The first interview, that LatvianCrossFit made in English was with Manuel Jordan about The Baltics Throwdown. You can not say that Manuel is a foreigner, considering that he lives, works and trains in Latvia for years now. So that really does not count. This, however, does.
August for CrossFit in Latvia was special. CF Ventspils held the first CrossFit competition where not only Latvians competed but Estonians as well. And what do you now, an Estonian won in the mens division. A lady from Estonian got to the podium as well. So it is natural that LatvianCrossFit wanted to contact this athlete and ask him how did he do it. At first, CrossFit Tartu was contacted to ask about the situation with Estonian CrossFit athletes and their box. LatvianCrossFit made an article in Latvian, but in English not, because of the given information - it would not be interesting for the readers abroad. This interview, however, has changed that. The guy, who has been interviewed, shared his knowledge, observations and opinion about the situation in Estonia. As I understand, then this is probably the first interview with a CrossFit athlete from Estonia. The bag is open.
The Baltics Throwdown will be held in one months time. Hope to see a lot of Estonians who have qualified. And LatvianCrossFit is really looking forward to shake hands with everyone and bring the Baltics CrossFit community together.
But now. Sit down, take a cup of coffee and read this amazing interview with an athlete, trainer and by no doubt future Games competitor from Estonia - Kevin Jurs.
LatvianCrossFit: Would like to start with a simple one. Who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name is Kevin Jurs, I am 20 years old and currently I work as a coach at CrossFit Tartu.
LatvianCrossFit: A guy at CrossFit Tartu said that your only 20 years old. You could be the Ben Smith of Europe (although his first appearance at the CrossFit Games was under his twenties). How did you become a CrossFit athlete? What is your sport background?
Kevin: To be the Ben Smith of Europe would be really cool. That's what I'm trying to accomplish, in one way to put it. I have always loved sports. Even in school my favourite subject was physical education. I've never had any problems doing sports, but I've never excelled in anything. But then came CrossFit. I have a track and field athletics background; I trained and competed in decathlon for two years, from ages 15 to 17. After that I trained individually in my garage, doing high-intensity interval workouts (HIIT). A notification of this new sport called CrossFit was introduced to my fathers roller-skating club. Seeing as I was doing a similar thing in our garage, he suggested I should try it out. So in February 2012 I took part in my first CrossFit training session and I loved it!
LatvianCrossFit: Is CrossFit something more to you than just a sport?
Kevin: For me it is a lifestyle. Before finding CrossFit, I felt empty; I didn't have a goal and didn't know what I would like to do with my life. Finding CrossFit changed all that. I've never wanted or trained for something so much as I have for a ticket to the CrossFit Games.
LatvianCrossFit: As I mentioned before, I had a small interview a while ago with a person from CrossFit Tartu. I asked who is the strongest CrossFit athlete in Estonia, and he pointed at you. How would you describe the situation of CrossFit in Estonia today? Are there many athletes and are those numbers growing? What about women? Are they open to this sport?
Kevin: Me being the strongest? I might be the most well balanced athlete, but Rasmus Zarubin is surely the strongest guy in our box. CrossFit is still quite new in Estonia, but slowly making it's presence known. If you try asking random people in Estonia if they know what is CrossFit, I bet 9 out of 10 have no idea. We're hoping to change that. We have a beginners class two times a week in our box and in the last few weeks/months, it's always been pretty packed. That being said, I think more and more people are finding out about CrossFit and signing up for a beginners class. Men and women alike. I'm not sure about the men-women ratio in our box, but I am pretty sure we're close to even, meaning we have a lot of women in our box. And I think that the image that a strong woman is a beautiful woman is getting more and more acknowledged.
LatvianCrossFit: Some people are strong at Olympic lifts some at body weight movements. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Could you share your PR’s that you are proud of?
Kevin: My strength is definitely in Olympic lifting. I'm pretty proud of my clean PR, which is 145kg, compared to my front squat PR, which is 165kg. My weaknesses are bodyweight movements, especially gymnastics like chest to bar pull-ups and muscle-ups. And I really HATE running.
LatvianCrossFit: Imagine that you just did a hard workout. What do you do after? Meaning, how do you recover? Drink a shake or do what?
Kevin: After a hard workout I usually stretch out the muscles that got the biggest load during the workout and after that I usually drink a protein shake, nothing too special.
LatvianCrossFit: Did you manage to compete in this years’ Open?
Kevin: I did. The Open is a great way to find your weaknesses, as I pointed out earlier the chest to bar pull-ups and muscle-ups were two of the biggest elements holding me back at this years open. I'm working hard to change that.
LatvianCrossFit: As we are heading to the competition theme. Did you watch the Reebok CrossFit Games this year? Who’s your favorite in both men and women?
Kevin: Since 2012 I've been glued to my laptop in the Games period. My favourite on the men's side is of course Mr. Rich "4-time-champ" Froning, but I'm also a big fan of Dan Bailey. On the women side I was crossing my fingers for Julie Foucher, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Lauren Fisher.
LatvianCrossFit: Team Series? Follow the action?
Kevin: Yeah, of course I do. Been checking out their workouts and also keeping tabs on the leader board. The last week seems to be really fun and crazy.
LatvianCrossFit: Ventspils. “X-Power strength and endurance games 2014”. You, Kevin Jurs, took first place, beating Arturs and Aleksandrs Nehajenko, and everyone else from Latvia. How? Did you train specifically hard for this competition or the workouts were just suitable (not to say easy) for you?
Kevin: I didn't do anything special to prepare for the competition. I just went about my training as usual. The only thing I tried before the competition was the last workout, during which I ripped both my hands - not a good thing to do during a competition week. I wouldn't say the workouts were easy for me either. The first workout - double unders and sled pulls - was miserable. I don't think my legs have ever been as shot as they were after that one. And seeing as there were a lot of bodyweight movements in the other workouts, I wouldn't say there was a single workout where I thought "Sweet, this should go well".
LatvianCrossFit: People in Latvia after those Ventspils Games said, “the guy from Estonia was unbelievable. Strong, fit, well-rounded, hope to compete with this dude again. Soon.” Was there any action in the media (blogs, internet) about you victory over Latvians in Estonia?
Kevin: Yeah, the guys from Latvia were incredible as well. CrossFit Teika visited us last weekend and it was really fun to throw down with these great athletes. About the coverage of my victory I'm not too sure, I didn't really check anywhere, but I'm pretty sure there was no coverage or nothing significant.
LatvianCrossFit: What’s next? “The Baltics Throwdown”? If yes, what are your expectations about this event?
Kevin: Next for me is definitely The Baltics Throwdown. My goals are to just have a good time, throw down with some incredible people and if at the end of the competition I end up on the podium, then that would just be a bonus.
LatvianCrossFit: What are your overall thoughts about Latvian CrossFit athletes? Are they competitive enough?
Kevin: Latvian CrossFit athletes are definitely competitive. The biggest thing holding them back is probably their weightlifting. Once they get that properly dialled in, I think they have the potential to be great.
LatvianCrossFit: In your opinion. Who will make it to the CrossFit Games Regionals first – Latvians or Estonians? And what do you think it takes (an athlete has to do), to get to the Regionals and eventually to the Games?
Kevin: It's really hard to say, both countries have incredible athletes. Getting to the Regionals is mostly about your motor and gymnastics. The Open tends to be pretty lightweight. The Regionals however is a different story. There the athlete must excel at everything and be really well rounded. All it takes is one weakness for the athlete to fall from the top to the middle of the pack.
LatvianCrossFit: Are you looking for a CrossFit Level 1 certificate someday and maybe even your own CrossFit Box?
Kevin: Of course, both those things are already my goals and hopefully I achieve these goals somewhere down the line.
LatvianCrossFit: How do you see the future of this sport in Estonia? Will there be more CrossFit Boxes, more athletes and competitions? As I recall from the interview with the representative from CrossFit Tartu, there has not been yet any competitions in Estonia. Why is that, in your own opinion?
Kevin: I think there will definitely be a lot more boxes in the future as the sport gains more fame in Estonia. All it would take is a little good media coverage, e.g, an Estonian making it to the Regionals or even to the Games. There probably hasn't been any competition yet because there were not any other boxes. CrossFit I&M opened theirs just a few months ago in Tallinn. I'm sure there will be lots of competitions in Estonia in the future.
LatvianCrossFit: The last one. What is the hardest workout you have ever done until now? Was it hard mentally or physically?
Kevin: There are actually two of them. One is definitely The Seven, which is such a horrible grind through a small amount of reps of different elements. The second one is what I like to call "The Dan Bailey Special", which is four benchmark workouts for time: King Kong, Fran, Diane and Grace, all done in succession for time.
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