For Time:
Row 1000
+3 Rounds of:
10 Chest To Bar Pull Ups
10 GHD Sit Ups
My name is Jonathan Bik. I am 36 years old. In August of ’10 my wife Thea and I will
celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We have 2 daughters Angelica (8), Arianna (6) and a 10 month old son
Roman. I am in my 2nd week training at CrossFit East Sac since finishing my
fundamentals. Oh yeah… and I’m sore. I’ve always been involved in organized sports. I
started playing soccer when I was 4 and played until I was 30. I started
wrestling in junior high and went through high school. By the way the closest
I’ve ever come to the feeling of wrestling (as far as exertion) is CrossFit.
It’s funny wrestling was such a torturous environment, but I missed it! It’s
nice to be pushed to your limits and beyond.
In January of ’05 I was involved in an accident while training
to be a lineman for SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District). I fell 40
feet from a power pole. I suffered
a torn ACL, meniscus, and a small fracture to my knee cap on my left leg. My right leg dislocated at the knee. The pressure was so great that the femoral artery ruptured. 3 days later and 5 (unsuccessful) surgeries, led to my right leg being amputated above the knee. With a young family and my wife staying home with the kids I felt great pressure to get back to work. Obviously I wasn’t going to be climbing poles anymore. I
worked my butt off. I came home in a wheelchair, transitioned to crutches, and
in March of that same year received my first prosthesis. June back to work on
light duty, August received my running leg, September got my new permanent job
as a Meter Technician (SMUD has been great) and in November ran a 5k at The run
to feed the Hungry.
Things took off for me since. A great organization
called Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) helped push me to new levels. With
the support of CAF, my family and SMUD I was 2nd in the world (above knee
division) at the Triathlon World Championships 07 and 08 and US National Champ
in 08 as well. In the same year (08) I became the first above knee amputee to
complete a full X-Terra off road triathlon including the US championships in
Lake Tahoe.
By the way I never had the left knee fixed after
the accident. It got progressively worse. I also had a neuroma in my foot that
was extremely painful during 08. It was time to get those fixed. But first came March 26th. My son was born. On came some weight. April came ACL replacement along with some
more weight. July came foot surgery along with some more weight. I was recovering
nicely but was having a hard time finding the motivation to start from scratch
again, and this time with 25 lbs of fat.
SMUD provided me with a nurse to help with my case. She and my knee doctor thought some more aggressive strength training and physical activity would be helpful for me. They suggested CrossFit (which I had never heard of). I can feel the energy and excitement in me again. This is exactly what I need. This isn’t a quick fix for me. I need to stay fit and strong with the complications of being an amputee, just as important is competing with myself and pushing hard which makes me a complete person. In the future I would like to help with a push for people with disabilities competing
in our own division. For now I’ll just stick to finishing today's WOD.
Thank you CrossFit East Sac!
-Jon Bik
