Every athlete competing at the 2024 CrossFit Games had a unique experience. After a grueling qualification season, the tragedy of Lazar Đukić left athletes with questions on how to process their grief and whether to continue their competitive weekend.
Rookie Chris Ibarra from Kansas was one of them.
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A Rookie Move
Ibarra qualified out of the North America West Semifinal, finishing tied for fifth after a successful weekend in Carson, CA.
- He had a solid all-around showing at Semifinals, quietly flying under the radar and ultimately punching his first ticket to the Games.
He was feeling good heading into that week, but the increase in training volume was rough on his body.
- “I was getting a few back problems because I wasn’t used to training for that long,” Ibarra explained in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up. “Usually, I’m done by Semifinals, but I finally made it past that this year. My body needed the time off – it was falling apart at the end.”
Finally, making that leap to compete at the Games added six to eight weeks to his training, and Ibarra did not plan for it most efficiently.
- “I have learned [my lesson]; I’ve gotten a sauna and am ready to buy a cold plunge,” Ibarra said. “I need to prioritize my recovery all season long, especially leading up to the Games – that will help me feel ten times better. I need to fix the small things.”
The Tragedy of “Lake Day”
Ibarra’s physical wear and tear heading into the Games felt moot after Ðukić’s death during the first event.
People had a range of emotions regarding Lazar; some had competed with him for years, and others, like Ibarra, never had the privilege of interacting with him. Still, everyone was affected.
Ibarra carefully described how he felt:
- “I was upset and not okay, and I can’t even imagine what those close to him were feeling. I wouldn’t say I was perfectly fine because I didn’t know him – I was definitely not fine,” he said. “I kept thinking, this is not okay; we’re at a competition. We shouldn’t feel scared of this at a competition.”
Like many other athletes, Ibarra was uncertain whether to continue the competition. He wrestled with the decision and sought guidance from his mentor, Jacob Heppner.
- “Jacob gave me some awesome advice, and that was how I told myself I wanted to keep going,” Ibarra said. “It was a hard decision, and I didn’t want people to look at me the wrong way and say I shouldn’t have been competing. I talked to multiple people I care about, and they care about me, and that’s how I made my decision.”
For athletes dealing with the tragedy that weekend, there was no right way to do anything. Many athletes simply kept going, trying to finish the workouts.
Once Ibarra decided to continue competing, he gave it all he had. However, he couldn’t hold it together for the entire weekend.
- “There was one workout at the beginning of Sunday,” Ibarra said, “where I was physically and mentally checked out. I would say that’s the only workout I was just not there.”
The 2024 Offseason
Ibarra ultimately made it through the Games and, like most athletes, decided to take some time off.
- “I should have gone on a vacation,” he laughed, “from now on, I will go on a vacation.”
Instead of traveling somewhere, Ibarra took a month off CrossFit and started working out at a globo-gym in Kansas City.
- Keeping his heart rate low, lifting weights, and just having fun, he began to process the week in Texas physically and mentally.
He spent his days working at the globo-gym, allowing his body time to rest and his mind to process, but one thing suffered — his cardio.
- “My body was good, but my lungs were not ok,” he laughed. “It made me reconsider if I really wanted to take a month off every year because it was so bad!”
Ibarra started to turn his mind towards the next competitive season, and he knew that his biggest weakness was his strict strength. He joined a weightlifting gym to help tackle the issue.
It’s been working; Ibarra has put on 10 pounds and feels stronger than ever.
He then signed up to compete at Crash Crucible, where he finished third place on the weekend. That was the impetus he needed to get back into Crossfit programming.
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The more casual atmosphere of Crash Crucible, ripe with trash-talking and playful ribbing among his fellow competitors, was a welcome reminder of what competition should feel like.
- “It was a lot different than the Games,” Ibarra said. “If you worked out at the Games, then you walked back by yourself, depressed and confused. And here, you’re just laughing, flipping people off, and standing over them.”
In addition to challenging programming and tight races, there was one more highlight of Crucible for Ibarra: His training partner, Olivia Kerstetter, was also there competing.
They have been apart for a while, as Kerstetter is finishing up her first semester at the University of Arkansas as a freshman.
Ibarra lights up when talking about Kerstetter:
- “It’s good and humbling because she likes to whoop my ass in most of the workouts we do together. I miss her and miss working out with her,” he said. “Hopefully, with me getting this sauna I can convince her to move back and go to college closer!”
Looking Ahead to Chris Ibarra’s 2025 Season
With Crash Crucible now in the rearview mirror, Ibarra is back to five days a week of CrossFit, mixed in with a heavy concentration of weightlifting.
- “I believe weightlifting by itself is harder than metcons because I get my ass whooped every day,” he said. “My coach continually is breaking down my technique as I am dying on the freaking back squats.”
Weightlifting can be so much more mental than CrossFit. Whereas in CrossFit, you can zone out and fight through grunt work, any lapse in weightlifting leads to a missed lift.
Though he doesn’t quite know what’s coming next, Ibarra will continue to do what he has always done — train and recover. He has gotten a nutritionist and will be logging plenty of hours in the sauna and cold plunge.
He doesn’t know what kind of season there will be, but whatever there is, he will be ready.
Featured image: @chrisibarra5, @djfalconnn / Instagram
