If you looked at the competitor list of the upcoming Down Under Championship you might have noticed Katelin Van Zyl was not competing. Van Zyl won the online qualifier back in September and was excited to get back on the competition floor in Wollongong. But Van Zyl has been dealing with a hernia and made the difficult decision to withdraw.
Van Zyl, who narrowly missed qualifying for the CrossFit Games last season, was looking forward to the 2024 season and the Down Under Championship was going to be a great primer. However, after consulting with her doctor, it was not a good idea to compete this weekend. “My hernia doesn’t hurt at all,” Van Zyl told The Barbell Spin. “So that’s the dangerous thing if I compete…I’ll push it too hard!”
Van Zyl has been trying to train around the hernia, but it has just been getting bigger. And that means surgery will be needed.
The surgery is expected to be just a minor bump in the road, but it will also mean Van Zyl won’t be able to compete at the 2024 TYR Wodapalooza. She and Sara Sigmundsdottir (who also withdrew from the Down Under Championship with an injury) have also withdrawn from the team competition in Miami.
Not everything is bleak, though. She shared, “I’m hoping to be recovered by the start of the 2024 season!” So while we have to wait a little longer to see her on the competition floor, 2024 is still in play.
