16-year-old Northern Irish Lucy McGonigle has been named the fittest teen on earth after triumphing in the under-18 category at the World CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Newtownards local, who is also a member of the Great Britain Weightlifting youth squad, won the 14-15 year old category last year.
McGonigle's closest rival throughout was American Trista Smith, and the two were tied for points for the first day-and-a-half of the three day competition, which includes weightlifting, running, and climbing challenges designed to test overall functional fitness.
But McGonigle took the lead in points in the second half of day 2 and widened it on day 3 to finish with 690 points, 30 points ahead of her competitor. 3rd place went to Bergros Bjornsdottir of Iceland.
In the first event, the Olympic Total (combined one-rep maximum for Snatch and Clean & Jerk), Bjornsdottir lifted 420 pounds, McGonigle 415, and American Hailey Rolfe 430 — notably all outlifting their corresponding places in the women's 35-39 category, in which Bjornsdottir would also have taken second.
McGonigle has said that her current goal is to compete at Senior level in two years, and that her dream is to be CrossFit champion.
