Hip Replacement and Chronic Leukemia Are No Problem for 63-Year-Old CrossFit Quarterfinals Qualifier Mary Harrison
The day before the 2024 CrossFit Open started, Mary Harrison didn’t think she was going to compete.
The 63-year-old had a hip replacement last June, and still isn’t 100 percent. But when the first workout was announced, she thought, “I can do this.”
Three weeks later, Harrison even managed to qualify to Quarterfinals.
- “I never dreamed I would go through to the Quarterfinals. When I got the email, I thought they must have emailed the wrong person. And then I was like, ‘Oh shit,’” says Harrison, who started CrossFit at CrossFit Palm Harbor in Florida three years ago.
[Related: After 27 Years in Prison, Trevor Jones Competes in Quarterfinals]
One big thing: For Harrison, this year’s Open showed her she’s further along in her recovery than even she realized.
She was back at the gym within two weeks after her hip replacement surgery last summer, modifying her workouts as necessary. As a result, she still hadn’t skipped rope, let alone done a double-under in two years before the Open.
But when double-unders showed up in 24.2, Harrison figured she’d give them a go and was surprised when she managed to get through 110 of them without any issues.
Harrison surprised herself again the following week when 65-pound thrusters were programmed. It’s a lift Harrison had never done before.
- “I managed to get three of them,” says Harrison, who was part of the first women’s rowing team at Cambridge University in the UK.
She adds: “I’m so glad I did the Open. I’m pushing myself harder again now because I know I can.”
The big picture: Harrison is adamant that CrossFit is the reason she has recovered so well from her hip replacement.
- “One hundred percent, CrossFit has helped me recover. It has basically been my own extended physical therapy, and having a coach like Todd [Kowalski] has helped a ton,” Harrison says.
In fact, her husband also had a hip replacement last year, and he chose to “sit on the couch for six weeks” after his surgery. Harrison says that he’s struggling more than she is today.
On top of her hip replacement, Harrison has Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), a type of cancer doctors may not treat until you become anemic or your lymph nodes “become giant,” Harrison says. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, this is known as a “watch and wait” strategy.
She was diagnosed with the disease in 2016 and goes for check-ups every six months. So far, all is still well.
Harrison’s message: It’s never too late to work on and improve your fitness. Even if you’re 63 and you just had a hip replacement and have CLL.
- “I tell people all the time that CrossFit saved my life. It has made me feel younger and healthier than I have been in forever. It really gives you a sense of strength,” Harrison says.
She added: “I can roll around with my grandchildren now. I can swing them around, and I never would have been able to do that without CrossFit.”
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Featured image: Sarah Hunter