Today I’m talking to multi-time CrossFit Games athlete Emma McQuaid, who just qualified for the 2022 CrossFit Games. The Irish athlete has a length background in sports but didn’t find CrossFit until she was 24 years old. Now in her 30s, the Wodapalooza champion talks about her background in quad bike racing — ATV racing in American slang — how it both helped and hurt her career in elite fitness competition.
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In this episode of The BarBend Podcast, David Thomas Tao and Emma McQuaid discuss:
- Making huge strides in confidence and Emma’s mental game (2:20)
- Why it can be hard for athletes to verbalize their feelings (4:30)
- How swimming has become critical to CrossFit Games success (7:30)
- Emma’s unlikely transition from quad bike racing to CrossFit (10:30)
- Mobility deficits Emma had to overcome (13:00)
- Recovering from major shoulder surgery (16:50)
- Battling the heat and Emma’s plan to recover between events (19:50)
Relevant links and further reading
- Follow Emma McQuaid on Instagram
- Follow David Thomas Tao on Instagram and Twitter
