Lindsey Valenzuela BELIEVES

While Lindsey Valenzuela prepared for her third CrossFit Games, you can be sure she was repeating the mantra that has inspired her since her days of college volleyball: Believe.

“As an individual and as an athlete, I focus on the belief that as long as I work my hardest and believe in myself, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!” she wrote on her blog after her first trip to the Games. “An internal belief in one’s talents and one’s self is an unstoppable force when something seems impossible.”

The unstoppable force is certainly within Lindsey. Following her first trip to the Games, Lindsey finished second overall in the Olympic Weightlifting Nationals (75kg class). Later, her mantra helped her overcome a poor start to the 2012 SoCal Regional to earn her second trip to the Games. There, she finished in the top 10.

One of only two women to complete the clean ladder in 2012, Lindsay’s strength is well known to be her strength. “Many know me as the Olympic weightlifter that does CrossFit”, she blogged in 2011, “and that is something that I LOVE! It shows other women that being strong is possible, and lifting weights that you thought you couldn’t do can become possible with hard work and the belief that you can do it.”

But some have wondered if Lindsey’s strength will be enough to keep her at the top. Where others would feel defeated by their weaknesses, Lindsey finds fuel: “Every day I think about the workouts and movements that gave me a hard time, and that is what is pushing me to become a better CrossFit athlete. The hunger I have to become a better CrossFitter is unexplainable and is something fueling my fire every day! I love the feeling of having another challenge and when I overcome that challenge I prepare for the next one!”

Lindsey has worked hard to be ready to prove that her strength is not all that defines her. When challenged to do a live face-off against Annie Thorisdottir during the Open WOD announcement, she hoped for something outside of her usual wheelhouse. She got it, and was able to hold her own against the reigning champ.

Later in the season she won the SoCal Regional, finishing in the top 5 in all events (not just the heavy ones), and proving to the world that she has the endurance and speed to back up her strength.

Linsdey’s motivation was best summarized in an interview immediately after she qualified for the 2012 Games. “You always gotta believe, I tell that to people, It might not happen today, it might not happen this week, it might not happen next week, it might not even happen next year. But if you believe that it can happen it will happen; I know it will. I might not be the fastest, I might not be the most gymnasty out there, but I’ll tell you what, I’m never going to stop, ever going to stop believing in what I can do. No one can take that away from me.”