Unassuming +Unrelenting

How Deanna Posey took on the world (and won) at the 2024 CrossFit Games words :: Allison Kennedy Davies photo :: Christophir Smith

At first glance, Deanna Posey doesn’t seem like someone who just won the worldwide Masters CrossFit Games. She’s a mom, a wife, a hairstylist, someone who’s spent her morning getting her son ready and off to school (before fitting in the first half of her two- to threehour daily workout)—and, when she absentmindedly pushes up her sleeves, revealing a visual clue of her physical strength—it’s clear she’s also a total badass.

When Posey finished her final event at the 2024 CrossFit Games in Birmingham, Alabama, last August, it was the moment everything came together—the years of garage training, the sacrifices, the doubts and the quiet resilience that had defined her journey. “My son and my husband were both there,” recalls Posey. “I could hear them screaming the whole time—especially my son. He sees me training all the time so for him to see it unfold in real life was incredibly special.”

Posey didn’t lead the pack from the start. “My worst event was the first one,” she admits, laughing. “I placed 12th and thought, Great—solid indication of my abilities!” But what followed was a slow, steady climb up the leaderboard. “I didn’t win a single event. It was kind of funny, actually. I was the only one in the top three who didn’t win an event. But aside from that first event, I was consistent and both physically and mentally strong, and that was the key to my success.”

At the CrossFit Games, athletes are ranked based on their performance relative to other athletes in their division, receiving a point value for their placement in each event. Her breakthrough came during the second-to-last event—a notoriously heavy lift she hadn’t expected to excel in. She lifted within 5 per cent of her all-time best, which is an impressive accomplishment at the end of a four-day competition with 11 total events. “Lifting events are usually not my strength, especially compared to the top 0.01 per cent in the world,” she says. But when the athlete in first place faltered in that event, Posey moved into first. The final event, featuring highly skilled, highvolume gymnastics, sealed the deal.

“I didn’t realize my competitive drive until I found CrossFit,” says Posey, who grew up swimming and lifeguarding, followed by rock climbing. “I think that helped my grip strength a lot,” says Posey. “For me, upper body strength is a big advantage. I think a lot of women don’t naturally have that, so the gap is wider there than with leg strength.” That natural strength carried over into CrossFit, where technical skill meets endurance, gymnastics and intensity. “It’s engaging, mentally and physically, and there’s a camaraderie in the shared suffering,” she says.

Posey trains year-round, often at a home gym constructed during Covid with the help of her husband. The garage setup allows her to train without limits, but she also spends much of her time at CrossFit Somos in Barrie, where she trains with her teammates. Says Posey: “The owners and my team have become close friends, like family!”

Her husband has been an incredible asset, but her biggest cheerleader is her 11-year-old son, who witnessed his mom’s championship performance, often belting out lines from “Unstoppable” by Sia during the competition. “He was just so confident in me,” Posey recalls. “He kept telling me, ‘You’re going to win, Mom. I know you’re going to win.’”

Posey is often hesitant to trumpet her success. She laughs when asked if her salon clients know about her CrossFit accolades. “Sometimes they ask me if my arms got this big from handling a blow-dryer,” she laughs. But her coworkers and longtime clients are far better at sharing her success. “They’ll say ‘Did you know Deanna just won this massive competition?’ But I don’t usually bring it up,” she says with a smile.

With her 2024 Women’s Masters 45 – 49 CrossFit Games title in hand, training and competing for 2025 has already begun. Posey has competed in two qualifiers and placed first in both of them, including the worldwide CrossFit Semifinals, which earned her a spot at the Masters CrossFit Games this August in Columbus, Ohio, where she’ll defend her international title.