Today we’d like to introduce you to Debora Oliven.
Hi Debora, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am originally from Porto Alegre, Brazil. All my life I was interested in sports and competed in many such as soccer, gymnastics, swimming, handball, tennis, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing. But I never had the opportunity to really pursue it as a career, so instead, after I completed high school, I started working at a travel agency where I would help people to fulfill their dreams of studying abroad.
Then, I was motivated myself to pursue the opportunity to study abroad. I always wanted to go to college and study in the United States and hoped that I could pursue sports while also getting my degree. So, in 2014, I made my way to Santa Monica College where I was an international student, and I was also training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My schedule was hectic; I would wake up at 5:40am, train from 7:00am-9:00am, attend my classes, do homework and study in the afternoon, and if it was during peak competition time, there would even be an afternoon training (3 hours a day). I aimed at competing in the World IBJJF competition, and I surprised myself by placing second as a white belt without many years of formal preparation. During my time training at my first dojo, I met Logan the owner of Deuce CrossFit. He encouraged me to give CrossFit a try. So, a little while later I decided to try it out. I didn’t know how to do anything in CrossFit! I stayed at Deuce for a while and continually trained but still prioritized my jiu-jitsu training.
Fast forward to 2017, I started attending Loyola Marymount University to pursue my other passion, which is studying languages, I studied German and French and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages. This was also the year that I met Anasheh, the love of my life (whom I married in 2019). This was also the year that I switched to Paradiso CrossFit.
Once the Coronavirus pandemic hit, my jiu-jitsu gym closed, and Paradiso opened up their parking lot for training while adhering to the safety protocols. I focused my training entirely in CrossFit, and in 2022, I surprised myself yet again by placing 15th in Brazil for the CrossFit Open. This is when I realized that I had another passion, I wanted to give 120% of myself to CrossFit and see how far I could go.
That’s when I decided to move to West LA Athletics after Jessica Suver coached me mid-workout at the PainKillr Competition in Venice. I knew that I wanted and needed to be in a more competitive environment to pursue my goal. I’m proud to say that I have trained very hard to get stronger. I hit my lifetime Personal Record of squatting 325 lbs and bench pressing 205 lbs.
Now, I am preparing for the 2024 CrossFit Open and Quarterfinals with the goal of making it to Semifinals so that I can compete for Brazil but still represent my gym here.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, but I believe everything has its reason and place in our life trajectory. When I first came to California, I did not know anyone. I shared a room with two other girls in an apartment in Culver City, which wasn’t the best experience as I lived out of my suitcase for three months. Eventually, I had to find a place to live on short notice, and I found another place that also wasn’t great. It was hard to get my footing in building my life here. But it all changed when I met a guy from my jiu-jitsu gym at the time. He and his wife were really nice and they said I could stay in the guest room of their house for a while. I became friends with the family and even looked after their dog, Cowboy, while they traveled. They really helped me when I needed it the most and I will be forever grateful for all their help. My friend’s wife helped me find a place to stay, and they helped me get settled. However, even after I found an apartment, navigating life here alone was not always the easiest. I dealt with some health issues and on top of it all, my grandmother passed away, and I wasn’t able to go back home to see my family.
Then, in February 2016, I had an MCL tear, and I couldn’t exercise for three months. I was finally recovering after extensive physical therapy and happy to be back training and competing again. Then, during one of the matches of a Jiu-Jitsu competition, I competed in the absolute division which meant that I could be paired up with a female from any weight division. I was paired up with a 240lb girl, and I weighed 125lbs at the time. I won the match, but I tore my meniscus pretty badly. So, I had to have knee surgery, and I couldn’t train again for quite a while. Going through another recovery battle with no friends and no family here was very tough. I have to admit, though, that although going through these challenging moments by myself was difficult, it allowed me to build character and resilience. Now, whenever life throws curveballs at me, I remember these tough chapters, and I’m reminded of how far I’ve come.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a CrossFit athlete full-time and part-time emotional support animal for my wife. What do I specialize in? Powerlifting lifts such as back squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
What are you most proud of?
Marrying my wife.
What sets you apart from others?
I never felt completely fulfilled in just pursuing sports, so I like to counterbalance that with studying, whether that be languages (I can speak five and a half languages) or any other subject of my interest. And I’m also very good (almost to a fault) at operating like a robot. My discipline and commitment to anything I do is both the best and sometimes the worst as I have 0.1% of a social life. Lastly, I am a very calm and patient person, and I can thank Brazilian jiu-jitsu for that. You must learn how to be calm and control your breathing in order to escape a situation while someone might be on your back trying to choke you out.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The CrossFit industry is a new sport, so there aren’t established sanctions, rules, regulations, etc. As a growing sport, it faces growing pains. I hope the CrossFit industry will be able to standardize some things to facilitate an athlete’s expectations, training, etc. Personally, my current goal with the sport is to make it to the Semifinals before becoming a Master’s athlete. Also, back squatting 340lb would be nice. Outside of sport, I want to move to a house with a nice backyard so my wife can do her gardening and I can do sauna and cold plunge. And then have some kids sometime in the future.
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