Lisburn CrossFit star named 12th fittest woman on Earth and scoops prize worth £74,000

UTV News reporter Sara O'Kane meets Lisburn athlete Emma McQuaid.

A Lisburn woman has been dubbed the 12th fittest woman on Earth after scooping a $100,000 (£74,000) in a CrossFit competition in the United States.

Professional athlete Emma McQuaid recently returned from Miami in an event watched by millions of people from across the globe.

The 32-year-old CrossFit star started the sport eight years ago and quickly became named the fittest woman in the UK and Ireland.

CrossFit is a high-intensity workout with different disciplines.

"I knew I was definitely capable of winning," she told UTV News,

"But sometimes you just think, will I ever get a win?"

That determination paid off with her recent US victory, but she said it is something she has worked hard for.

"I couldn't even do pull-ups when I started, I couldn't really do push-ups, I was a terrible runner. Six years ago I couldn't physically have done one length of swimming.

"For me to be able to do those things, is incredible. It has just changed me as a person.

But just how much effort goes into becoming one of the fittest people of the planet?

"I think my husband would say it is probably too much," she said.

"It is a full-time job for me. I'm training three times a day, training every morning, relax, chill-out, eat, train in the afternoon" - and that's on repeat.

Despite her enthusiasm for the sport, Emma told UTV that getting recognition at home can be tough.

"Over in America you walk down the street and people recognise you.

"Over here (Northern Ireland), it is just not as big, but it is like any sport. We are usually a few years behind, but it will come."

As for any advice for anyone wanting to take up CrossFit: "Just start, that is it."

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