ICYMI: Australian Adaptive Athlete Emily Cairns Went Rx+ at the Down Under Championship

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All eyes were on adaptive athlete Emily Cairns when she went “Rx+” on the workouts at the Down Under Championship (DUC) in Wollongong, Australia, from October 18 to 20.

We profiled Cairns and her 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Games experience here.

Cairns, a former dancer, is not afraid of the limelight. Determined to make an impact when the Adaptive athletes took to the main arena, she was ready to showcase the athleticism that earned her the 2024 Fittest on Earth title in the Women’s Upper 1-Point of Contact Division.

However, disappointment struck when the Adaptive workouts were released.

“I absolutely love that they brought the Adaptive divisions back…however, [I was] disappointed with the Adaptive programming,” Cairns explained in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.

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“In my opinion,” Cairns continued, “it was way too easy, and we were given very basic movements.”

Anxious to make the most of the exposure the Adaptive athletes were offered at DUC, Cairns asked the organizers if she could swap the movement standards for more challenging progressions.

“I did single-arm pull-ups instead of jumping pull-ups. I did single-arm toes-to-bar rather than hanging knee raises,” Cairns said. She also opted for handstand push-ups over dumbbell presses and increased the barbell weight for the snatch workout.

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Cairns finished last on the leaderboard, as the more challenging movements and loading took longer.

“But,” she noted, “I felt like I was actually challenged and got to show the crowd what adaptive athletes are capable of.”

The bottom line: Cairns has no regrets about seizing her opportunity to put on a show as she reflects:

“I had so many people stopping me to say how cool it was to watch.”

She concluded: “I think that having the Adaptive division at DUC should have been about more than just a competition — I thought it was a great chance to get some eyes on the Adaptives, show people what we can do, and get some hype around it, which will then help it to grow.”

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