Emily de Rooy Brings Youth to Australia’s Super Team Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder
It’s not every day you’re asked to join a CrossFit super team filled with your idols.
But after competing as an individual at the 2023 CrossFit Games, Australia’s Emily de Rooy was presented with exactly that opportunity.
And she said “no” — at least at first.
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A Look Back at 2023
The season started well for de Rooy.
After putting together a career-best performance at the Oceania Semifinals, she found herself on the podium in third place with her first ticket to the Games in hand.
But three weeks before the Games, injury struck:
- “A week before I left for America, I bulged a disc in my back,” de Rooy shared. “It wasn’t how anyone would want their first Games experience to go.”
While she said “it was awesome” being at the Games, she was barely able to squat in the lead-up and could only lift from the hang position. She was disappointed that she couldn’t perform at her best.
After that injury-plagued Games debut, de Rooy’s main focus was getting healthy and strong again. She took two months off completely and then trained carefully to avoid re-aggravating her back.
- “It took five to six months before I was competing again,” de Rooy said.
At this time, de Rooy’s goal was to return to individual competition — but fate had other plans.
Interestingly, when 10-time Games veteran Kara Saunders asked de Rooy to join her team last October, she initially said “no.”
- “And then I went over to Wodapalooza [in January 2024] and the coaches from Mayhem asked me in person, saying that Kara [Saunders] had reached out, we now have James [Newbury] and Khan [Porter] on board as well, would you reconsider?” she remembered.
“It would be silly to say no to that,” she said.
Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder Chases History
With the inclusion of de Rooy, the Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder team roster was finalized.
Historically, Oceania-based teams haven’t made a huge impact in the Team division at the Games. The highest placing of an Oceania-based team is sixth, which has happened twice.
- First by Plus64 CrossFit in 2021, then again by CrossFit Selwyn in 2022.
But, Oceania hasn’t put a team together like this before. This stacked team has over 20 years of Games experience between them:
- Kara Saunders: Second Fittest in 2017 and 10-time Individual Games athlete.
- James Newbury: Fifth-place in 2019, four-time Individual Games athlete.
- Khan Porter: Five-time Individual Games athlete, two-time Team Games athlete.
- Emily de Rooy: Individual Games rookie in 2023.
The team is based on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Known for its warm weather and picturesque surf beaches, it’s a popular vacation destination in Australia.
Originally heralding from Townsville in far-north Queensland, de Rooy relocated to the Gold Coast when she joined the team.
- “James and Kara already lived on the Gold Coast,” de Rooy said. “Myself and Khan moved here for this. It started off feeling a lot like a holiday because it’s a lot different to where I used to live, but as I’ve settled in, it’s been really good.”
It’s not just the sunny weather that de Rooy is enjoying — it’s also the laid-back approach to team training.
“It’s just easy; we don’t have set plans,” she said. “We sit and talk for 20 minutes [and plan] what we’ll do today, and then we just get into it.”
Due to their schedules, the athletes aren’t able to train together every day, but they make time for team practice three times a week (the other days they are on their own).
- “Matt [Saunders], Kara’s partner, comes as well and looks after the kids if Scotti’s not at daycare. He’s floating around and he’s got his camera out, or he’s holding Walker,” de Rooy said. “We all make it work. If he [Walker] is kicking up a fuss, then she’ll sort him out real quick and come back.”
As for their team goals coming into the Games, de Rooy is quick to say:
- “The only goal we’ve voiced… is that we want to win. But obviously there are so many strong teams out there, it comes down to how the events play out. But that would be pretty cool to podium.”
The Bottom Line
On paper, Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder looks strong. They’ve got the experience from the three Games veterans, and de Rooy brings her youth, hunger, and energy.
Can they pull off what no other Australian-based team has done before and bring home a medal in the Team Division?
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Featured image: @thewodlife / Instagram