Victoria MacDonald wasn’t raised as a ‘sports’ person.’
Outside of a brief foray into weightlifting years ago while at university, she had never really been in a competitive sports environment.
Little did she know at the time, all of that would change in 2009 the day she walked through the doors of the Muskoka CrossFit gym in the hopes of improving her overall fitness. Now, six years later, Victoria realized a culmination of thousands of hours of hard work and dedication representing Eastern Canada at the Reebok CrossFit Games in Carson, California. Stacking up against some of the fittest athletes on the planet is an experience she still finds a bit surreal.
“I have trouble putting my name and the word ‘athlete’ together,” Victoria says. “I didn’t do high school sports, I didn’t do university sports, this is just a later-in-life sort of thing that I wanted to try. The thing about CrossFit is you’re doing weightlifting and gymnastics and cardio. Every day you come in here it’s different, and it’s like getting personal training with every class. It really appealed to me.”
Playing through the pain is a big part of CrossFit; MacDonald will have to overcome hip, shoulder and thumb injuries while competing in California
Starting off slowly and following the steep learning curve many athletes experience as a part of the physically demanding rigours of CrossFit, Victoria began feeling the benefits of her training within a few months.
“When you first start you can’t do a lot of the workouts, and you might go a couple of days a week. As time goes by you start noticing the changes in your body, losing weight, gaining muscle. I felt I was getting stronger.”
Encouraged by her coaches, Dave Marshall and later Mitch Friend, Victoria registered for her first competition in Mississauga a few years ago along with some other members of the gym. After experiencing an early taste of success, Victoria began competing more, with every new event becoming a stepping stone in her transition from fitness enthusiast to internationally ranked athlete.
Victoria training
The avid builder who spent her summers in Muskoka before moving here full-time eight years ago,Victoria emerged from a field of thousands as the 20th ranked competitor in the Women’s 55-59 age group this past year, punching her ticket to ‘the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth’. The same support group from that first tournament is still cheering her on to this day, as six other gym members, as well as Victoria’s daughter, made the trip to California to offer encouragement and take in the spectacle of the competition.
“We’re all keen CrossFitters, so they’re excited to come watch, and they’re so happy I’ve given them an excuse to go,” says Victoria. “They’re great. I am so honoured to have their support, and I can’t believe they’re doing it. I didn’t expect anyone to go with me, and here they’ve done a banner and are making t-shirts.”
Stay tuned for the results of the competition on Doppler.
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What an inspiring story!