Elisa Fuliano | Athletes of the 2024 CrossFit Games

We catch up with one of our favorites who is headed into her 3rd straight CrossFit Games. After an amazing show on the Snatch Ladder at the European Semifinals.  What is her new goal after a top 20 finish last year.

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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.

In the kitchen you decided

What is going on, everybody?

Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast.

My name is Scott Switzer

I'm the Clydesdale.

And I am with,

who has become one of my

favorite CrossFit athletes in the world,

Elisa Fuliano.

Elisa, how are you?

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I'm good.

Thank you.

I'm very good now.

For sure better than before semis.

Yeah.

So let's talk about that a little bit.

You got your third straight

invitation to the CrossFit Games.

Yes.

I would like it would be

like an invitation.

Unfortunately, I had to sweat for it.

And it was like being in a war.

But I'm happy how it went.

And I'm happy to have earned

this third precious

qualification to the Games.

This year, it's been so tough.

So this makes it even more

like I'm more proud than myself,

more than last two years.

So Jethro,

I think he's speaking Italian for you.

Buongiorno, Jethro.

Thank you.

So let's talk about that.

When we first met three years ago,

we talked about a lot of

things that were going on in your life,

rheumatoid arthritis,

different things that were

going to possibly limit your career.

And at that point,

if you would have told me

that Elisa was going to finish,

qualify for the Games three

straight years,

I would not have believed it.

Yeah, me neither, for sure.

So what made this year so

tough and so rewarding at the same time?

So fortunately, every year I say, okay,

maybe I can go on for other

two years and then I quit.

Then next year, everything is okay,

even better.

So I think, well,

maybe from now on another

two years and then the next year,

same thing.

So I'm so happy it is going like this.

As you said, I...

I wouldn't bet to find

myself here three years ago.

So I think I'm very, very lucky.

I mean,

I'm also stubborn and I'm happy to

be stubborn as well because if

I should have followed the

recommendation from doctors

and families and friends.

I should have stopped doing

any kind of competitive

sports right away.

But fortunately, as I said,

I'm very stubborn and I'm

proud of myself to have sticked to it.

and being here I mean uh it

seemed impossible three

years ago um but as I said

um maybe uh it's also I've

been lucky and but of

course luck I think is one

of the um I mean you have

to be lucky as well uh

apart from the hard work um

how much you want it but of

course luck I think uh plays

a crucial role as well.

So I'm happy.

I've also been lucky that my

rheumatoid arthritis let me

achieve what I've achieved.

And it's just amazing.

So because of, because of that,

Every year,

it allows you to soak it in

because you don't know if

it's going to be your last, right?

Yes,

I leave every competition like it was

the last one.

So I try to leave every second I can to...

So that I can say, OK,

if this is my last competition,

I want it to be good.

So every competition for me is like, OK,

I'll give my best so that

in the case I have to stop like tomorrow,

I want to be happy to stop.

So I'll do everything I can

every time I can.

So the last time we talked,

which was probably about a year ago,

everything was in check

with the rheumatoid arthritis.

You had kind of found some

ways to manage it.

Are we still in that good place?

Yes, we are, fortunately.

And I'm still with the same therapy.

And I think my pain is under control,

but I think it is causing

maybe some inflammation

more often than maybe they

could appear normally.

So it happens that sometimes

like my knee or my wrist or

some other part of my body

are with inflammations.

But I think we can manage,

me and my coach,

He managed to change each

training based on where I have the pain.

So, of course,

I have to thank him a lot

because he always finds a

way to make me train hard anyway.

But I think, yes, I cannot complain.

I mean,

I guess every athlete has its pain

here and there.

So I think it's just a normal thing.

I think you just have to

accept to have pain when

you want to stay in this level.

I mean, between top athletes,

you have to take into

account that you're going

to hurt a lot of your time.

So it's just part of the journey.

So what does an average day

look like for you?

And does it incorporate like

mobility and stretching and body work?

um yes I start with a lot of

mobility um so I have to

make sure that my joints

are well um are working

well so um I make sure I

start with like half an

hour mobility and um this

really help I mean um I

have to make sure to start the training

being well functioning.

And then, for example,

when I have a weightlifting session,

I have to make sure not to

jump too much weight.

So adding very small weight

and go up slowly and so

with not too much gap

between one attempt and the other.

Yeah,

it's a bit maybe I just need to be a

bit more

to pay a bit more attention

than maybe other athletes.

But if this allows me to, like, to gain,

like,

three times in a row CrossFit game

qualification,

then I'll do it with pleasure,

even if I have to spend more time to it.

Also, like, later after the session.

So I start with stretching and mobility.

And then after it, I have to...

um like do it very long cool

down so every muscle I use

in the training uh I have

to make sure it is well

like again mobility and um

I do I stretch a lot um

logan ewing says my respect

just grew even more thank

you logan yes always a good

word for me you always

write me on instagram so thank you again

So are you capable of doing

ice baths and things like that,

or is that too quick for

you to cool down?

Actually, each time I have the chance,

I like to do it.

For example, during semifinals,

there were the ice baths,

and I did it like this.

I think every, every, after every workout.

And I think it really helps.

I would like to have one, um, actually the,

the brand that there were

at semi send me a,

ice bath but at the moment I

don't know where to put it

like in my gym I have to

figure out a place but as

soon as I have the chance

to I would like to have one

for like to use every every

time I need because I

noticed that every time I

do it like for example

during competition actually

competitions are the only

occasions where I can do ice baths and

I noticed it really helped

for sure for legs more than

every other body part.

It really helps to recovery.

For example,

after event number one at semis,

the one with the run,

like I finished that I was

literally dead and my legs

were not responding anymore.

So I really needed a nice

bath and that really helped

to recover faster.

Yeah,

so I saw something on your Instagram.

I was trying to find it.

I know you're a Reebok athlete.

Here it is.

So I'm going to show this.

I just bought these shoes.

You?

Yeah.

Oh.

So the Reebok runners.

Yes, I like that video.

I just bought a pair of

these in the like turquoise.

Okay.

Yes.

I'm sure you won't regret.

They are the most

comfortable shoe I've ever worn.

Yes, I agree.

They're amazing.

I was really happy because

until that moment, as I wrote, I think,

on the post, I was not really,

really 100% satisfied about

running shoes because as

far as nanos are concerned,

I think they're the best.

I've always worn nanos since

I started doing CrossFit,

but I was not very

satisfied for running shoes.

So when...

The guys from Reebok told me,

soon we're going to drop a

very cool model.

You're going to like it.

I was like, yes, okay.

And when they sent it to me,

I just find it amazing.

I think the thing that I

like the most about them,

I don't know if you agree,

but it's that they are super,

super light.

It's like you have nothing at your feet.

So that was really impressive.

I really like them.

So when I got them,

I was worried because the sole,

there's like gaps in the sole.

And then the outer sole is solid.

So it's like there's gaps in between them.

And I was like,

because I'm not a small guy, right?

Is it going to be able to hold up to me?

And they have been awesome.

Yes.

And they are the lightest

shoe I think I've ever owned.

Yes, they are.

They're amazing.

I think they really helped

for Sammy's workout,

even if it didn't go as planned,

but they really helped with the running.

They were amazing.

So you did the workout,

workout one in these shoes?

Yes, yes, I did.

So that blows my mind

because I cannot imagine

lifting in these shoes.

Yes, they're not like made for lifting,

but I think for that workout,

at least for me,

the worst part was the running.

So I wanted the running to

be the part like best treated.

So I wanted to make sure that running was,

I wanted to be as much

comfortable as I could.

That's why I've chosen that

type of shoes because I

knew that clean and jerk

were going to be not the main problem.

I think the run was the main problem.

So I wanted the best shoes

for the run so that I could

do the best as I could.

So let's dive into that

semifinal performance because...

You had a great semifinals,

but it did not start great.

No.

Yes.

Actually, every year at semifinals,

the first event is the worst.

And this time was the third year.

So I already knew that

probably the first was

going to be the worst.

And so that was it.

But I didn't imagine...

like the 20th place out of 40.

I mean, yes,

it's in the middle of the leaderboard,

but I was hoping maybe between 15 and 20,

because usually, as I was saying,

the first workout of semi

is like with ergometers or

last year there was the sled.

So they're usually not,

there are not movements that I like.

So I know that the first

workout is the one where I

have to like limit the damages.

And so this year was exactly the same.

So I faced that workout thinking, OK,

this for sure for you is

going to be the worst.

So do everything you can and

we'll see where it gets.

So the 20th place was not good,

was not too bad, was OK.

I think actually it was like

our expectations.

And I knew that after that,

climbing the leaderboard

was going to start.

So actually,

if I look at the whole competition,

it went exactly as we planned.

I mean, me and my coach expected.

I mean, first day with the first workout,

we knew I was going to be

in the middle of the leaderboard.

We knew that with day number two,

I was going to climb a bit

the leaderboard,

but still maybe be out of

the 10 qualifying spots,

but still in that zone with

the more or less same number of points.

And then I...

on day number three, uh,

it was going to be my day.

And I know that, um, uh,

I was going to find the

workouts more for me.

So I knew that on day number three,

I had to give my, my best to, um,

do the climbing and, uh, earn what I,

what I deserve.

So yes, first workout was the worst,

but I knew it was going to be the worst.

So like no big surprises,

but actually I didn't think

apart from the result, I, uh,

I would have suffered like this.

I was literally dead.

I think it was one of the

worst workouts ever.

I mean, with the feelings.

It took me like three

minutes to get on my legs again after it.

Yeah,

it's funny you say that because I

talked to James Sprague

yesterday and he said he

won it in his semifinal and

it was the worst he felt

after any event the entire weekend.

Okay.

So you're not alone.

Perfect.

Yes.

This makes me feel a bit better.

So when you... Let me... So

you say every year the

first event is like your heart event.

Is it program specific?

Or is it nerves going into the semifinals?

No,

I think because the first workout is

usually the one which lasts the most.

So around...

between 20 and 30 minutes every year.

Like the endurance workout

usually is workout number one.

And I'm not usually that

good in endurance workouts.

So we're working on them a lot.

But still,

I think between all the type of

the workouts,

endurance is still one of my weaknesses.

So I know that in that workout,

I'm usually not able to give my best,

but we're working on it.

That's why it's not the nerves.

I think, yes,

as far as nerves are concerned,

the first one is for sure the worst.

because after the first

workout in every

competition then it goes

like a bit better you know

uh when they call you you

know where where you have

to be when you have to be

uh you know the drill so uh

after the first workout

that the ice is is broke um

everything goes more smooth

so maybe that also a little

bit I i remember I was

scared so maybe that maybe

yes maybe that um

influenced a bit the

performance but is uh

mostly because not workout

number one is the the

longer workout during the

weekend in like in every

semifinals was like that so

it's for that reason so

back to the rheumatoid

arthritis a little bit and

your weakness being

endurance can your body

handle training those

longer uh time domains yes

I think it's not

A problem, maybe more my feet.

Like it's not like the whole body,

but my feet are going to

hurt after some times that

I stress them out.

Like, for example,

also when I'm doing sled, for example,

last year there was sled in

the first semis workout.

And I remember I suffered my feet a bit.

because of rheumatoid arthritis,

but it's not a problem actually.

We can train it.

For example,

yesterday I did three hours

biking and it's not a big problem.

Okay, okay.

So then you go into the second event,

which is... I guess, I'm sorry,

I guess it's just because

of my background.

I used to run...

But I was not like doing

like half marathons or 10 kilometers.

I was sprinting.

I was doing like 100 meters and that's it.

So maybe because of my background,

I was not able to develop

like endurance a lot.

That's why maybe now I'm a

bit more – I have a deficit

for endurance.

It's funny too because you are so tiny.

Um, when, when, when I met you in person,

like, like I've seen you on TV, I've seen,

and then when I met you in person,

like it really showed how tiny you were.

And so like,

so the owner of my gym is

Christy O'Connell,

a Christy Aramo O'Connell and tiny too.

Right.

But like she is an endurance athlete.

So I think people pigeonhole

you and think they know

what you're good at.

But you're very different

than other smaller athletes.

And we're going to get into

that with what you did

really well in this weekend.

Yes.

Right?

No one was expecting that.

Like, looking at me,

I was going that good on that workout.

Right.

Exactly.

And we're going to get into that.

But also, I think another reason for...

because I'm not good in

endurance is because of that.

I mean,

Christine maybe can be an exception.

I'm so happy that she can,

she can do well in endurance.

This gives me a bit more

hope that I can be better as well,

but because I'm short, for example,

every workout with, uh, in, of endurance,

which have, uh, ergometers, uh, so row,

uh, skier or eco bike, like being tiny,

I cannot like,

I have to push way more than

the other ones to maintain

like maybe the same pace, you know,

so I get tired before.

And also in running,

I have like very short legs.

So for me,

running fast is more exhausting

than the other ones.

That's why also I'm not that

good in endurance.

Do you watch the other

competitions during semis?

You mean the other semis around the world?

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

Did you see what Colton

Mertens did on the run?

It was, remember me?

I don't.

He took top five in the West.

Okay.

Yeah.

And that was,

that was shocking to everybody.

He had worked so hard on his

endurance running and he's

another smaller athlete, right?

Just on the inside.

Does that give you hope that

you can turn around too?

Yes, yes, of course.

Also, for me,

maybe the worst CrossFit

element is EcoBike because,

as I was saying,

I cannot push hard enough

compared to other bigger athletes.

But when I saw, for example, Emma Carey,

she's tiny as well,

but I saw both at the Games

and the Rogue Invitational,

she smashed the eco bike.

And so I was like, okay,

so I don't have excuses now.

She's shorter, like almost as me.

So she managed to push on the eco bike.

So I have to push it like her.

on the eco bike.

I mean, even if your short is possible.

So that also gave me hope

that I can be better on eco bike.

Yeah.

It's gotta be a weird

dichotomy because your power output is,

is huge.

Like, and you prove that in lifting.

Um, and so you can,

you have that quick twitch

and that power.

It's just, how does,

how do you make it

translate to a machine?

I don't know.

I mean,

I feel like even if I'm pushing hard,

I still feel I cannot push

like the other ones.

So, for example,

this was one of the reasons

I was a bit pissed off for

some of the workouts of the semis because,

for example,

for workout... I don't

remember which number was...

each workout,

but the one with echo bite

and legless rope climb and

the one with row and headstand.

I mean, I'm usually good in skill skills.

So I'm usually good at

legless rope climb and, you know,

I'm good at SN walk,

but I was a bit pissed off

that they were like,

they didn't really count

that much in that workout.

So it didn't count really

much how good you were in

legless or climb or aspen walk,

because I think it was counting most how,

how strong you were going to, uh,

on the eco bike and how

strong you were going on the,

on the Rover.

That's why.

Like, I was, when I saw the workout, I was,

okay, there is the skill.

I'm usually good at it,

but I'm afraid that it's

not going to count much.

I mean, legless rope climb was not,

was absolutely, like,

irrelevant in that workout.

And I was hoping it was going a bit better,

but I knew that being the eco bike, like,

the main thing of the workout,

I knew I was...

I was not going to be as

strong as I wanted,

as well also in the one with the row.

I mean, I'm very good in stand,

but it was tough for me

keeping the same pace as

the other ones on the row.

In general,

I liked this year workout very

much because it was a pure CrossFit.

But on the other side,

I wanted the skills to count more,

you know.

Yeah, it's funny you say that.

Jody Lynn says,

nice to hear a bit of emotion there.

I have to say like with your accent,

you make sounding pissed

off the most beautiful

language I've ever heard.

Okay.

But I love your accent.

But it's funny you say that

because I host a show with

Carolyn Prevost and we were

talking about the same thing.

like they took the skills

that like she developed

like the legless and the

handstand walk and they

made them not count like

with the legless you only

had to do one and they

broke it up so it even if

you have a difficulty with

the legless it's broke up

enough for you to recover

to be able to do them right

yeah exactly which were

really good at them they

didn't get that advantage

that they would normally

get exactly yes um and then

on the handstand walk

I tried to argue that it was

a handstand walk workout.

She flat out slam dunked me and said, no,

it was a row workout.

Yes, exactly.

And she said the same thing.

It took all the great

handstand walkers out of the competition.

Yes, exactly.

So with that,

I had this question in my

head as I was doing the notes for this.

You seem to be a better

CrossFit games athlete than

a semifinal athlete.

It's 12 events instead of six.

They do a lot more gymnastic

stuff when you get to the

games because they have the ability to,

a workout can specialize in

one area because there's

enough to balance it all out.

Do you agree that you're

better when you get to the big stage?

I don't know.

I mean,

I think it depends mainly on the workout.

I mean,

the first year it was I didn't

manage to like I didn't

like the workouts.

They were I think mostly

they were for like big athletes.

So I didn't really enjoy doing them.

Like, I didn't like them.

And last year, instead,

I like every workout.

So out of 12 workouts, really,

I like them all.

And...

I think they were more CrossFit.

So I guess it depends on the workouts.

Hopefully this year they

will be on the same style of last year.

So maybe if this is the case, maybe yes.

I will be happy if I manage

to be well in the Games.

Don't say me.

Since Dave Castro's come back,

it's gotten more CrossFit-y.

Yes.

Yes.

I wanted to say that.

I really like Dave Castro

workouts more than Adrian

Bosman's workouts.

And I think, I mean,

I think they're working

together and I think Dave's

trying to mentor Boz on all that stuff.

But he has said that he

wants moving forward this

to be more CrossFit-y.

yes I really hope I really

hope it will be because the

first uh year really I was

like okay I'm here at the

games and I'm I'm not

having fun like I don't

like one workout out of the

one I did like I was a bit

like angry because I was

like okay I work hard all

year and then I'm here and

I'm not liking it so I was

a bit angry because

they didn't... I have some expectations,

of course, for the games,

but they were not...

they were not my expectations.

While last year, I was like, okay,

so these are the real games.

These, I really, I like them.

I like every workout.

And also the one, I remember Alpaca,

where I got stuck on legless or climb,

but because they were like

very high with the heavy

sled and heavy other thing.

But I remember that

Because usually when you're

not doing well in a workout,

when you finish it, you say like, no,

I didn't like the workout.

And instead,

even if I got stuck on the

legless rope climb,

I was sad that I didn't

have the chance to finish

it because actually I

really liked it as a workout.

So I liked every workout and I was okay.

So this year I'm having fun

and I hope I will be here

next year as well because

if CrossFit games are like this,

I'm going to like them.

Otherwise I didn't like them

at all my first year.

So since the direction seems

to be like more CrossFit workouts,

hopefully I'm going to

enjoy them also this year.

I remember talking to you

after that first year and

you were so bummed because

the stuff you were looking

forward to was after the cut.

Yes, that's true.

And,

and so you had to kind of endure this

first part and then you

didn't make the cut to do

the stuff you wanted to do.

Yeah, that's true.

I remember.

Um, and,

and that had to be quite the bummer.

And then last year you made

it through all the cuts.

Yes.

I was so angry then, uh,

from last year that I gave

my all because I wanted to,

like the other thing is

that coming to America for us,

European and every other athletes,

which is not American is a huge cost.

So I wanted that cost to be,

to be worth it, you know?

i was thinking I didn't came

here just to compete two

days I want to compete the

whole four days so I think

that was a push for me to

give my best and to pass

all the full cuts also as a

revenge from the past year

yeah so it's funny because

I got to talk to you at the

games last year

And it,

it stuck in my head as semifinals

came out and I play the heat one app.

I don't know if you know what that is.

It's like we pick who's

going to win different events.

Okay.

And we get to the snatch ladder in,

in Europe.

And I remember you having a

conversation with me at the

games last year going,

I love Olympic lifting.

I love it.

I love it.

I love it.

Yeah.

And so I picked you to win that event.

Oh, really?

I don't know.

Like it's,

it would be easy to pick like

Laura or Gabby to do well in that.

But you just,

you stuck in my head from

that conversation.

And I was like,

I'm going to pick Elisa to

win the snatch ladder.

Oh, really?

Thank you.

I was flipping up and down

and screaming at my TV that

you had done that.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

But I may have been the only

person in the world that

picked you to win it.

I think, yes.

I think you've been the only person, yes.

So thanks for the trust.

Yeah,

it was a surprise for me as well

because usually we don't

try the whole workout in training.

But we decided to, to do like,

like to try the whole workout.

And, um,

I remember it was like the last

week of the training cycle.

I had pain everywhere.

Yes.

But when I try it,

I did like seven minutes 58.

So it was almost three

minutes more than I did at semis.

So.

I couldn't believe it when I

saw the result.

When I was warming up,

I was very nervous because

actually I didn't know what to expect.

I mean,

I was hoping to be in the top 10

because with my coach,

we kind of do some maths

and in the three workouts of the last day,

I should have ended up...

10 for all the three

workouts to qualify so I

was hoping to get into the

the first 10 athletes and I

knew it was possible but I

was a bit um influenced by

how you went in the during

training so that that is

also one reason why we

don't we don't usually try

the whole workout in the in

the training because I

don't want it to affect

negative negatively the

competition one so

I was a bit worried when I was warming up,

but I was feeling very good.

Like I was feeling, I was pumped, you know,

that was my day and it was

one of my last chance to,

to climb the leaderboard.

And I remember I was

listening to the music with

my earphones and I was like, okay,

I want to do good.

I know I can do good.

And I hope,

the time I did in doing

training was just like

given by my body hurting.

So I don't know, it was like a three, two,

one go.

I didn't think at all.

Oh yeah, another thing.

We had another girl from my program,

the Mantra program.

This year we had another girl qualified.

She was called Martina

Borrini and she was

competing in the first heat.

So when she finished, she went pretty good,

actually.

And she finished the workout.

She came to me in the

warm-up area and told me,

the barbell is going to fly.

You're going to do very good

in the workout.

So trust you because you're going good.

The public will help you.

So at three to one go,

I suddenly realized that

she was right because the

barbell was flying.

I think more than every other movement,

when you have to move the barbell,

is when the crowd manages

to help you the most.

So when you hear your name,

you hear the screaming, the barbell,

you feel like it's lighter than it is.

a three-to-one go,

like I switch off my brain

and I just do one rep at the time.

I was thinking, but nothing,

like my mind was completely empty.

I was so focused.

I was listening to the crowd

who was cheering because

also there were many

Italian people and they

always give me a lot of power.

And when I finished the workout, actually,

I was not tired.

Like, if I would have to do it again,

probably I could have

pushed it a bit harder.

But, I mean, it was good.

Actually,

when I got to the last barbell

and I looked at the timer,

I usually don't do, like,

never look at the timer.

But I was seeing...

like, 4.50 or something because it was,

like, the last two reps.

And for a moment, I thought, like,

I saw wrong.

Like,

I was thinking, how can it be four?

Because in training, at this time,

it was like seven and something.

So I looked at it twice, and it was like,

no, no, it's four, it's four.

So you're going good, you're going good.

So I did those last two reps,

and it was amazing.

I was hoping to finish under five,

but it was good.

It's been an amazing feeling.

And when I got back to the warm-up area,

doing some...

cool down we had the TVs so

I could see the last heat

where Laura was and I

couldn't believe that she

she did more than me so I

was so happy I couldn't

believe it yeah and your

your time's held up for a

week and then I think you

ended up with the fourth

fastest time in the world

it's still third three third third

Yeah, I think one was close.

I think Dani was close.

Dani was probably like a

second or two after yours then.

Yeah.

Also, yeah, she did the 502.

Oh.

So one second.

Wow.

Yeah,

but I'm more happy that if you think

about me,

I'm probably one of the shortest

and one of the lightest.

athlete in the whole

competition floor so um

this is even more

satisfying you know big

athletes like lara or any

other like big athletes

where in this case the

weight body weight counts

so um I'm proud of myself

for what I've done being so

tiny and so light and so short

What I have to say is watching you do it,

it was so beautiful to watch.

You were so smooth.

And for the bar to feel that

light and for you to stay smooth,

because that bar could get

away from you if it felt too light,

but you didn't let it.

It just was beautiful to watch.

But I have a couple of

comments asking you questions.

Did you see Olivia's run?

Yeah, I saw it.

I saw it.

It was crazy.

It was like the barbell was empty.

And for a moment,

I thought that she stepped

one of the five stations.

I mean, how could she be so fast?

But yeah, she was really, really good.

She totally deserved that time.

She was crazy.

Logan says,

are you in more or less pain

during competition?

Um, that's a good question.

Um,

I usually heard like mostly of the time,

as I was saying, um,

to be an elite athlete,

you have to take into

account that you're going

to be in pain for most of the time.

So when I got to Samy's, um,

my knee was hurting a bit.

It was nothing serious,

but because of my injuries

at my ankle during Dubai championship,

um just to remember on the

last step of the last

workout like while I was

running to the finish line

I injured my ankle I

thought I i broke my ankle

because I heard a crack but

fortunately they were like

just like two ligaments

that I damaged and it took

me two or three months to

fully recover but because I was

um crippling is that the

right word crippling so I

was not walking well so I

was like leaning yeah so

the knee of the other leg

started hurting because i

lean more weight on it so

during like before semis my

hurts my knees started

hurting a bit but the thing

is that usually when like

that adrenaline feeling

start going through your

body like I usually don't

don't feel pain anymore

like I'm not used to take

like anti-pain pills or

something I usually don't

take anything but

I know that when adrenaline comes,

I don't feel like anything.

I remember last year I had, during semis,

I had back pain.

same pain,

it was really hard during the first,

the past week of the semis, sorry, yeah,

the previous week of the semis,

but at three to one go,

like my brain 100% focused

on the workout and I don't

feel pain like any anymore.

So yeah, fortunately during competition,

I feel less pain than during training.

So Logan says,

I know all about the broken ankles.

Yeah,

it was not a good experience also

because it was the last

workout and it was one

workout where the handstand

walk was counting much,

but I screwed up that workout.

So it was like completely a

moment to forget,

like two hours to forget, but

Yes, it was not easy.

But as I was saying,

many athletes have to take

into account that they're

going to suffer most of the time.

Vi asks,

what music pumps you up before

stepping out on the floor?

I have playlists.

So I've been building this

playlist since year.

And every time I...

heard um I listened to a

song that I really like I

put that immediately into

the playlist which is

always going on when I'm

doing qualifiers for

example online qualifiers

and I remember this scene

when I was doing qualify

and quarterfinals

qualifiers we were like me

and other other boys and

girls from my program we

were in a in a gym and um I

put my playlist

before uh right before

starting to record and one

of my other friends told me

oh elisa do you want me to

put you some pump music for

you during the workout and

I was like no no I put this

song this is the pump music

like for me and it was like

oh really so you're going

to work out with this song

so maybe for some people

um, are not the right song to, uh,

to be pumped up for the workout.

But, um,

I think everything is always personal.

So maybe,

I don't know if that song has

some meaning for you or something, but,

um, I have some song that really,

really helped me to like

focus mentally and they are

able to make me, uh, give my best.

Like my, my, um,

Favorite and absolute is the 21 Reasons.

The title of the song is 21 Reasons.

And every time I hear to that song,

I feel like I can crush the

world and I feel invincible.

So I guess everyone has it.

Yes, Jodi, it is on Spotify.

It's called 21 Reasons.

I can show you.

I think she wants to know,

is your playlist on Spotify?

There's a playlist.

I think it is.

You just need to write my nickname,

which is Fulix with three

X. And then the playlist is

called... I don't know if you can... Oh,

sorry.

Yep.

Qualifica...

You can screenshot it and

then you can search it.

Here you can find some of the songs.

Actually,

all the songs I put as background

music during my online

qualifiers and also to

focus during competitions.

I remember being on the eco

bike before the last

workout of Semi this year.

I stayed like for 15 minutes

on the bike erg and

listened to this music like

with my eyes closed, just focusing.

And while the music was going on,

I knew for sure that they

was going to add up well.

So just to recap, her username is Felix,

F-U-L-I, three Xs.

And then it's Qualifica CF

is the playlist.

Yes, exactly.

Yes.

So don't judge me if you

find a song which is not like, okay.

That's so nice of you to share.

You're welcome.

So you had a top 20 finish

last year at the games.

After that,

do you sit down with your coach and say,

okay,

these are the things we need to work on?

And then do you set goals

for the next season?

Yes,

every time during a competition we try

to learn as much as we can

from mistakes because of

course you learn more with

mistakes than when things

are going well so every

time after a competition me

and my coach sit down like

we sort of debrief every

competition see what went

wrong what went right and we

We have a list on our iPhone when we,

every time in the competition,

we find some workouts or

movement or maybe combined movements,

which are not good for me.

We update the list.

and um we every time we can

we work on my weaknesses we

try to make them a bit less

weaknesses and um so yeah

after the last games of

course we after alpaca we

work a lot on legless or

climb and on sled and stuff

like that so I i feel a bit

better now but still

You know,

you have to work a lot of weaknesses,

but this means that most of

the time you work

on things you hate the most.

But the risk is that doing them too much,

you're going to burn out.

You don't want to do them anymore.

So he's also good, my coach,

to make them the right balance.

So of course,

he makes me work on weaknesses.

But also, he needs to put things I like.

Otherwise,

it's just working on things you

don't like,

and you end up hating this part.

So yes,

we usually work a lot on weaknesses.

And for this year, of course, I mean,

every year is a war.

You're there with the 40

best athletes in the whole world.

So I think for this year,

it would be a good result

to place around 15th position.

I would be satisfied.

So you're working on these

things like legless rope climbs or sleds.

Do you then want to see them

in a competition to see how

far you've come?

Yeah.

No, it's always good to, like,

since you work hard on them,

it's good to see how far you're going.

And if it's not enough,

you know that you can work

harder and get better and better.

um of course the the the

goal of crossfit is having

less weaknesses as possible

so uh of course I would

like to test them uh to see

like my level compared to

the other ones even if

maybe doing them in a

workout maybe means that

I'm going to uh maybe lower

a bit in the leaderboard but of course

Kevin Doyle asks,

will Elisa be watching Euros this month?

You mean football?

I believe, I believe that's what he means.

Yes.

Yes.

Tomorrow Italy is playing

and I will be like in the

front line to watch it.

Also that there were

European of athletics in the last,

last weekend.

And I,

I always love to watch sports and TV

and yeah,

I was really happy that

Italy went extremely good this year.

We won many gold medals.

So yes,

but I will watch Euros as well of

football.

And the Olympics are coming

up in a couple months,

right after the CrossFit Games.

Yes,

I think I will stick in front of the

TV all day.

I like watching every sport,

so it's just pure fun for a week.

So I can't wait to see them.

Yeah, I'm actually going to the U.S.

Olympic swimming trials tomorrow.

Oh, nice.

I was a swimmer in college and growing up.

And so my mom,

for her mother's day and birthday,

I bought her tickets and

we're going to see that tomorrow.

Oh, wow.

And it's amazing.

Yeah, so that'll be fun.

Vi asks, what is more satisfying for you,

doing well in an event

you're expected to do well

or improving in an event

that contains weaknesses?

I would say for sure the second one.

I mean,

the first rule of CrossFit maybe is

that it's not that

important how good you are

in your workout that are good for you,

but how you don't go too

low in the ones you're not good at.

So, of course,

when you're not good in a

workout and after doing that,

you see that you didn't do that bad,

of course,

it's way more satisfying than

doing okay in a workout.

I mean,

doing good in a workout that you

know was going to be good.

For example, last year,

I remember at the Games,

the workout with skierg and heavy sandbag.

We had to squat in between skierg.

And if you take skierg and sandbag,

probably they're two of the

most hated movements for me,

plus combined together.

So I approached that workout

thinking this was going to be

like I was going to be like

38 in the leaderboard or

something and I think I got

like around 10 position or

12 15 position and that was

absolutely a surprise for

me because uh I couldn't

expect at all a 15 position

in that workout in the

crossfit game so I was

really really I was happier

of that workout than other workouts which

Everyone expected me to go good, me,

myself as well.

When you do the skier,

do you have to jump to get the handles?

Yes, yes.

Otherwise, I cannot reach them.

Everything is way harder being short.

You have to think about

things that other people

even cannot imagine.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's crazy.

So I want to finish up with this.

The European semifinal was electric.

It was so deep.

The stands were packed.

And it has this feel because

there's so many countries

involved in Europe.

So you have Italy, you have, um, France,

you have the UK and it,

and so you can cheer for

your countrymen and country women.

We don't get that in the

United States because we're one country,

right?

When we go to semis.

Yes.

Is, is it as a, is what is more electric,

the CrossFit games for you

or the semifinal in Europe?

um you mean like the

atmosphere yeah yeah

actually I think I prefer

semifinals because um as I

was saying yeah like every

country has its own uh

people that come to cheer

people for their country.

And every time I was doing a workout,

I really could see,

could hear people from

Italy cheering for me.

And that really gives me strength,

as I was saying.

And this, of course,

it's not the case of the CrossFit Games.

And yeah,

I really like the atmosphere of

semifinals.

I think it's with this

thing that every there are

different countries like

you it's like international

environment so every yeah I

like it more and I

definitely think that and I

hope that last year sorry

next year they're going to

give us more spots or at least

maybe make two semifinals as

in the US because this year was really,

really, really tough.

Like I think the first 15 were, um, could,

uh, earn their spot, the CrossFit games,

like could go to the games.

Um, but I don't know.

Um, I, I know, um,

many people did um like took

the scores of every athlete

of each semi-finals from

all over the world yes and

you really can see that

europe is a very good very

strong field and it's a

shame that we we got so few spots

Europe and North America

East dominated overall.

Yeah.

A lot.

Yes.

What I want to say finishing

up with Europe's semifinal

is I'm jealous.

When I see that on TV,

that's what I want for us here.

Yeah.

I think it's amazing.

It was good.

It just wasn't that good.

yes I had the same feeling

last year as well even more

than this year because um I

mean I've been to uh berlin

last year so in germany and

the atmosphere was just

electrifying and every and

when I when I watched the

other semi-finals around

the world they were like not

the minimum part of that

what we have so it was like

and also I remember that

american um speakers and

something and all those

people told that uh

european semifinals is one

of the best in terms of

atmosphere of a number of

people of uh it was amazing really it's

one of the best it's like I

think it's comparable to

the CrossFit Games because

both this year and last

year we had like so many

people it's like a football

match when like it's like I

mean I like the atmosphere

and yeah I agree it's one

of the best in the world

So Philip Borowski says,

it also has a feel because

European fans of any sports are crazy.

Yes, probably.

Napoli's football team,

fans at their home games.

Scott, the whole stadium is shaking.

Yeah,

also because I think one of the

reasons is that,

as you were saying before,

we have like 20 different

countries and every person

who is there for each

country needs to make them hear,

make them feel from the other ones.

So every country has to

prevail on the other one,

also with the cheering, you know.

So it's like a competition

also not in the field, but in the...

in the public so every

country needs to make their

own cheers to to win also

like for the for the

cheering so so if one

cheers loud another one has

to cheer louder so this way

the whole building is like

going crazy and it's

amazing that's awesome

Well,

I'm going to leave you with this comment.

Logan says, time to get my ass kicked.

Going to go watch the rest after training.

Scott, you're the man.

Alisa, you're amazing.

Can't wait to see you crush it in Texas.

Thank you so much, Logan.

Have a good training.

So we're up on the hour.

As always,

the time flies when we get to

talk to you.

I'm so thankful that you

took the time to do this with us.

And I can't wait to see you in Texas.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you to everybody in the chat.

Your questions were awesome today.

You added so much to this.

Thank you for being here.

With that,

we'll see everybody next time on

the Clydesdale Media Podcast.

Bye, guys.