Long Beach family duo reach "pinnacle" of CrossFit

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A Long Beach mother and son duo has reached the international fitness stage while overcoming obstacles along the way.

June Schecter, 60, and her son Logan, 26, qualified for the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games scheduled for July 19-24 in Carson, Calif. The event will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. The intense competition is designed to test the world’s fittest athletes through a broad range of endurance activities, but the Schecters have already faced plenty of emotional distress when they had to rebuild and elevate their East End home after Hurricane Sandy.

“We have seen adversity and come through it,” said June, who trains at CrossFit Island Park. “CrossFit training really helped get me through the tough times.”

She qualified for the CrossFit Games after placing among the top 20 scorers in the 60-and-older women’s open division. Logan reached the prestigious event as a member of the CrossFit Milford Black team after they placed third in the Eastern Division of regional held in the spring.

“We are going out there together and we are more than excited,” said June, a Colorado native who moved to Long Beach in the late 70s. “He has been supportive of me and is helping me prepare for the Games.”

Logan Schecter has strived to reach the CrossFit Games the past few years and was excited to finally break through this year.

“It was like a weight being lifted off my shoulder,” said Logan. “It’s something I have always strived to achieve.”

Logan, a union iron worker in Connecticut, previously trained his mother and said that he is proud of what she has achieved. In addition to staying in top-notch physical shape into her 60s, Logan is impressed with his mother’s mental toughness after Sandy uprooted them to temporary housing in Westbury as their Long Beach home was rebuilt.

“She still made fitness a priority through all the challenges,” Logan said of his mom’s perseverance. “It means a lot to me to share this experience with her.”

A fifth-grade teacher at West School for the past 20 years, June is grateful for the emotional support CrossFit Island Park provided her family. The gym also held a fundraiser in June to help send her to Southern California for the games.

“The community that exists in the gym really made a difference in how I managed my stress,” she said. “CrossFit really helped to keep me calmer and happier.”

Rob Moloney, head coach and director of community development at CrossFit Island Park, has been impressed by what June has accomplished at her age and will be by her side in California. Enthusiasm at the gym for her accomplishment has been sky high, with 50 members attending the fundraiser for her trip.

“Its nice for the gym to show that this isn’t just a young person’s sport,” said Moloney. “It’s important that the members be out there supporting each other.”

June stresses to her friends how CrossFit is not as intimidating as it appears on television because trainers scale tests to an individual’s ability. She first delved into the sport seven years ago simply to get in better shape, but now is determined to excel on the big stage after overcoming the odds.

“It’s like the Olympics of CrossFit,” she said. “It’s the pinnacle.”