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Profiles

Alyssa Kobela: From Ineligible in 2023 to Adaptive Open Winner in 2024 

April 4, 2024 by Emily Beers

Last season, Alyssa Kobela was devastated to learn she was ineligible to compete in CrossFit’s neuromuscular division.

Though she has multiple sclerosis (MS) – a central nervous system condition without a cure – CrossFit LLC added new criteria to the adaptive division, and Kobela was effectively told she was “not disabled enough.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alyssa Maltese Kobela (@alyssa.kobela)

[Related: Age Group and Adaptive Divisions Will No Longer Compete at the CrossFit Games]

Remind me: Before last season, having a condition such as MS or cerebral palsy was enough to compete in CrossFit’s adaptive category. However, last season, athletes were asked to undergo physical testing and assessments and submit paperwork to prove they fit one of the 10 eligible impairments to qualify them for one of the adaptive categories.

Ultimately, CrossFit found Kobela, who has ataxia (poor muscle control that causes clumsy movements), was ineligible. Needless to say, Kobela, who was fifth at the CrossFit Games in the women’s multi-extremity division in 2022, was devastated and angry. 

She wasn’t the only one. Many adaptive athletes who had competed at the CrossFit Games in 2022 were deemed ineligible because they were “not disabled enough.”

What happened next: CrossFit handed the adaptive divisions over to WheelWOD, the most trusted experts in adaptive CrossFit. 

WheelWOD revamped the various adaptive divisions, and Kobela became eligible to compete once again in the minor neuromuscular division. (There are also moderate and major neuromuscular divisions this season.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alyssa Maltese Kobela (@alyssa.kobela)

[Related: “I’m So Excited” — Inside the 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Season With WheelWOD’s Kevin Ogar]

The result: Kobela found herself atop the leaderboard in the women’s minor neuromuscular division of the 2024 WheelWOD Adaptive CrossFit Open and couldn’t be happier just to have the “privilege and opportunity to compete,” she says.

“Last year was tough, but I have my eyes forward on this year and leaving last year in the past,” Kobela tells the Morning Chalk Up.

The big picture: Ultimately, Kobela thinks CrossFit’s decision to hand the adaptive reins over to WheelWOD was a step in the right direction.

“Partnering with WheelWOD, who are pioneers in this space, is one of the best things CrossFit could have done,” Kobela says, adding that splitting the neuromuscular division into three categories this season is “a major step forward.”

And she’s confident in WheelWOD’s ability to give adaptive athletes the experience of a lifetime this season, an experience that will highlight and not overshadow adaptive athletes as it has in the past at the CrossFit Games.

“I was at the WheelWOD Games this past year in Raleigh, and let me tell you, it was one of the best-run and toughest competitions I have ever been to,” she says. “This year, having a separate competition focused on highlighting the adaptive divisions without being constrained to fitting into the able-bodied games is going to showcase exactly what adaptive athletes can do.”

She adds: “This season is going to be epic. I cannot wait.”

Featured image: @alyssa.kobela / Instagram

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