Former pro athlete using art to navigate motherhood

Gemma Root competed at the CrossFit Games 2015 and 2016. Source: Jessie Curran.  

Former CrossFit Games athlete, Gemma Root, is bridging the worlds of athleticism and motherhood in her installation titled AMRAP (As many reps as possible).  

The exhibition, which has just wrapped up, was part of her master of fine arts programme at the University of Canterbury.  

AMRAP is a type of CrossFit workout which Root completed, recorded, and played on repeat as part of her piece.  

“As a mother, you have a checklist that you have to do every day, [and] you do as many reps as possible in that timeframe,” said the mother of one, who had a difficult pregnancy, birth, and recovery.  

Root has a two-year-old son and is studying a masters of fine arts part-time. Source: Jessie Curran. 

Root and her partner were trying for two years, following a miscarriage, before they became pregnant with their two-year-old son. 

The 38-year-old also had a premature labour due to a ruptured membrane she wasn’t aware of. 

Root said she was “really scared” for her baby and herself because it was two months before her due date. 

“I didn’t understand what was going on, and no one was helping me out,” Root said, who believed the ruptured membrane should have been detected earlier. 

In 2022, just under 8% of babies in New Zealand were born preterm, meaning they were born before 37 weeks. 

Preterm births were more common among babies of Māori, Pacific, or Indian ethnicity, and those residing in areas of high neighbourhood deprivation in 2022. 

Gemma Root will complete her masters in February 2025. Source: Jessie Curran. 

Two months after giving birth, Root started back with CrossFit – but she couldn’t squat to depth, or hold things over her head.  

“My identity and body was so attached to being an athlete that I didn’t know who I was,” said the former CrossFit Games athlete, who struggled with breastfeeding at the time. 

“I spent a lot of time feeling isolated, sad, and guilty because I mourned the life I had, and missed the freedom I had.” 

“[My masters] has been a blessing to understanding motherhood, giving back to me and my son,” she said. 

Root said her AMRAP exhibition was a shared space for people to talk about their struggles, like the ones she faced. 

“I had valuable conversations with mums, women, and even men about body image, expectations, and pressures.” 

AMRAP stands for As Many Rounds As Possible. Source: Jessie Curran.  

Senior lecturer of sculpture at the University of Canterbury, Louise Palmer, said there is a vulnerability when presenting that kind of content in an exhibition. 

“I think it sometimes takes a certain courage to present yourself in a way that might be perceived as vulnerable,” Palmer said. 

Root said her next goal was to create more art that fosters human connection. 

“CrossFit is still heavily embedded in my life, as well as art, but I think art is just finding its new place.”