Athlete from Pittsburgh area crowned CrossFit’s Fittest Man on Earth in new division

MADISON, Wisc. — A West Deer man was crowned the Fittest Man on Earth in the 2021 CrossFit Games over the weekend in a new division for adaptive athletes.

Brett Horchar won the gold medal in the new Men’s Neuromuscular Division and “dominated” the new division with six first-place finishes.

Horchar, who works out at CrossFit CMX Athletics in Gibsonia, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 21.

“21 years old, I had to teach myself how to walk and use my hands again. 21 years old and I have to get treatments for the rest of my life to prevent myself from turning into a vegetable,” Horchar wrote on Instagram earlier this month.

The Men’s Neuromuscular Division was among 16 new divisions added to the 2021 CrossFit Open. Athletes with disabilities, or adaptive athletes, were invited to compete in divisions with upper extremity, lower extremity, vision and intellectual disabilities.

The CrossFit Open is a series of workouts open to everyone around the world who wants to participate. Athletes take part in the workouts and are ranked among different divisions with the top athletes invited to take part in the CrossFit Games.

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