Olympic Hopeful to The Fastest UK Women in Hyrox : The Comeback Story of Rebecca Mason - Twice Broken, Never Beaten

**Rebecca Mason** (0:00)
By the age of nine, I was part of the GB squad. I'd become national champion. My goal was to get to the Olympics, and my whole training and life was revolved around doing that. We'd have our fat percentages taken. And I was constantly told I was fat and overweight from the age of six. The girls were missed off the team because they didn't weigh a certain amount, not based on performance, like hadn't had the success that everybody thought I was going to have because I hadn't achieved the Olympics. Who am I now? You know, what is next? Like, everybody knows me as Rebecca the Gymnast. I got to race in the Elite 15 race at the World Championships in Manchester on home soil and, you know, that was just incredible. So, yeah, it was sad. My kids were there as well. And Stu was there. And I remember just walking off course. So I secured my spot for the Elite World Championships in Nice. And so I was literally, like, on top of the world and the best that I could ever do. And then six weeks later, I couldn't walk. I want to be the oldest person in the gym when I'm 70, not the youngest person in the nursing home.

**Hana** (1:19)
Hello, and welcome to Becoming Lucy with me, Hana.

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (1:22)
And me, Lucy. So, before we get into it today, we've got today's guest, which is someone very special. Becca has been an athlete pretty much her whole life. She was a British gymnastics champion by the age of 10 She's won medals all over the world, and she was even picked for Team GB ahead of the 2004 Olympics. She's had some brutal injuries along the way, and yet every single time she's found a way to bounce back stronger. From gymnastics to becoming the UK's fastest female in hyrox, she's shown exactly what fighting spirit looks like.

**Hana** (2:00)
And that is why we love her. She's still so normal, school runs, coaching, running a business. And I've heard that you still do the weekly shopping I'll do.

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (2:11)
Again, you can take the girl out of the elite sport, but you can't take her out of the special I'll. But she's a living proof that you can achieve incredible things and still stay totally grounded.

**Hana** (2:24)
And that's also what we love. No ego, no hierarchy, just pure support for everyone around her.

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (2:29)
I can say that firsthand because Becca was actually my old coach.

**Hana** (2:34)
Which makes it even better and even more special. So actually, before we get into your journey, Becca, can you tell us how you and Lucy first met?

**Rebecca Mason** (2:42)
We actually first met on a training cam, wasn't it, Lucy, over in Malaga at Mike's Gym. We were both actually being coached by somebody else then. And yeah, we all came together to train in the sunshine and prepare us for our upcoming events. And then obviously as we got to know each other, we realized we only lived half an hour from each other. We were very close. And I'd been on Lucy's bedroom wall for a while.

**Hana** (3:15)
Yeah, please explain.

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (3:16)
You know how you have like vision bores and like you obviously manifest. And one of my things was obviously to get to podium in Hyrox. And before I even knew who Becca was, I'd just got on to like a random Google picture, which was Becca. And then obviously once I met Becca and realized, I was like, you've been on my bedroom wall for like six months.

**Hana** (3:36)
Three fangirling and that's amazing. I love that. Do you know what? That is proof that manifesting works, right?

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (3:43)
Yeah. I mean, I made it to podium eventually, but I was like, I basically manifested to meet Becca.

**Rebecca Mason** (3:51)
And we had a fresh photo, didn't we, together and it went up next to that. So yeah, it all works out.

**Hana** (3:57)
I love that. That's amazing. That is so good.

**Lucy Hodgkinson** (4:00)
So that's honestly how we got to know each other. But today's episode is obviously to delve in a little bit deeper. So I kind of want to take you back, Becca, to when you were little, Becca, really, in that first leotard and how you came across gymnastics and basically what it means, what it meant to you.

**Rebecca Mason** (4:21)
Yeah. So I started gymnastics when I was about five. And I just loved it. You know, I was just full of energy and just went to the local leisure center classes as you do, as so many young little girls and boys do. And I progressed really quickly. I soon sort of started winning events and competitions. I then changed club to work with a high-performance coach. And yes, I just got on the track pretty quickly. It was a lot of hours, a lot of time, a lot of dedication. And yeah, by the age of nine, I was part of the GB squad. I'd become national champion. I was training 24 hours a week. I missed a lot of schooling because of the gymnastics. And so yeah, I became very dedicated, very disciplined at my sport at a very young age. And it really gave me a big focus. It was incredibly hard work at times, but it absolutely shaped me into sort of the athlete and the person that I am today.