Joey Tortora came off the wall after a set of handstand push-ups while re-doing 20.3 and told his judge “I’m done.” But Tortora was not just done with the workout. Instead, Tortora was done competing in the sport of CrossFit.
Tortora is coming off a year where he competed on the Central Beasts team that placed 5th at the 2019 CrossFit Games. But even while he was in Games training mode, Tortora said that it was becoming a “mental struggle”.
As the 2020 CrossFit Games season approached, Tortora’s goal was to do the Open and compete at a Sanctional. From there he would reassess if he wanted to continue competing. That plan changed in the middle of 20.3 when he knew it was time to walk away from the sport.
“As soon as I said that out loud [sic] a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Deep down I knew this was what I wanted to do but couldn’t bring myself to admit it,” commented Tortora.
Tortora continued, “What will I do next?? I will be reinvesting my time into other avenues. School for instance. My wife! And my home boy Dougie! I will continue to coach and train Crossfit. That love will never go away. I will have more time for helping others with remote programming (insert shameless coaching plug) and bettering myself as a coach.
“This decision was tough to admit but as I said, once I did, I immediately felt better. The mental struggle was no longer worth it to me. Day in and day out I was finding this sport less and less enjoyable. That being said, this journey was not my own. Many of you helped me over these years and I need to say thank you to everyone who has supported me. There are truly too many to list without leaving someone out. ✌🏿 thanks y’all!”
