Former Luxemburg-Casco standout Tom Fameree has memorable finish to CrossFit career
GREEN BAY – There is a strong possibility Tom Fameree competed in the final CrossFit Games of his career this month.
If that ends up the case, the 60-year-old finished with a memorable performance on the biggest stage for CrossFit competitors, the Super Bowl of their world.
The former Luxemburg-Casco track and football star finished third overall at the CrossFit Games in Madison in the 60-64 age group.
It was the third time he has participated in the games, and easily his best finish after placing ninth in 2018 and 20th in 2021.
There only were 10 competitors in each age group to qualify for the event this year, and they came from all over the map. It’s not a huge stretch to say Fameree can stake claim to being one of the fittest people in the world for his age.
The smile on his face still hasn’t been wiped away in the two weeks that have followed.
“It was an amazing feeling, it really was,” Fameree said.
It’s even more impressive considering the adversity Fameree faced during the year leading up to it, from battling slight confidence issues to a serious case of COVID-19.
He has been part of the area athletic landscape for decades since his prep and college days at L-C and at St. Norbert College.
Fameree put himself on the track and field map as a junior in high school in 1979, when he won the Class B state title in the 880-yard dash.
He found ways to motivate himself after college, whether it was playing in basketball leagues or running marathons. He even ran the Boston Marathon in 2006.
Fameree didn’t find CrossFit until his 50s. It’s not for everybody. The sport incorporates aerobic experience, body weight exercises and Olympic weightlifting.
It was perfect for Fameree. He devoted a good part of his life to being the best, waking up early almost every day to train.
His first CrossFit Games experience in 2018 made him motivated to return, especially with how well he did after barely qualifying.
His second experience in 2021? That was a different story.
Fameree was 59 and the oldest age of his group. It might not seem like a huge difference, but a 55-year-old at the top of his or her game can run circles around somebody who is 59.
Run circles they did.
Fameree finished dead last. His 215 points weren’t close to those at the top. It was 355 fewer than winner Vincent Diephuis, 275 fewer than runner-up Ron Ortiz and 245 shy of third-place finisher Bruce Young.
Fameree still was one of the best 20 in the world, but he was the very worst of the best, and that didn’t sit well.
It didn’t help that the events programmed for the CrossFit Games didn’t play to his strengths or that he was dealing with a back injury.
Of course, it might not have mattered.
“They were just so much faster than me,” Fameree said. “I just, I felt my age quite a bit. ... I wasn’t prepared.
“It hurt my confidence a little bit. It’s like, ‘What is going on here?’ When I was there in ’18, I felt I belonged there. Last year, I (was) ranked sixth and came in 20th.”
His peers were impressed he even made it at 59.
“I just got outclassed,” Fameree said. “I just felt like I don’t know if I belong here. What that did for me, it lit a fire in me that said, ‘Tom, you have got to do more than you have been doing in the past. You have got to train harder and longer.’ ”
Fameree circled this year for redemption, especially since he moved to a different age group. He went from the oldest to the youngest.
He trained hard but also knew to be careful. If he went too extreme, he could get injured or break himself mentally.
Fameree hit the gym five days per week, arriving at 5:45 a.m. and doing multiple workouts for two to three hours.
It was going smoothly until the middle of December, when he got COVID-19. It hit him hard. Bad fever. Headache. Chills. Sore throat. Loss of taste and smell.
“I was one of those guys who got the COVID pneumonia,” he said. “I was scared. I was really scared.”
Many people get better after seven to 10 days. He got worse. He couldn’t work out for two weeks, and he felt his body deteriorating and his muscles shrinking. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw how thin he was getting.
“What it taught me was rest is so important,” Fameree said. “Just even taking two weeks off doesn’t hurt you that badly. I’m sure there is a point where three weeks might be too long, but two weeks wasn’t bad. I was able to snap back pretty dang quickly.”
So fast that he not only went to Miami in January and competed in the Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival, but he won his age group.
Fameree worked on his conditioning in the months leading up to the CrossFit Games, from rowing to biking to running.
It led to the pinnacle performance of his career.
Fameree never will give up CrossFit. It’s become part of him. He’s made so many friends.
But he did what he set out to accomplish, and it might be time to hang it up when it comes to competitions and obsessing over preparing for them.
Now, maybe, he can have that glass of wine or slice of pizza. He doesn’t have to find a gym when he’s on vacation.
“I think I’m ready to move on to the next chapter,” Fameree said. “I’ve got two beautiful grandchildren and, hopefully, we will have more. Just spending more time with those kinds of things. Taking my grandchildren fishing.
“I think it might be time. ... Never say never, but I think I’m ready.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Former Luxemburg-Casco star has memorable finish to CrossFit career
