't believe it.

She's absolutely amazing.

And she deserves all the

recognition that I think

she doesn't necessarily get.

So it's great that podcasts

can really highlight that.

Yeah,

I love the fact that she came on as a

co-host because she

deserves more recognition

for what she does.

And hopefully that'll happen.

And she knows the sport inside out,

backwards, sideways,

which is really cool.

Back to you.

Since you don't have a coach,

who gets your coaches banned?

My mom.

Okay, didn't take care of.

Yeah, it's, I mean, my mom and my dad,

I'm super, super close.

My family is, we're a very,

very tight unit.

So my boyfriend is on the pro one team.

So it's going to be really a

family affair.

So my boyfriend's going to be on the team.

He's going to be coaching

him and the team and helping them out.

My mom is going to have the coaches pass.

My dad will be able to go

down into the family section.

So it's new at Synlica.

We got the information at

Syndicate that at the front line,

it's going to be all the family access.

So my dad's going to be down there.

My mom's going to,

carry my bags.

Actually,

my mom made semifinals this year

in the 65 plus.

So she's awesome.

She's a pretty cool athlete.

So yeah, we, uh, um, we follow the masters,

um, and we're super,

we love covering them.

There's so many cool stories

in the master's division.

Yeah.

Syndicate.

One thing they do really

well is that family section.

Um, it's so cool.

I didn't know I've been to Atlas games.

I've been to Orlando, but I had this,

my first experience at syndicate.

So when I saw that section,

I like screenshot it,

sent it to my parents and said,

I'm going to see you at the finish line.

This means we're going to cry.

Yeah.

It's so cool.

They do a great job with that.

You've seen Europe and Asia

go this weekend.

Did you tune in to look and see what,

what everything looked like

or is that okay?

Yeah.

course firstly I tuned in

for the team so I had my

notebook out and was you

know split times and like

we didn't know that if you

put the worm down it would

be five burpee penalty that

wasn't mentioned so we're

really getting all the

little details the little

nuances of the workout that

for myself the handstand

walk will it be obstacle

pirouette or just straight

there and back so just

looking especially at the

flow since I don't have a

coach looking at the flow,

making sure everything is

understood by the athlete.

So it's a it's a two part

process and then making sure that,

you know, like, OK,

what are the times this is what it is?

OK,

this means that that transitions a bit

slower, faster and just

looking at what I can change,

but knowing that I'm going

there to do my best, have fun.

And that means not stressing

over someone did 10 minutes.

It's like, okay, awesome.

Applaud.

That's amazing.

But I'm not trying to take

too much of it into my

heart because that's not

going to help me on the floor.

it's it's funny with all the

athletes I've talked to

through the semi-final

series like sam quant says

I he doesn't watch the full

events it just too much

pressure for him he'll

watch to see like how an

athlete his size handles

this or what are the what

are they holding on the row

or and then he just turns

it off and walks away

Just gets the information

he's trying to get and then he goes away.

Carolyn is very different.

She wants to see the whole thing.

She wants to put a chip on her shoulder.

She wants like all that stuff.

So you are someone that it

sounds like you're so into

the strategy aspect of this

that you just need to know all the data.

Yeah, I'm definitely a data girl.

Yeah.

Definitely split times and

transitions and things like that.

I think it really helps me

during the workout,

especially when you're in

the moment on the floor, the heart rate,

the music.

If you can just focus on the

little tidbit informations

that for me makes the stress easier.

It's on the bike.

What do you have to do on the bike?

So I'm not thinking about the box.

I'm thinking about what's

happening on the bike.

And then three steps jump.

You know, are you going to chalk?

Are you not going to chalk?

Where are you going to chalk?

So again,

I don't mind giving my strategies

because again, I'm having fun,

but just trying to split.

So when you go on the floor,

it's just like an execution

at this point.

You're not saying, oh yeah,

I should have talked.

Well, it's not even a question for me.

Everything is already mapped

out and laid out in my brain.

So, you know, the old saying,

everybody has a plan until

they get punched in the face.

Does that ever happen to you?

Anything is possible.

And I would definitely say team.

Team is where things get

really interesting because

it's a four person breakdown potential.

So when you're by yourself,

it's you might break down.

But when you're four,

it's knowing you might

break down or the three

others might break down at

different times.

And I think that's as a team,

it's really important to

step out of yourself.

And actually,

it's completely different

than individually.

So when I'm team,

I'm actually outside of my body,

only looking at the team.

And I've been captain mostly in my team,

except for move fast.

It was Chris Harris.

But during the program team,

it's really about analyzing

everybody else.

OK, he's bent over.

What does that mean?

Her hands are on her knees.

What does that mean?

So I know my whole team and

their body language.

But individually,

it's your own body language

and how you're feeling.

So, I mean,

of course it's happened before.

2018, right?

I was against Prevost.

You probably know the story

with the four point

difference that I ended up qualifying,

but I didn't even finish a

legless rope climb event.

So my legless rope climbs

were not good at that time.

And I just stood under the rope.

I had like an 80 point gap.

And Prevo and I at the end were like,

we don't even know who, it was so tight.

We didn't even know.

And then four point

difference made it that it was me.

So I've been punched in the

face a few times.

Yeah.

So, and,

and what's funny is when I watched

your seated legless at the

games last year and going

back to your Instagram,

you had had an elbow

surgery prior to that.

And so I think your post was like,

you were really worried

about that aspect of it,

but it went much easier

than you even anticipated.

Yeah, exactly.

I think the one moment, actually,

my mom asked me last year,

what was your favorite

moment of semi of the games?

And it's a ridiculous moment,

but I remember going on the mat,

doing my seated legless last round.

I'm against men and women coming down.

And my dad has a photo.

I'm the first off.

I'm just standing,

waiting for Chris to finish his ski,

which makes sense.

The ski was longer.

And I'm just standing like,

I finished my legless first.

This is a huge accomplishment for me,

which again, every athlete is different.

I just remember that 2018

looking at the rope,

almost wanting to cry and

now seated at the games on

a crash mat and just crushing it.

I mean, for me,

that's the biggest win I

could have as an athlete.

Isn't it cool that like,

whether you're an athlete,

an average Joe in the gym

or a CrossFit Games athlete,

you can have those moments

where you've overcome

something and like the joy

from that is just immense.

Exactly right.

CrossFit varies from degree, not kind.

It's the same thing for that.

I mean,

ringing the bell of a PR from the

empty bar to the legless is

that same exact feeling.

And it's just awesome.

And getting the athlete that

I coach to understand that

at first nobody wants to ring the bell.

I'm like, go ring the bell.

And they're like, I just did a box jump.

Like, yeah,

you've been trying for three months.

Oh, but it's, it's not like you.

And I'm like, it is like me.

It's the same thing.

You're not leaving the gym

until you ring the bell.

And then like, once they do it,

they get it.

And everybody claps in the gym.

And it's just,

it's such a wonderful thing that,

My mom's favorite sentence, as you can see,

I speak often about my mom,

but I see her every day in

the gym and she says,

CrossFit gets me in tune

with my own like superpower,

my own superhuman.

She's like,

I would have never been on my

hands in another place in my life.

And now CrossFit,

I'm doing handstand pushups.

It's like your own

extraordinariness is

discovered through CrossFit.

It's just, it's so beautiful.

Yeah.

And it makes it,

it makes the sport so

relatable to anybody who

walks into a box.

Because they can watch and go, oh my gosh,

they PR'd.

I know that feeling.

Yep.

Yep.

That's, that's why the lifting event,

in my opinion,

gets the most like crowd

going crazy because

everybody can identify with that.

Like, yes, of course,

workouts are workouts,

but the crowd gets fired up

because they know stepping

up to the bar hand to hand.

And like just the rush that you get,

everybody can identify with that.

And I think that's why those

lifting events just get the crowd going.

It's just wild.

I can't wait for that event.

Well, and that's what I want to,

I kind of want to end on is you're OG.

So you did the snatch ladder

in 2016 at regionals.

Now you get to redo it.

How excited are you to see

how far you've come from 2016 to today?

Yeah, I saw known and knowable, right?

Mark Halpin,

he posted which athletes had

done it in 2016.

And I was like, wow, okay,

there's not that many

athletes left that had

taken on that 2016 ladder.

I mean, for me, it's more redemption.

I think that's gonna be the

word to associate with

Chloe's redemption because

my elbow surgery was that

year and it was snatches.

And I snapped my elbow on a snatch.

So that 2016 was really, really,

really rough.

I finished the ladder,

which already is amazing

with that torn elbow.

And I just remember going

through it saying, okay,

I hope I'll be okay.

I hope I'll be okay.

I finished it and I was so proud.

And this year it's about attacking it.

It's such a different,

completely different vibe.

Now it's how many seconds can I save?

How am I going to walk to the bar?

So back to strategy,

but just that mindset

difference just shows the

difference that we've

evolved in CrossFit.

Just watching the Europe.

It was amazing to see the,

all the times fall and

seeing the huge difference

between Matt Frazier.

They showed him doing it.

And then today.

It's amazing.

So I can't wait to just do

it and then have that

thought of remembering, wow,

I was scared to do it.

And now I'm just like crushing it.

It's awesome.

So what's more impressive

that Matt Fraser's record

got beat by 30 seconds or

that only three people beat

Matt Fraser eight years later?

Definitely Matt Frazier 2016.

I mean, there's not even a contest.

There's not even a contest.

I mean, that was just, I was in the East,

right?

I was in the venue when he did it.

And I remember just

everybody was just jaw dropped.

Nobody even knew what to say

at that point.

It was so amazing.

But definitely watching

Europe do it is awesome.

But you just remember how

amazing Matt Frazier was at what he does.

And I feel like, hey,

we should have rolled out a barbell.

He was there.

We should have asked him to do it.

Yeah.

Just kidding.

Just kidding.

So everybody's been saying like in 16,

it was the first event.

Yes.

This year it's the fifth

event and people are like,

people are going to be tired,

not sure about the times.

And then world records get

broke on both sides of the table.

And Elisa Fuliano out of

nowhere wins that event and

breaks the record by a lot.

Yeah,

it was definitely her two bars at one

75 where I think those were the fastest,

almost doubles that she hit

through the whole cycle.

She rolled the bar.

And I even remember when

they were talking about Laura, they said,

Elisa Foliano,

she loaded that barbell and

hit two bars in,

I think he said like eight, 40,

30 seconds,

which is huge when we're

talking about so close to your,

so close to your PR.

That was the most impressive

moment watching her is just

doing that double so fast

under that fatigue, the stress.

And like you said, fifth event in,

it was just amazing.

Yeah, I think, you know,

if you've CrossFitted for any time at all,

you hear the term smooth as fast.

And if you look that up,

I think her take on that

ladder was smooth as fast.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

She just, she flew without being panicked,

without, it was just bar, bar, bar.

And the speed at which she

would exit the overhead

squat for me was the

biggest indicator she caught.

But the speed out of the squat,

even at 135, I was like, okay,

this is another level.

Yeah.

So let's finish up with this.

I know you're just there to have fun.

And your goal is just to, to do the best,

have the best weekend you can have.

Right.

Yeah.

Um, any other goals for the weekend?

Yeah, I would firstly say,

and I know this is probably

not the answer you want, but the team,

I really want the team to qualify.

We've put so much energy and

time that that's really what I'm,

I'll be the happiest the

moment they qualify.

And it's great because

Saturday they're done.

So Saturday it's done.

They get to qualify.

We move on.

And then Sunday I get to

tackle on half of the events, right?

It's moving Sunday.

It's not moving Saturday this year.

And I think using that Sunday to enjoy.

I think Friday and Saturday,

I'll be really focused, team myself,

team myself.

And then Sunday,

I'll get to really just

take on those three events

with having only my focus

and having them be in the

stands and cheer me on.

So I really want to take

those three next events,

and those are my best, I would say,

more of the inverted shoulder stamina,

which is more what I'm known for.

So taking those on with a sense of urgency,

being able to compete those

last three events,

I'll be satisfied knowing I

went in with a little bit of hunger.

That's what I'll be

satisfied knowing at the

end of the weekend.

I'm really bad at keeping

these to 30 minutes,

but you bring up one point.

You bring up one point.

And then we'll let you go.

Yeah, absolutely.

No problem.

All the years you've been doing regionals,

semifinals,

that half the events are on the last day.

That is something completely unique.

And it seemed to play a

pretty big role in Europe

and Asia where that last

event people just were wore out.

In your strategy and in your notes,

I'm sure you've taken stuff

down about that on Sunday.

How do you prepare to be

fueled and be able to get

through all those events?

Or is that games experience

where things like that

happen help you in this?

Yeah, no,

that's definitely a good question.

I would definitely say the

experience helps.

I've been fueling and

preparing and living those

long weekends since, let's say, 2015,

which is my first regionals.

So I would definitely say

just using experience.

I know what foods agree with me,

what gives me the best fuel, how I feel,

how I perform.

I also lived the 2018 first

day with the marathon row.

I definitely learned how to fuel.

That was definitely a

learning experience for myself.

So I would definitely say

earlier is better.

I think even the week of,

I'm already preparing.

So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

there was already some fueling tactics,

some carb loading and et cetera.

Then obviously after the run,

what do you need after a

long run versus what do you

need after like a short event?

So really focusing on that

is definitely super important.

But definitely thinking earlier.

I think athletes wait the day to day.

It's like, okay, I'll take my BCAs.

I'll take my stuff after.

But thinking earlier than that.

You should almost be

entering your first day

feeling almost too full,

too really like fueled.

And then letting that ride

out towards your Sunday and

definitely sleep.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,

sleep is the... For rookies,

I remember my first year, you can't sleep,

you're tossing and turning.

So finding strategies to be

able to sleep and turn off is huge, huge.

Well, Chloe,

I cannot express how much fun

this has been getting to chat with you.

Thank you.

I love the way your mind works.

I love the way that you explain things.

This has been a blast.

Thank you so much.

I haven't had many opportunities.

I really appreciate it.

When you reached out,

I was so excited to do it.

So thank you for thinking of me,

even as a retired athlete.

With that, I don't think you're retired,

but that's okay.

Call it whatever you will.

Thank you to everybody in

the chat for being here.

This has been a blast.

Thank you to Chloe for doing this.

And we'll see everybody next

time on the Clydesdale Media Podcast,

where we are featuring the

athletes of the 2024

CrossFit Games Semifinals.

Thank you, everybody.

See you.