CrossFit Community Mourns The Death Of Open Athlete Jess Giosi

The sport of CrossFit has lost one of its own, as Master’s division competitor Jeff Giosi has passed away. In the wake of this tragedy, the community has banned together to mourn in this time of grief.

As the owner of CrossFit Morgantown, Giosi was deeply involved with the sport in every facet. It was here, in 2014 that he met his wife, Sarah, whom he would marry around a year later.

It was more than just owning the gym for Jeff too, as he also regularly competed in the CrossFit Open. He participated in the event every year since 2013, eventually winding up in the Master’s Division, where he placed as high as 55th.

Related: CrossFit Games Competitor Mike Fournier Loses Life Fighting Wildfires

Unfortunately, Jeff Giosi has passed away at the age of 40 years old. This news was broken before his wife posted to Facebook with a lengthy video to explain what had happened to him.

According to Sarah, doctors believe that he had a genetic aortic aneurysm, a condition that ran in his family, and ultimately led to his passing. However they will be performing an autopsy to ensure this is the case.

“We’ve always known this was a possibility. We always knew,” Sarah said.

“We were doing the proper screenings, and fitness played a huge role in helping him keep the right lifestyle, to be protecting his heart this long. 

“There are certain recommend diets and exercises and that sort of thing, so he was covered there, but for those of you who don’t know much about aortic aneurysms, they just happen. And when they happen, they happen, and that’s it.”

CrossFit Community Mourns Jeff Giosi

Jeff Giosi had a pretty solid impact on CrossFit, not just as a box owner, but as am ambassador for the sport. The Long Island, NY native was the first person in the state of West Virginia to earn his Certified CrossFit Trainer Certification.

On top of that, he did work outside of the sport, serving as a firefighter and even training Olympic-level athletes. So naturally his passing hit the community hard, as many reached out with messages of love and support for Jeff.

• President of Loud and Live Sports, Matt O’Keefe said “Man what a tough one to wrap myself around. Jeff supported everything I have been involved in over the years. He was bigger than life. Eternally positive. I have a mailbox full of congratulatory and motivational messages from him from over the years. He loved to compete. Whether it was CompTrain workouts daily, at his affiliate, Granite Games or the CrossFit Games season, he was always pushing himself and everyone around him. We are going to miss Jeff a lot. There will be a noticeable gap in everything we do without him.”
• Fellow Master’s Division competitor Eamon Coyne wrote “Jeff lived a life of servant leadership as he consciously and consistently put the needs of others before his own. He was a bright beacon in every community he was a part of. He always had a smile and an encouraging word, even on the competition floor. Jeff lived his life with intensity and honor in everything that he did. He was a loving father to two young boys and his wife. To me, he was the example of what a man should be. He lived an epic life in his short 40 years.  I can only imagine the impact he would have made with 40 more. His legacy will live on as an example of how to live.”

FitnessVolt would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Jeff Giosi. If you would like to help them out, a GoFundMe has been started as a memorial fund in his honor.

Stay on top of the latest fitness news and updates by adding Fitness Volt to your Google News feed: You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for even more content.