Last season, Olivia Kerstetter narrowly missed qualifying for the CrossFit Games.
- She finished in ninth place at the 2024 West Coast Classic – the North American West Semifinal – but only the top eight women received tickets to the Games.
Chris Ibarra, Kerstetter’s training partner, also competed at the event, finishing in sixth and earning his first trip to the Games.
Emotions were complicated for both athletes leading up to the Games. Ibarra was excited to have qualified but felt extremely bummed that he wouldn’t get to take the competition floor with his number one.
Kerstetter was battling confusion and sadness.
- “I guess, because I qualified once, I just assumed that I could qualify from there on out. I thought the first time would be the hardest,” Kerstetter told Morning Chalk Up in a joint interview with Ibarra.
After failing to qualify, she traveled down from school (Kerstetter is a freshman at the University of Arkansas) to train occasionally with Ibarra. However, both knew it wasn’t the same.
- “I didn’t want to do any workouts alone, especially Games training, because that sucks,” Ibarra said. “And Olivia joined me most of the summer, but she would just join me in the gym; she wouldn’t join me in the evenings, so I would just be alone. And it sucked.”
A Tandem Resurgence
Fast forward a year, and oh, how things have changed.
After dominant performances at The Fittest Experience Invitational by both athletes, Kerstetter and Ibarra will head to Albany, NY, to compete in the 2025 CrossFit Games.
Once Kerstetter was free from her end-of-semester busyness and finals leading up to CrossFit’s In-Affiliate Semifinals, the two reconnected to train together in Kansas City.
- She described their busy schedule: “We trained together for about two days, and then we went to Indy, and then we trained together for another two days, and then we went to Oklahoma City. So we haven’t really trained together nonstop for a while.”
Returning to the same place was a breath of fresh air.
- “By week three, before Oklahoma City, I think we were both just exhausted, and didn’t really feel like working out, so having each other, both doing it… I think that helped a ton,” Kerstetter said.
An Unlikely Duo
On the surface, Ibarra and Kerstetter may not seem like ideal training partners, but their bond is incredibly strong. Together, they exude a competitive, sibling-like dynamic.
- “We’re literally so competitive with each other that we have to remind ourselves that we’re not direct competitors,” Kerstetter said.
Ibarra laughed when the concept of opposite sex training partners was brought up.
- “I don’t like to work out with other guys as much because I don’t want them doing the same thing I’m doing,” he exclaimed.
The two athletes have supported each other’s growth both physically and mentally. Ibarra, who is six years older than Kerstetter, has played a significant role in shaping her mindset and mental approach.
- “I’ve helped her mentally,” Ibarra acknowledged, “That was one of her downfalls last year, and I have tried to help her with that.”
Kerstetter added, “And my eating! He makes me eat!”
Ibarra has experienced more of life than Kerstetter, yet she has more years of CrossFit experience.
- “I feel like we have different strengths and weaknesses. We each should win different workouts based on our strengths. And that’s so nice too, it’s a good push back and forth between us,” she said.
Big Changes
Part of the duo’s success at The Fittest Experience Invitational stems from coaching.
As a PRVN athlete, Kerstetter recently began working with Games veteran Tim Paulson, who is joined by Ibarra. The two started working with Paulson in January.
- “I really like him, and the fact that he was a Games athlete, and has so much experience with it. It makes me really trust him,” Kerstetter said, “because he really knows what he’s doing – he did it for so long. The trust is a huge part of it. But yeah, I love him as his coach so far.”
Ibarra echoes her sentiments, “I completely agree with her. I mean, I love the coaches that are getting in your face and trying to say, Let’s f$#&ing go, let’s get it. And he’s that way, and I love it.”
Paulson has equally positive remarks about the two athletes. “For the most part, they both need to work on different things, so a lot of what they are doing is quite different, but that’s what makes the workouts they get to race on so fun,” he told Morning Chalk Up.
- “But fitness aside, they both have great heads on their shoulders,” he continued, “and they are just really fun athletes to coach. Incredibly receptive to feedback, notes, and technical changes. They fully trust the process and what I ask them to do, and there’s nothing more you can ask for as a coach.”
No discussion about these two is complete without mention of proud papa, Jacob Heppner.
- “I literally feel so lucky to have him. I’ve had Jacob since I started, and he’s always been like a proud dad, crying, like he cried whenever I won the teenage games. I mean, he and Tim, I’m lucky to have them for sure,” Kerstetter said.
Reflecting on the journey that brought Kerstetter back to the Games in 2025, she is grateful for how it all unfolded.
- “I had to definitely change my mindset, and that is not an easy thing. You have to work for it. Looking back, I’m really glad it happened, because I think it made me a way better athlete.”
The two athletes have been enjoying a well-deserved recovery week, but they are both eager to get back to training.
- “I’ve been so bored, though we don’t even know what to do without working out,” Kerstetter said. There will be plenty of work to fill the hours soon – the two have some trips to Nashville on the calendar to train with the PRVN crew.
Picture a road trip for these two – one on the radio and one grabbing the snacks.
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Featured Image: Jesus Montero
