A 70-year-old man with a metal knee and 10 operations on one leg is heading to the United States next month to compete at the Masters CrossFit Games in California.
Darryl Freestone, from Richmond, won the 70-plus division at the Torian Pro competition in Brisbane, finishing first in Australia and taking the only qualifying spot for the Games.
“Got a metal knee and a metal kneecap and 10 operations on me leg, but still going,” Freestone told Pulse.
He believes he is the only Tasmanian to ever reach the Games.
The journey to California began at his local gym, Unracked Strength and Conditioning in Moonah, where he trains up to eight times a week.
Asked how he expects to fare against the world’s best, Freestone was humble.
“I’m hoping not to come last, put it that way,” he said.
“The trick’s to get there without picking up an extra injury, you know, training too hard and all the rest of it.”
A former Australian rules footballer in Brisbane and umpire in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Freestone moved to Tasmania 22 years ago after visiting for a match.
“My wife said, ‘Oh, I’d like to move there’,” he said.
His daughter Carrie got him into CrossFit about seven years ago, after extensive knee surgeries that included five clean outs, two partial replacements, a full knee replacement and two cruciate replacements, all on the same leg.
An Instagram reel Carrie posted about her father winning the Brisbane competition has attracted more than one million views.
Both of Freestone’s daughters, who he described as “CrossFit mad people”, will travel with him to the United States.
He said he wanted to thank his wife for putting up with his busy training routine.
“It’s all about eating, sleeping, training,” he said.
Carrie said most people slow down at 70, while her dad qualified for the CrossFit Games.
“Over the past few years, he has committed himself to training, learning new skills and proving that age is no barrier to chasing something big,” she said.
She has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover flights, accommodation, competition expenses and travel costs.
The games run from July 21 to 23.
“He’s living proof it’s never too late to start,” she said.
