British CrossFitter Zack George competed in the 2023 season as a member of CrossFit BFG Team Training alongside Will Kane, Nicole Crouch, and Janie Garrett. They finished 115th in the worldwide Open and 33rd in the worldwide Quarterfinals to earn entry to the European Semifinal scheduled for June 1-4, 2023, in Berlin, Germany.
However, CrossFit BFG Team Training has withdrawn from the competition due to Zach George’s casting in the reboot of the British TV show “Gladiators.” George will play the Gladiator named “Steel.”
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Gladiators is an 11-part series that begins filming in June, causing a schedule conflict that won’t allow for George to be in Germany to compete with his team during the Semifinal. Without a qualified reserve athlete to replace George, CrossFit BFG Team Training has no path forward in the 2023 CrossFit season.
Zack George as Gladiator “Steel”
Per the press release announcing George’s casting, “his new role as a Gladiator will provide him with a new challenge in the latest stage of his athletic career, where he will compete weekly in a series of varied physical challenges against ‘contenders’ from the general public.” George’s inclusion in the cast of Gladiators will allow him to promote CrossFit methodology to a wider audience and potentially help others improve their lives through fitness as he did.
“Hearing…I had been selected as a Gladiator was a dream come true,” said George. “I loved watching the show when I was younger and never thought to imagine myself ever getting to a physical position of health and fitness to be considered as a ‘superhuman’. With my health and fitness journey, I hope to inspire viewers who may similarly want to turn around their life as I did.”
George has yet to make his CrossFit Games debut but finished 13th overall as an Individual in the 2022 CrossFit Strength in Depth Semifinal. That same year marked his career-best Quarterfinal finish of 35th in Europe. His top Open finish was in 2020, when he ranked as the top male Individual in the UK and 26th worldwide.
Featured image: @zackgeorge on Instagram
