From Brain Injury to CrossFit Games
The background.
In 2011, Regional athlete Landon Brazell was completing a set of toes-to-rings in an outdoor competition when he lost his grip. He fell from the rings, landing on the left side of his head, eight feet below, on concrete.
That’s not good.
First aid immediately came to assess him, forcing him to remain on the ground. He wasn’t bleeding anywhere, but it was obvious to the medics that Brazell’s brain had begun to swell. They rushed him by helicopter to Atlanta, where neurosurgeons were waiting to take him into emergency brain surgery.
Except he never went into surgery. “This is where all the miracles started to happen,” Landon said. “When I get to Atlanta, they take me in and the bleeding, miraculously, just stopped.”
But he was not in the clear yet. He had multiple skull fractures, and the blood was still on his brain. Brazell left the hospital after only 11 days, with strict instructions to never do CrossFit again.
CrossFitters are stubborn people tho.
But Brazell knew better. “All I could think about was when could I get back in the gym,” he said. “I know my body better than anybody. Obviously, I know I can’t afford another fall like that.” He took his time. First, he started by just walking around his neighborhood. Then he added in sit-ups. By the time he was able to return to the gym, he knew just what to do.
“The very first thing I did was the exact same exercise that I fell on, just to overcome that fear.” Brazell dove back into CrossFit and also into competing. He went on to compete at Regionals four more years, working his way up to qualifying for the 2018 CrossFit Games, where he competed as a masters in the 35-39 division, placing 17th overall.
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BmGfpx8lfo3/?hl=en&taken-by=landon_brazell hidecaption=true]
He’s proud of how far he’s come since the accident, with no lingering effects from the injury.
“Well, when my wife tells me to do something I tend to forget things I didn’t forget before,” he joked. “I’m kidding. I’m fine. What’s great is everything has come full circle now, especially with making it to the CrossFit Games.”