See Strength Differently: Turner’s Road to the CrossFit Games

Turner’s Journey

In 2014, Turner Baehl was a freshman in college when he woke up one morning and noticed he couldn’t read his textbook. That was the start of an uphill battle of surgeries, health scares, and eventually, the loss of his vision. Since that day, Turner has had 12 major eye surgeries and several retina detachments. He is also in need of a cornea transplant, as he has a detached cornea from his last surgery.

“I don't see total darkness. I can see more than shapes and colors, but there is never a clear picture. It’s hard, because in my mind, I translate the blurriness into a mental picture that is clear, assuming I have seen it before my eyes got super bad.”

Many people might use their blindness as an excuse, but Turner has learned to use his blindness as motivation.

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Strength Knows No Limits

When he initially signed up for the CrossFit Open, Turner didn’t expect to advance any further than that. 

“I thought I would be competitive in the Open and that would be about it. Then I made semi-finals, and I was super excited because I thought I could actually hold my own. When the Games were an option, I felt like I was achieving something that was bigger than me.”

Turner’s admittance to the CrossFit Games didn’t happen overnight. It was over a 5-year journey of determination, discipline, and hard work that earned him this tremendous opportunity.

“When I first started CrossFit, I weighed 385, almost 400 pounds. I was super down on myself and didn't have a whole lot of confidence. I started doing personal training, learned how to do each movement, how to go throughout the gym, and move and operate. Throughout the course of several years, in between surgeries as my eyes got worse and worse, I was able to learn how to move better. I was losing weight and in better shape, which helped me be safer out in the world because I wasn’t quite so cumbersome.”

Getting to the gym isn’t easy for Turner. His mom has to drive him every day, and if she is unavailable, one of his other family members or family friends offers to drive him. 

“It does take a village,” says Turner. “It’s a lot of understanding that if I want this to happen, then I have to give something up in return, but it’s worth doing because CrossFit is something that matters to me.” 

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Turner’s progress in the gym is a result of his positive mindset and not limiting his potential based on his disability. Some of Turner’s proudest accomplishments over the past six months have been doing his first bar muscle, first handstand push up, first pull up, and hitting a 405 pound deadlift. Another big moment for him was hitting a body weight of under 300 pounds.

“For me, I have limitations. I can’t do this. I can’t do that, but I was willing to put in the work in order to succeed.” 

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Behind Every Athlete Is a Community that Believes in Them

Turner claims that one of the most challenging parts of being blind was lacking community as a result of people giving up on him because of his disability.

“Before I started CrossFit, I didn’t really have a community. I felt like people kind of gave up on me, but when I started coming to High Bar, I felt supported. I don’t think people grasp how hard it is to do this stuff blind, and as they saw me grow and be able to do more and more things, not only did they inspire me to get better and try to learn new skills, but I felt like I was inspiring them also. That community aspect of pushing each other, encouraging each other, and supporting each other is what makes this gym so special.”

There is no doubt that Turner has impacted the High Bar community just as much, if not more, than he claims the High Bar community has impacted him. There is strength in numbers, and there is strength in community. Turner’s story is proof that when you put in the work, believe in yourself, and have people cheering you on in your successes and encouraging you in your failures, you can rise to your full potential despite your circumstances. As Turner says, “It’s not easy. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing.”

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Support Beyond the Gym

Turner will be traveling to San Jose, California in July to compete at the CrossFit Games, and Coach Avery will be going with him to be his handler throughout the competition. To support their journey, the gym is selling t-shirts and accepting donations. Thank you for helping make this opportunity possible and for supporting one of our own as he takes on the biggest stage in the adaptive CrossFit Games!

Click here to buy a t-shirt or give a donation.