Kildare woman qualifies for the 2026 CrossFit Games in California
Holly Tynan from Celbridge has earned her place among just 30 women worldwide who will compete for the CrossFit Games title
Holly Tynan, Celbridge, has qualified for the 2026 CrossFit Games in San Jose, California, earning her place among 30 elite female athletes who will compete for the title.
The CrossFit Games represent the pinnacle of the sport, bringing together athletes from around the world to compete across a series of varied tests of strength, endurance, speed, skill and mental resilience.
Four years ago, the Kildare woman made the bold decision to relocate from Celbridge to Aberdeen, to immerse herself in Europe's leading CrossFit training environment, CrossFit Aberdeen, and train under a renowned trainer in the CrossFit world, Rob Lawson, to pursue her dream of competing at the Games.
The road to the Games began with the CrossFit Open, an online worldwide competition that took place at the start of 2026. This year, more than 230,000 athletes from across the globe registered to take part, completing the same workouts regardless of nationality or experience. From that enormous field, a selected few progressed through the successive qualification stages.
There were quarter-finals and semi’s before Holly secured one of the 30 qualifying places available for the CrossFit Games with the best performance of her career.
Qualification is the culmination of years spent competing at the very highest level of the sport for Holly after she reached the semi-final stage stage in each of the past three seasons.
Holly will become the first woman from the Republic of Ireland to compete in the Elite Individual division at the CrossFit Games and only the third woman from the island of Ireland ever to reach the sport's biggest stage when she heads to California.
Holly finished 7th at the French Throwdown before achieving a top 10 position at the Madrid Fitness Festival in May. She then delivered a composed performances in the Individual Online Semifinal to secure her historic qualification.