CrossFit athlete in Fourways ready to make his country proud in upcoming international competition

A local CrossFit athlete has high hopes as he gears up for an international fitness challenge.

Ruan Potgieter (25) will be representing South Africa in the Elfit Championships set to take place from November 10–12 in Egypt. The announcement came from his placing fourth in an online qualification stage that will see the top 30 head to Egypt.
He began his fitness journey in high school by getting involved in a number of different sports such as rugby, athletics and swimming. “I’ve never really been an active person growing up, in primary school, I did no sports at all and I was really lazy. Going to high school, I decided to change that,” he said.

“It was in the high school gym that one of the rugby conditioning coaches showed me some videos of Rich Froning, a 10-time CrossFit Games champion, and used CrossFit methods and workouts to get us fit and strong for our rugby games. I instantly fell in love with the sport and pretty much never looked back from there.”
With this being the first time representing the country, the 25-year-old athlete said he is incredibly excited to compete in the championships. Earlier this year, he took part in the competition to determine who was the fittest man in Africa, and Potgieter placed fourth overall. “In terms of my chances, I don’t like to think of how I will do or won’t do. I’m always focused on doing my best in any competition. I’d like to win the competition for sure. With this being my first time in Egypt, I want to enjoy the experience. I definitely also would want to try and win multiple events as well, but let’s see what happens,” he said.

Outside of CrossFit training and competing, Potgieter has a number of activities and interests he enjoys such as watching Formula One, going on hikes, and taking part in warrior races.
Looking to the future, Potgieter said there are a number of goals he has on his bucket list that he would like to achieve. One of those goals is to open and run his own CrossFit facility, as well as grow a name for himself. “I’d definitely like to compete a lot more internationally so I can travel and experience the world, only then for the next times and hopefully every time would want my soon-to-be wife Jade Cowling to come with me.
“I want to qualify and compete in the biggest CrossFit competition in the world where they crown the Fittest on Earth, which are the Nobull CrossFit Games.”

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