IN THE NEWS: Jersey City CrossFit trainer faces The Rock’s ‘Titan Games’

Hoboken fitness trainer competes in Titan Games

By Joshua Rosario | The Jersey Journal  /  Photos By Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

Hudson County may have a fitness titan lurking in its midst.

Jersey City resident and Hoboken CrossFit trainer Courtney Roselle beat out 10,000 applicants from around the world for a chance to compete on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “The Titan Games” on NBC.

After months of keeping her appearance on the athletic competition a secret, her strength will be on display during Monday’s episode (8 p.m.) as she competes for a shot at $100,000 along with 36 other challengers.

“I just want to represent Jersey really well,” Roselle, 31, said. “We are kind. We are tough human beings but there’s not a lot of people like us, especially women that are like us.”

Roselle said she has been doing CrossFit for over seven years and coaching for five years. A former high school basketball player at Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, Roselle went on to play at the University of Scranton.

Now, she’s a professional Crossfit athlete and trainer for Brazen Athletics in Hoboken and Black House Strength and Conditioning in Fairfield. She also has her own fitness company, Iron Grace, which sells workout apparel and offers training classes.

Brazen Athletics owner Kristy Link said Roselle was more than prepared for the competition. She said Roselle also has an outgoing personality to put herself out there and “did something cool like ‘The Titan Games.‘”

Roselle trains six days a week and even works out for two hours a day while she’s competing. Her experience in CrossFit — a form of high intensity interval training that uses functional movements — should give her an advantage, she said.

“I totally think CrossFitters have the upper hand because we are so used to odd objects and being surprised anytime,” Roselle said. “We believe in being comfortable with the uncomfortable. That is the CrossFit motto, so we are not surprised by anything that comes our way.”

To be on the show, Roselle and 63 other applicants took part in six fitness tests including aerobic capacity on a treadmill, max deadlifts and a max dead hang. “You hang from a pole and see how long you can hang for,” Roselle said when asked about the dead hang.

Of those athletes, Roselle was one of 36 who were chosen for the show.

The program, hosted by Johnson, pits two competitors of each gender against each other in a best-of-three series of obstacles. The regional winners (the competition is broken up by regions) then compete for a position on Mount Olympus, where they face one of Johnson’s professional Titans, including Former NFL star Victor Cruz, Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter, and stunt woman Jessie Graff.

Competitors who reach Mount Olympus then must defend their place until the show’s finals.

Roselle said she learned about the show after meeting contestants from the first season while auditioning for another program, “WWE Divas.” She is not looking for fame but is open to anything that comes her way.

“I did not get to this place alone in my life I had so many people help me to be here and give me confidence just personally, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” Roselle said. “So, I just want to open up a door of opportunity not just for myself but for everyone else.”