Linda Keesman’s 2026 CrossFit Games season is over before it started. Keesman suffered a partial UCL tear with avulsion while overhead squatting recently. As such, Keesman will not be able to post a score for 26.1 of the 2026 CrossFit Open, thereby ending her Games season.
In her Instagram post this afternoon, Keesman said, “You won’t see my name on the leaderboard tonight and I feel so so sad rn [sic] but I’m doing everything I can to come back stronger!! Thankfully I’ll have the opportunity to show that later this year @worldfitnessproject and some other comps. 👀” She added, “Allll the rehab has started, challenge accepted!!!”
Keesman received one of the 20 Pro contracts for the 2026 World Fitness Project season. The first WFP Tour Stop in London is slated for May 1-3. It is unclear if Keesman will be able to compete by that point or not.
However, the WFP Tour Stop 2 in Indianapolis is on August 28-30. Because she is one of the signed Pros she will be able to compete in this competition regardless of her status for Tour Stop 1 in May.
The UCL is short for the ulnar collateral ligament in the inner elbow. It’s common among athletes who work overhead like baseball pitchers and tennis players due to repetitive stress.
In Keesman’s case, she has a partial tear with avulsion. This means that when the ligament pulled away from the bone it took a small piece of bone with it.Â
A Grade 2 (partial) UCL tear typically has a 2-3 month recovery time for non-surgical rehabilitation with those athletes returning to full speed in 3-6 months. The avulsion fracture could add to the recovery timeframe.
Obviously, this does put her full 2026 season in jeopardy. However, it does appear that if everything goes well she could be back out there for WFP Tour Stop 2 in the end of August.
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