It’s a known fact that the Philippines is a hub of talents. The country has been known in the international sports stage because of the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Hidilyn Diaz, and Carlos Yulo, to name a few.

With the emerging interest of the local community in functional fitness, the already long list of talented and skilled athletes grows even longer as up and coming Crossfit enthusiasts start to mark their names in the international Crossfit scene with their mission to showcase to the world that Filipinos are indeed dedicated and strong.

A proof of this is the recently held Crosstrain Invitational 2020, a competition which gathered well-known and amateur Crossfit athletes not just from the Philippines but also from different countries, hosted by Crosstrain.PH, the Manila Bulletin’s magazine for health and functional fitness.

Crosstrain.PH’s first-ever invitational event saw 163 athletes who dared and faced a two-day action-packed competition. While all the athletes who participated and were present at this year’s Crosstrain Invitational Event each have their stories of inspiration to tell, here’s a roundup of five names in the local Crossfit community who defied all the challenges to pursue their fitness goals.

Before doing Crossfit way back in 2011, Ken Tan used to do American football. As one of the pioneer athletes in the Philippines in the said sport, he wanted to get stronger so he researched and found out about Crossfit. Learning that this sport is a good strength and conditioning program, Ken eventually ventured in putting up his own CrossFit box located in Libis, Quezon City.

What motivates Ken in training and competing is to improve himself in all aspects of Crossfit. He seeks time every day to train and is always on point when it comes to diet.

The most difficult time of his fitness career was when he had little time to train. He had to juggle handling his gym, making time for his clients, training his athletes, and being a dad to his two kids. As he matured as an athlete, the goal of wanting to earn medals has diminished. He has changed his mindset and started to enjoy being on the competition floor with the Crossfit community.

Dino and Gino Mercado, also known by the Crossfit community as the Boom Twins, are bodybuilders before starting Crossfit. Growing up, they were exposed to different types of sports including martial arts.

Their journey with Crossfit started when they were invited by a friend who needed a team of three to compete at a local Crossfit competition in 2013. After gaining 2nd place at the event, they realized that they had the potential to win in local Crossfit competitions. From there, they joined multiple competitions and gained a few medals. Realizing that Crossfit is their passion, they eventually trained to become coaches of the sport.

During their high school years, Dino and Gino were often bullied because they were twins. They also lack the height to join sports activities in schools. When they became Crossfit competitors, they found out that Crossfit doesn’t rely on height to win. All they need is to train and improve the modalities of fitness -- cardio, strength, power, speed, and coordination.

One of the known names in the local Crossfit scene is Kristen Lim, the first national champion which represented the Philippines for the Crossfit Games held in the United States in 2019, on top of a number of local and international competitions. Kristen is also a Crossfit coach and the owner of Avant-Garde Crossfit.

For her, discipline is key in Crossfit. Her motivation lies in thinking that there is always something to improve about herself. One of the main challenges that she has to continuously overcome is to be constantly motivated and to stay on track.

Kristen aims to inspire women athletes and the entire local Crossfit community by imparting to them what she learned from her experience in international competitions. When asked about her inspiration, Kristen shared that it was her father who persuaded her to be fit. The important pointers that she got from him about fitness are what she teaches her Crossfit students.

People might know Jigs Mayuga as the makeup artist of various local celebrities, but he has also been an active member of the Crossfit community in the Philippines. His fitness journey started when he was 19 years old, and was introduced to Crossfit by his friend Rachel Lee.

During his first Crossfit training at CFMNL, Jigs was inspired by how fit his classmates were. That’s when he knew that he wanted to use his strength to become even more healthy. Since that day, he never failed to do Crossfit everyday.

His first competition was CF Open, an online tilt that lasted for five weeks. Winning the scaled division of the said competition which was held back in 2016 pushed Jigs to train harder so he could join even more Crossfit competitions.

Jigs admitted that Crossfit also helped him quit smoking. With the intense training that the sport needs, he knew that he has to take care of his health to become a better athlete.

Ken, Gino, Dino, Kristen, and Jigs are only a few of the many inspiring Crossfit athletes in the Philippines. Joining them in a quest to let more people know about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle through Crossfit, Crosstrain.PH will continue on being a platform to tell stories and pieces of useful tips about functional fitness.

This year’s Crosstrain Invitational 2020 is supported by Manila Bulletin, official media partner, Manila Hotel and Manila Prince Hotel, official venue partner, as well as Pro Touch, Arena, and Klean Athlete as major sponsors. Additional brand partners include Pure Force, Xtreme, Shakey's, Chooks-to-go, Coca-Cola Philippines, Manila Rubber Corporation, PlayHard, Philippine Red Cross, Vista Mall, Yoli Inc, Cafe France, Coffee Lab, Tanita, El Lobo Cubanos x Sandwiches, Vitaminboost, Lightwater, Red Bull, Out of the box, Careline, Blackwater, and Core Athletics.

Discover and read more about Crossfit through www.crosstrain.ph and follow Crosstrain on Facebook (www.facebook.com/crosstrainphl) and on Instagram (@crosstrain.ph).