Sports Anchor Derek Forrest Announced As Newest Member of CrossFit Media Team
On March 7, 2021, the CrossFit Games took to their Twitter page to announce that sports anchor Derek Forrest is the newest member of the CrossFit Media team. In the video, studio host and play-by-play commentator for CrossFit, Sean Woodland, conducted a brief interview with Forrest about his background as an athlete, a TV anchor, a sports reporter, and what his future with CrossFit is shaping into.
Check out the full interview between Woodland and Forrest below courtesy of The CrossFit Games Twitter page:
Meet @DerekFSpx, a sports anchor and reporter for WEWS-TV in Cleveland and the newest member of the CrossFit Media team. pic.twitter.com/FaEH9Zf55X
— The CrossFit Games (@CrossFitGames) March 7, 2021
[Related: Weightlifter Dmitry Klokov Has Entered the 2021 CrossFit Open]
In a quote tweet sharing the news, Forrest said:
I look forward to working with this amazing team & covering a sport I have a tremendous passion for!
The addition of Forrest to the media team comes after several other major announcements made by CrossFit, including NOBULL being named as the new 2021 CrossFit Games title sponsor and WHOOP becoming the “Official Wearable” of CrossFit.
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[Related: Meet the First 10 Members of CrossFit’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council]
Who Is Derek Forrest?
Forrest is a 39-year-old sports anchor and reporter for ABC-affiliate WEWS-TV where he covers Cleveland, OH’s major sports teams, including the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers. Before entering a career in sports journalism and television broadcast, he played baseball for 18 years and picked up his communications degree from Stonehill College in Boston, MA.
His first engagement with CrossFit came in 2014 when he was impressed by their video production. In particular, it was one video package titled “Letting Beauty Speak,” that captured Forrest’s attention. If you have not yet seen that video, you can do so below courtesy of CrossFit’s YouTube channel:
[Related: CrossFit Announces 2021 Semifinal Event Partners]
Three years later in 2017, Forrest started to train CrossFit — performing the workouts and even entering the CrossFit Open in 2018 and 2019. He says he was bored of his typical arm workouts, biceps, triceps, and standard workout splits.
Forrest will be one of the anchors for the upcoming CrossFit Open announcements. The 2021 CrossFit Open officially begins on March 11, 2021, and registration is still open for any athletes looking to compete.
Featured image: @derekeyb on Instagram