Aussie CrossFit Couple Jay Crouch and Maddie Sturt on Their PRVN Results This CrossFit Games Season
Australian athletes Jay Crouch and Madeline ”Maddie” Sturt have each competed at four CrossFit Games, but 2024 will be the first time this super fit couple will hit the Games competition floor in the same year.
Crouch made his individual Games debut in 2020.
- Despite having local success in the Oceania region for many years (including two Oceania Semifinal wins), Crouch struggled to break through to the top ranks at the Games until last year, where he placed eighth.
It’s been a long five years since Sturt’s last appearance at the Games in 2019, and she left nothing to chance at the Oceania Semifinal this year.
- She won four out of the six events, earning a second-place finish overall and her fifth ticket to the Games.
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Sturt is hungry for the comeback after spending the last few years being a part of the support crew to Crouch.
- “It’s always bittersweet being over there [at the Games] with Jay,” she shared in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up. “I was so happy to be there and help him as much as I could and support him and watch him, but then at the same time, to see the girls walk out, I’d be like, ‘Aww man, I just want to be there, too.’”
Leveling Up With PRVN
It’s been a big 12 months for Crouch and Sturt, with both athletes reaching new heights with their fitness.
When asked what’s going on, the Aussies were quick to share the secret to their recent success.
- “It kind of all started after Torian last year,” Sturt explained. “It was Jay who jumped on with PRVN in the lead-up for the Games, and obviously that went really well. After we got home from the Games, I was all fired up and pumped to jump on board [with PRVN], too.”
At that point, Crouch jumped into the discussion to talk about what a “massive change” switching to PRVN had been for them.
- “Having Shane [Orr] program for us as well. That’s pretty crazy,” he said. “Having [Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Shane Orr] in our corner, and the volume of training that we need to do.”
Crouch finds the higher volume with PRVN has served him well, especially because the training sessions are purpose-driven.
- “Everything is so well thought out,” Crouch said. “Even the off-season [the volume] is almost what I used to do training for the Games back years ago.”
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Switching over to PRVN has been life-changing — both in and out of the gym for Crouch and Sturt.
For most Oceania athletes, international exposure is hard to come by.
Aussie ex-pats Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Shane Orr now call Nashville home and have paved the way for fellow Australians to boost their profile in the United States.
- “[Toomey-Orr and Orr] are aware of what hanging out with them does to [your profile],” he shared
Crouch says that being in the U.S. more has opened doors for the two and allowed them to really make names for themselves.
A New Era in Fort Worth
With Games prep in full swing, Crouch and Sturt are excited to head back to Nashville for prep.
- “We’re going to go (to Nashville) on the 4th of July,” Crouch said. “[PRVN HQ has] “everything you could ever need. It’s like CrossFit heaven.”
Both Australians are excited to be part of the new era for the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, as Crouch explained: “It’s going to be fun to be a part of the first year of [the Games] being somewhere else. I think it’s cool.”
Sturt returned to the conversation to say that there are a lot of unknowns with a new location, a new arena, and hotter temperatures.
- “I love a lot of the outdoor events that they did in Madison,” she said. “That always looked really cool and fun, how you had to run from the lake or to the lake and use the big field for some pretty cool events. So I would say that seeing all of that stuff that you don’t get to do or see elsewhere. Just only ever at the Games. This year will be interesting to see how they incorporate that stuff [in Texas].”
The Bottom Line
Crouch and Sturt are heading into the Games confident and ready to make an impact.
With the PRVN team behind them, can Crouch improve his top-eight placing from last year? And can Sturt push for a top-10 finish in a competitive women’s field?
Featured image: @jaycrouch_/ Instagram