Opening Instagram this morning I was greeted by a photo which, at first glance, appeared to be a bag of snakes. Upon closer inspection, I realised it was actually Willy Georges’ muscular back that I was looking at.
There were multiple slides on the post, so, after admiring his traps a little longer I swiped to the next slide.
“Ah, it’s in French.” I squinted, hoping that somehow this would activate my long dormant (and, even at its peak – still shit) French.
“This is long,” I thought as I continued swiping “long is never good news…good news is usually an acronym like ‘LFG’, not multiple chunks of text”. I read on, recognizing words like work, projects, future.
I messaged a fluent friend and he replied confirming that my looming feeling of disappointment wasn’t misplaced.
After three individual Games appearances, France’s foremost CrossFit athlete is calling time on his individual career.
After winning last year’s Strength in Depth Semifinal, many expected Willy to continue in a similar vein this year and were looking forward to a face off between Willy, BKG, Lazar Dukic and Jonne Koski in Berlin in May. “During these Quarterfinals the desire was not necessarily there,” Georges explained on Instagram. After finding himself in a bit of a hole after event one, having had shoulder surgery in 2021, Willy had his work cut out to claw his way back into the Semifinal spots and, despite putting up a good fight finishing well inside the top 100 on the remaining four workouts, it ultimately proved too big a hill to climb. “I did what my body allowed me to do,” he said.
“This year is my last year as an individual.”
The words no fan of the sport wanted to read.
Georges was the first Frenchman to qualify for the big show in Madison through the then Meridian Regional where he finished 9th, 21st and most recently 17th in the Wisconsin showcase. Now, the five-time Fittest in France is moving on to new challenges.
One of the challenges he is planning on undertaking will be continuing to grow and expand his WYS training program and WYS CrossFit, his affiliate in Alsace, France. Win Your Success is Georges’ training platform, with programs ranging from at home to competitive athlete and engine to olympic lifting and plenty of others in between. Georges, a GOWOD Mobility Pro ambassador, is also co-host on Stronger Things – a French podcast focused on strength, health, performance and business.
Georges said that he now takes more pleasure in helping other athletes to reach their potential rather than pushing his own body to its limits, “I thrive on helping these athletes achieve their goals and become better.”
If you follow Willy on social media, and are adept at clicking ‘see translation’, you’ll know he’s a humble athlete, someone who lets his work speak for itself. If you’re ear has been to the ground over the last couple of years you’ll also know that many of his peers and even countrymen had decided his career was finished once he had gone under the knife.
A prime example of Georges’ ability to let his work speak for itself being his response to his perceived demise by winning SiD and punching his ticket to Madison. “I’ve never been a talented athlete, I’m the one who works the most,” he said. “Who is ready to do what others do not want to do, who inquires, looks for information, tries to understand or analyse everything, ready to cash in each failure for victory…I am proud of it because it may allow young athletes to understand that with work, mentality and good attitude anything is possible.”
Georges took aim at some people who were quick to assume his downfall last year saying he was “sad to see that far too many people forget what respect and humility mean. Disappointed to see some people criticize to grow…to see athletes take the failures of others for their victories.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking he became disillusioned with the sport while reading that section, but, as Georges continues, “It takes a lot of negative to appreciate the positives, this is part of the game.” It doesn’t take much scrolling further down his Instagram to see some of the positives he’s talking about whether it’s the elation at SiD or donning his beret in Miami last year or finishing second with Roman and Jay on team GOWOD this year, Willy walks away carrying plenty of positive memories.
With an eye on the future and building out his business interests, Willy has accepted that his body “can no longer follow the rhythm that I impose on it. It’s time to give it what it wants, rest.”
Not too much rest, thankfully.
Willy Georges will be back on the competition floor during the 2024 season as CrossFit WYS endeavor to challenge for the Affiliate Cup in Madison.
The words every fan of the sport wanted to read.
