“…I want to be a good role model for young girls and women to see that hard work can look like anything, and that being ‘strong’ shouldn’t be referred to as ‘sexy’, but as something that is earnt through hours of hard work.”
Julia Hannaford is an accomplished ex-gymnast tuned elite CrossFit athlete, who at only 22 years old, is competing at the level of seasoned CrossFit professionals. She recently showed her potential at the 2023 Torian Pro – a gruelling three-day tournament designed to push even top-level CrossFit athletes both mentally and physically. Julia approached this demanding event with the goal to make top 10 and found herself positioned 8th overall.
Julia grew up in Tamworth as a gymnast where she competed and coached before she discovered her love of CrossFit.
“I competed in my last gymnastics comp in November 2017, and pretty much went straight into CrossFit two weeks after. My sister and my girlfriends that did gymnastics with me had transitioned to Crossfit the year before, so I just followed them! They loved it, and found it a similar intensity to gymnastics, so it was the perfect sport to move over to.”
Julia’s incredible devotion to training and fighting for her goals has been evident in her rapid improvement since she began CrossFit in 2017.
When Julia first entered the Crossfit Open in 2018 she came in at 10035th place in Oceania. Just 5 short years later, she came in at an incredibe 24th position in the Open.
Julia took this to new levels just a few months later when she finished 8th in the Torian Pro, a commendable improvement from 2022 when she finished 21s in the womens elite individual category.
| CROSSFIT OPEN | |||
|
YEAR |
CROSSFIT COMPETITION |
RANK REGION |
RANK WORLDWIDE |
|
2023 |
CrossFit Open |
24th |
359th |
|
2022 |
CrossFit Open |
95th |
1504th |
|
2021 |
CrossFit Open |
292nd |
3708th |
|
2019 |
CrossFit Open |
- |
4252nd |
|
2018 |
CrossFit Open |
10035th |
144479th |
| INDIVIDUAL QUARTERFINALS | |||||||
| YEAR | CROSSFIT COMPETITION | RANK REGION | RANK WORLDWIDE | AVERAGE EVENT FINISH | EVENT WINS | EVENT TOP 5 FINISHES | EVENT TOP 10 FINISHES |
| 2023 | Individual Quarterfinals | 8th | 93rd | 17.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2022 | Individual Quarterfinals | 31st | 390th | 46 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021 | Individual Quarterfinals | 159th | 1952nd | - | - | - | - |
| TORIAN PRO | |||||||
| YEAR | CROSSFIT COMPETITION | RANK REGION | RANK WORLDWIDE | AVERAGE EVENT FINISH | EVENT WINS | EVENT TOP 5 FINISHES | EVENT TOP 10 FINISHES |
| 2023 | Torian Pro | 8th | 13 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Torian Pro | 21th | 19.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Data Source: CrossFit Games
Julia is hoping to qualify for the Down Under Championships later this year as well as giving the qualifiers for Wodapalooza and Dubai Championships a crack. She is staying committed to her training whilst also working as a coach to train others to help them feel their best.
SMAI are proud to support Julia as she continues her journey as a CrossFit athlete!
Get to know Julia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9AV34QTP4E