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Profiles

A Quick Pivot: Hannah Black Talks Late Adjustment to “CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable” Roster

April 8, 2024 by Teaganne Finn

Hannah Black had her “breakout” performance during the 2023 North America West Semifinal, where she snatched 215 pounds, won the event, set the world record, and became one of the athletes to watch for seasons to come.

Black, 27, came into the 2024 CrossFit Games season planning to compete individually, but a last-minute call from CrossFit Invictus changed everything. 

Not even a week before the 2024 CrossFit Open started, Black was asked to join the second CrossFit Invictus team — CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable — and was told she needed to make a decision immediately. 

After some quick discussions with her team, Black, who lives in Austin, TX, took them up on the offer and now commutes to and from San Diego, California. 

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A post shared by CrossFit Games (@crossfitgames)

[Related: The 15 Best Bodyweight Exercises, + Workouts and Tips From a CPT]

Hannah Black’s Team Journey

CrossFit Invictus has formed several so-called “super teams” for the 2024 season, including CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable, which consists of Phil Muscarella, Roldan Goldbaum, Emily Loogman, and now Hannah Black. 

The team was ranked sixth worldwide coming out of the Open and currently sits inside the top 20 in the world on the Team Quarterfinals leaderboard (the leaderboard will be set no later than April 15, 2024, according to the 2024 CrossFit Games Rulebook). 

Black’s background is in Olympic weightlifting, which she turned to after deciding not to continue playing volleyball in college. She learned Olympic weightlifting in high school and returned to it throughout college. 

Her weightlifting gym at the time was also a CrossFit gym, and after some friendly coaxing, she jumped into some classes. 

“For two and a half years, I just did it for fun. I showed up for class, and then I left right after. I always say I was such a cherry-picker. If there was running in the workout, I wouldn’t come that day,” Black tells Morning Chalk Up in an interview. 

After leaving her home state of North Carolina for a job in Santa Barbara, CA, Black has now landed in Austin, where she currently resides and trains out of CrossFit Jääkarhu. 

Black was working with health and performance coach Andy St. Germain before joining Brute Strength Training and touts their relationship as a part of her recent success in the sport. 

She finished in 16th place at the North America West Semifinal last year and has individually placed 215 worldwide in the 2024 Open. 

Black decided to leave her day job as a biomechanist to pursue CrossFit full-time and has since put her full effort into the sport. This choice came with advantages and disadvantages. 

Black points out that she left a salaried position but learned “very quickly that I am not someone who can just be in the same building behind a desk for eight hours a day,” she said. 

“Taking the CrossFit route and even coaching is very sporadic [when it comes earning power], whereas having a salary, you know exactly how much money is being put into your account,” she said. 

Black’s Master’s degree is in biomechanics and motor control, and she even studied weightlifting in a CrossFit setting. 

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A post shared by Hannah Black (@h_blackk)

[Related: The 12 Best Mobility Exercises From a Physical Therapist (+ Tips)]

While she’s decided to take a step back from her work, Black continues to pour her passion for health and wellness into her sport. 

“I wouldn’t be doing anything else. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t give myself one hundred percent the opportunity to go to the Games because I know that I can, but there is a flip side,” Black said. “It’s a very stressful way to live life because although my deals aren’t completely dependent on my performance, they do go hand in hand with that.” 

Black is commuting between Austin and San Diego and was there for Quarterfinals. She ultimately hopes to find a place there so she can train with her team throughout the rest of the season. 

Simultaneously, she has launched her own weightlifting program which athletes can subscribe to for her remote coaching. 

The Bottom Line

While the team’s path isn’t what she set out for this year, it’s an opportunity Black said she couldn’t pass up; one that gives her more time to become the individual athlete she wants to be.

If the team goes to the Games this season, it’s one more year of training under her belt, and “I get another year to plug those holes so that maybe next year or the year after I can perhaps confidently say, ‘I don’t care what the workouts are for Semifinals I’m going to the Games,’” Black remarks.

Throughout her training and the ups and downs of competition, Black’s relied heavily on her faith. After not qualifying for the Games last year, Black says she turned to religion, which provided, “something to hold on to.” 

Featured image: @h_blackk / Photo by @beauclaude

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