'How I became a three-time fitness world champion at 16'

In July, 16-year-old Keira McManus became the first female athlete in CrossFit history to win three teenage world championships.

She beat 19 other competitors in the age 16-17 category at the 2026 CrossFit Games in California – her third victory in a row after winning the age 14-15 title twice.

“I’m quite proud of myself because of all the training that went into it, and I’ve had such a busy year of competing,” said the Stoke-on-Trent teenager.

“To end the season with a win, it’s just incredible and I’m really happy with it.”

CrossFit is a high-intensity form of training, combining disciplines like weightlifting, compound exercises, gymnastics and running.

During competitions, athletes take part in a series of scored challenges, with winners at the annual CrossFit Games earning the title “fittest on earth”.

Keira’s success was no surprise – along with her hard work and dedication, fitness very much runs in the family.

“It has always been a part of my life because we own a family gym,” Keira said, “so I grew up around it.”

That gym is Combat Fitness Stoke, based in Hanley, which is owned by Keira’s father, Joel and her mother, Lisa.

While Keira initially took part in sports like football, she started spending more time in the gym during the pandemic.

Joel, who coaches Keira, said it came at a time when the venue was on the verge of closing after some of their equipment was stolen.

But he and Lisa were determined to keep it going for Keira and their son Tyler.

“We wanted to give them something they can carry through their lives – fitness – and obviously it’s working,” he added.

It was not long before Keira started to enjoy it more than anything else and she took part in her first competition at 11 years old.

“It just continued from there,” she added.

Keira trains 25 hours a week and can clean-and-jerk – a two-part weightlifting movement – about 120kg (264lbs).

She consumes about 3,500 calories every day to ensure she has enough energy.

“We’re in the game where you’re eating for performance,” Joel said. “So you’re literally fuelling up all the time.”

Keira admitted the workload was really mentally and physically challenging.

“It’s the pressure you put on yourself, just to perform,” she said. “When you’ve done training and you feel like you’ve had a bad session, you sometimes feel it’s the end of the world, but it’s really not.

“I think it gets tough sometimes, but you always get through it.”

She described her parents as “role models” and said training with her 22-year-old brother, Tyler, helped her to improve.

“He’s always alongside me, doing the workouts and pushing me,” Keira added.

“I think that’s how I’ve developed as an athlete – chasing him and beating him a lot of the time.”

She said all the training and competing had an impact on other parts of her life, particularly in terms of socialising.

“But it almost doesn’t feel like a sacrifice when it’s something that I want to do,” she added. “It’s more of a choice and a priority.”

Keira recently finished her GCSEs and has been offered a place at Loughborough College in Leicestershire, where she will be part of the Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme.

The course is run in partnership with British Weight Lifting and is specifically for young weightlifters who have shown potential.

Keira said she was determined to make a career out of this, adding: “I want to be the best I can be.”

Meanwhile, Joel said he felt vindicated, having spotted the potential in Keira all those years ago, though admitted it was sometimes hard to balance being a father with being a coach.

Asked how it felt to see Keira doing so well, Joel said he would often get “teary” when she won competitions.

“It’s hard to put it into words, it’s the same with both my kids,” he said. “You just feel super proud.”

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Related internet links

• CrossFit Games