FROM contracting Covid-19 in October, 2020, which left him in a hospital bed suffering from bilateral pneumonia, Fermanagh man Louie McMaster’s recovery has been somewhat incredible.

So incredible that he can call himself one of the fittest men in the world after an unforgettable time at the NOBULL CrossFit Games in Wisconsin recently.

Nine months later after contracting the virus while working as a wedding photographer, he was pushing his physical and mental fitness to the limits in America, where he finished seventh in the 35-39 Masters category.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week, not long after he arrived back in Ireland, Louie described the experience as “surreal”.

“Looking back now, it was absolutely surreal. I can’t believe it happened, because I said the statistic that’s going out there is that 99.99999 per cent of people will never make [be selected for] the games!

“So to make the games, that was an achievement in itself.”

To get as far as the CrossFit Games this year, Louie had to complete a series of workouts and post his times. He admitted that this year he was aiming to get in the top 100.

While he did not have the best of starts, he was sitting just outside the top 20.

And it was only when he was told by a fellow competitor that the top 20 go through to the games that it all started to get a bit real.

It was on a Sunday as he sat down with his family that he found out he finished 10th, and qualified for the Games.

“I just didn’t want to let it sink in: ‘This can’t not be happening; I can’t be making the games’, I thought. Top 100 was the goal, so to get top 10 was phenomenal,” said Louie.

He was soon off to Wisconsin to see how he would fare against some of the top CrossFit athletes in the world.

Louie admitted he did not put too much pressure on himself, and that he wanted to enjoy the experience, as he aimed to not drop any places during the competition.

The first event was running in the midday sun in Wisconsin, and despite the tough conditions he finished third.

“The first event went well. It was a good event and a good way to kind of just break out the nerves and try and work my way into the three days.”

By the end of Day One, Louie sat in sixth position, before dropping to ninth before the final event.

This event was only for the top 10, so he made the cut and with a strong third-place finish, his final standing was boosted to seventh.

It was a phenomenal effort from a man who has had to build his body back up after suffering seriously from Covid-19, and it is something that makes his performance even more of an achievement as he recalls just how difficult it was at times after catching the virus.

“It makes the whole thing that even a bit more surreal. To know that to, let alone bend down and pick up the barbell, but to bend down and pick up anything [was once difficult, with Covid].

“I remember walking out on the street whenever I got out of the hospital. There was a weed in the patio, and I bent down and picked it up and pulled it, and I had to sit down, to try and recover, to get my breath back. That’s how bad it was.

“And then, to slowly start doing like little bits of cardio and everything to get to this stage, I can’t believe it.”

The effects of Covid-19 remain for Louie, who is taking a break before getting back into training, and he said he has had to adapt his preparation to get himself ready for workouts and open up his lungs.

There was some apprehension about how his body would cope with the stress of the games, and he recalls a moment after one event where he was on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath.

But his body held up, and he fought on, and he showed that he belonged at the top of the CrossFit empire.