“I decided I was going to win [Canada East] Regionals and was willing to die in the workouts to achieve that goal. Anyone willing to come with me to that dark place would have had to die to win.” – Camille Leblanc-Bazinet It’s not often you hear such cutthroat words come from such an unassumingly sweet person. But perhaps this duality is what Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s fans love so much about her. Beneath her bright, beautiful smile and charming personality lies a gritty warrior so intent on victory she’ll die to win. Since bulldozing her way onto the CrossFit scene in 2010, the happygo-lucky recent newlywed has not only stolen hearts (confessions of love and marriage proposals flooded online chat rooms when she appeared on-screen at the 2012 Games), she’s proven herself a fierce competitor. Once again in 2013, Camille’s performance has demanded respect and, with her recent victory at the Canada East Regionals, she will once again have the opportunity to drop jaws at the Games. The angel-faced WODkilla’s plan? It’s simple: to win SweatRX: Your outstanding performance and victory at Regionals this year was quite a feat. You seemed to be very focused and happy. What do you think contributed to that? Camille: This year was easier for me to focus since my husband [Dave Lipson] came down to support me and helped coach me during the events. Last year we had our Regionals at the same time and I had no one to make sure I eat and recover or to support me emotionally. I felt less relaxed this year than others because I was more focused. Overall, I think my performance was a result of all the hard work I’ve put into my training ever since I started competing. Every year I learn new things and I became more mature in how I approach competing and how I attack my workouts. Dave is definitely a big part of why I stay focused in competition. You and Michele Letendre were friendly yet fierce competitors as always [with Michele winning 2012 Regionals over Camille]; you both got a ton of fan support at Regionals this year, but ultimately you outworked her. What do you credit this to? I think I was more ready mentally [this year], and I knew I wasn’t going to break in any workout. The biggest change was super simple: I decided I was going to win Regionals and I was willing to die in the workouts to achieve that goal. Anyone willing to come with me to that dark place would have had to die to win. I didn’t change my nutrition really, but I was more careful with my recovery, making sure I had my Syntha-6 after every workout and my Extreme Endurance. I also did tons of mobility between workouts. Your mental toughness is definitely a strength you use to your advantage. At Regionals this year, it was also clearly evident at the 2012 CrossFit Games when you set aside your performance on the Pendleton day and came back to finish top ten. How did you pull yourself up and finish strong after the disappointment at Pendleton? When confronted with a big challenge, I think there are two types of people – some let go and others fight for it. I see myself as a fighter. It’s easy to make excuses, but it’s not my nature. I was disappointed with my performance at Pendleton but there were a lot more events to prove my fitness. I think it was maybe just harder to start [the Games] with a weakness and not a strength.
“I decided I was going to win Regionals and I was willing to die in the workouts to achieve that goal. Anyone willing to come with me to that dark place would have had to die to win.”
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Photo: david A. white