From Quad Racing to The CrossFit Games (with Emma McQuaid)

Today I’m talking to multi-time CrossFit Games athlete Emma McQuaid, who just qualified for the 2022 CrossFit Games. The Irish athlete has a length background in sports but didn’t find CrossFit until she was 24 years old. Now in her 30s, the Wodapalooza champion talks about her background in quad bike racing — ATV racing in American slang — how it both helped and hurt her career in elite fitness competition.

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In this episode of The BarBend Podcast, David Thomas Tao and Emma McQuaid discuss: 

• Making huge strides in confidence and Emma’s mental game (2:20)
• Why it can be hard for athletes to verbalize their feelings (4:30)
• How swimming has become critical to CrossFit Games success (7:30)
• Emma’s unlikely transition from quad bike racing to CrossFit (10:30)
• Mobility deficits Emma had to overcome (13:00)
• Recovering from major shoulder surgery (16:50)
• Battling the heat and Emma’s plan to recover between events (19:50)

Relevant links and further reading

• Follow Emma McQuaid on Instagram
• Follow David Thomas Tao on Instagram and Twitter