After being forced to retire from collegiate gymnastics due to a severe back injury, Emily Bridgers was told her athletic career would be drastically altered. She needed to make a change, a transition. Enter: CrossFit. It became apparent right away that she was "good" at the sport, but it wasn't until she started to enter competitions that she realized how "good" she really could be. In 2012, she entered the Open and was ranked 4th overall nationally. She entered Regionals a big favorite and was expected by many to make the Games. It was there where she encountered her first major set back in the sport: she took 4th at Regionals and missed out on making it the "The Big Show" by just 2 points! She would take 5th the next year, suffering the same fate. Somewhat defeated, Bridgers had to do some soul-searching. She decided to use her past disappointments as a motivator, and in 2014 she won her Region, finishing ahead of all-time CrossFit legend, Talayno Fortunado.