Victory at CrossFit Games culmination of recovery for Penn-Trafford grad Charles Pienaar

Charles Pienaar and his wife Stephanie attended the CrossFit Games together in 2021 just for their enjoyment.

The trip turned into a motivational one.

After watching a few events, Stephanie turned to Charles and said you should do this. Pienaar, a 2003 Penn-Trafford graduate, was eager to take on the challenge.

Pienaar, 38, was injured in a hunting accident in 2009. While hunting in the Latrobe and New Alexandria area, Pienaar’s weapon malfunctioned and discharged onto his left foot.

After a two-year road back to walking again, Pienaar’s experience in the 2022 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wis., is another success on that journey. Competing in the Men’s Lower Extremity Adaptive Division, Pienaar placed first with 510 points, edging out Australia’s Roger Dean, who finished with 495.

All competitors competed in five events.

Pienaar won the parallel Elizabeth competition, while placing second in the skills chipper, carrying Karen and final sprint events. Pienaar placed fourth in mixed mode madness and rinse ‘n’ repeat.

Winning meant a lot to Pienaar, who had originally considered having his foot amputated before being convinced to go through surgeries to repair it. Still for someone who wrestled at a high level and competed in bodybuilding, it was a humbling process.

“When you go from a perfect 3% body fat specimen at bodybuilding shows to losing that and starting over is a tough journey I was forced to take,” Pienaar said. “I had a lot of people behind me from my church, my family and my friends to motivate me.”

Getting back into fitness and being competitive was in Pienaar’s DNA. Pienaar was a Division I wrestler, competing for Slippery Rock and Eastern Michigan. Following the accident, he had new challenges for finding an avenue for competing in athletics again.

The surgery left Pienaar with a fused left ankle, with a plate in his foot and limited movement. Pienaar’s toes don’t bend. In addition, Pienaar’s left foot is a half-size shoe size smaller than his right foot and his left leg is an inch shorter than his right leg.

“It makes it difficult to balance,” Pienaar said. “You practice over and over again. I’ve seen many amazing people with more limitations accomplish more than I have at my current fitness level. It gives me hope that if I am patient and diligent I can accomplish a goal over a set amount of time.”

Helping push Pienaar forward is his wife and his two daughters, Natalie and Alexis. Stephanie helped with meal prep and served as an unofficial coach.

“She has been the best part of the whole process,” Charles said. “She makes sure I have the time to do it. Sacrifice our time together. The big part is the nutrition part and she calculated my macros.”

Pienaar, who moved to Colorado Springs earlier this summer to attend Bible College, will like to continue competing in the CrossFit Games in the future.

“CrossFit is all about the unknown and unknowable,” Pienaar said. “The beautiful thing about CrossFit is you are varying everything. You can deadlift a barbell, a sanbag and kettlebells. The variety is always exciting for me.”