Kenyan teams upbeat ahead of Elfit Championship championships in Egypt

All eyes in the fitness world turn to Egypt, where some of the world’s most well-rounded athletes will compete for Elfit Championship glory starting Thursday.

The three-day event has attracted competitors from all over the world, including a number of Kenyans representing multiple teams.

The Championship will challenge the athletes’ strength, endurance, and determination across various exercises, from weightlifting to swimming.

Team FirstPower has brought nine athletes to the event, competing across several categories.

Brian Malusi, who will be participating in his second Games, hopes to leave his mark in this year’s edition in the Men’s Intermediate competition.

“The key strengths that I'll utilize are majorly swimming and gymnastics movements, which will play a big role for me”

The young talent, who was ranked second nationally in the 2023 CrossFit Open, is confident in his improvements this year in the more strength-dependent activities.

2024 CrossFit Open semifinalist Juliet “Julz” Nyoike is also looking to stamp her authority in the Women’s Individual Masters Scaled contest.

Nyoike, who has battled through persistent injuries in preparation for the event, looks to impress in the weightlifting exercises as she shoots for the title.

When asked what could set her apart from her competition, she replied: “I believe I’m mentally strong because these workouts need you to be mentally strong to push through and finish the workouts.”

The 36-year-old wants to cap off an impressive season, where she claimed silver in the Women’s 81kg Weightlifting event at Uzani Power Weekend in August and reached the CrossFit Open Semifinals.

Nairobi-based 48 Shred has sent an experienced, seven-strong team in their third appearance at the championships.

Joshua Chisanga, Joshua Alunga, Elijah Ongeri, and Jonan Akatwijuka competed in the Men’s Teams category last year and finished 13th – a five-place improvement from the year prior.

Chisanga, however, believes there’s still room for improvement that can better their performance this time around.

“As a team, last year’s biggest work-on was our communication and coordination as a team, mainly because we hadn't trained as a team… We really focused on it this year, so expect a much different result when tested this year.”

Chisinga praised the versatility of the team, noting that most of them formally competed in other sports before embarking on fitness.

He stated this is a key factor in the team’s past and future success.

The 48 Shred team at large has also paid keen attention to their preparation off the floor to gain an advantage, ensuring they maintain an optimal diet and sleeping pattern.

This year, Joshua Alunga will drop from the team event and compete as an individual in the Men’s Elite alongside teammate Emmanuel Mavala.

Joyce Nyagol will represent the team in the Elite Women, while Wagio Kariuki will take on the Women’s 35+ Masters scale.

Hundreds of athletes compete in a range of categories, for example, the Men’s Elite, Women’s Under 21, and Scaled Mixed Teams.

The athletes are tested over a series of workouts, where competitors usually aim to perform as many repetitions of a particular movement within a certain time frame or max out the weight they can perform on a particular exercise.

All activities involve functional movements that test a combination of cardiovascular strength, muscular endurance, and/or maximal strength. This can include gymnastics, rope climbing, weightlifting, and even cycling.

The winner of each category is the individual or team that collected the most points across all disciplines.

The inaugural event took place in Egypt in 2013 in response to the growing fitness movement. It was the country’s first-ever fitness competition, where more than 300 athletes competed, with over 1000 spectators coming to watch.

The organizers hadn’t planned to continue the event in the following years, but it’s sheer success left them taken aback.

By 2015, the event spread to more countries and introduced new categories for people to compete in.

By the sixth edition, over 40 nationalities were represented and were hosted outside of Cairo for the first time.

In 2024, hundreds are expected to compete in what is now a unique and prestigious event, while thousands will come from all over the world to spectate.