Celeste's Crossfit Comeback

An exclusive interview with Africa’s fittest woman.

Africa’s Fittest Woman, Celeste MacIntosh was fresh off the plane after Cross Fit Regionals, held in Madrid, Spain, when we caught up with her at Jo’burg’s iconic strength and conditioning facility, The Yard Athletic.

She had just competed in what is arguably the most competitive Cross Fit region – Meridian Regionals – thanks to the sheer number of countries it encompasses and the high calibre of athletes who compete, particularly those from Europe.

And despite the many challenges she faced on route to Regionals, she was able to achieve her goal of a top-20 finish, placing 18th overall. “That’s a seven-place improvement over last year, which I’m happy with,” said Celeste.

Overall, this was her fifth appearance at Regionals and the second since the new regional structure was implemented, which made it extremely difficult for athletes from South Africa to qualify. “This was definitely the hardest event of my career, though, which made it all the more rewarding,” she adds.

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

However, while the result itself is worth celebrating, Celeste was more elated at the fact that her development and progress now seems to be back on track after taking a serious knock in 2015.

“I had qualified to compete at the Cross Fit Games in 2015, which is the pinnacle of the sport, so I put everything I had into my preparation,” recalls Celeste. “While my build-up went well and I was feeling strong, on the day I was completely flat and couldn’t perform anywhere near my peak. I realise now that when the stress of competing kicked in, my body shut down.”

Bitterly disappointed at her result, Celeste returned home to assess what had gone wrong. “I began consulting with US-based homeopath, Dr Drobot, who suggested I have a full blood panel.”