The 30-year-old Dunedin athlete was one of 580 contestants from throughout the country in the inaugural New Zealand Pound 4 Pound Postal Competition, in Hamilton.
Mr Leckie, co-owner and head coach of CrossFit Uncut in Dunedin, and a former competitive sprinter, said the stress of opening his own business this year had seen his training decline, and with it, some of his muscle.
At 71.6kg he did not expect to finish on the podium.
''I'm normally close to 80kg when I have a good training year. I've lost a lot of strength, but in this competition being a bit lighter definitely helped my power-to-weight ratio.''
Pound 4 Pound workouts were designed so weights used by competitors were relative to their body weight.
In the competition final at Hamilton on Saturday Mr Leckie lifted three times his body weight in one of five workouts, placing first or second in each against the country's top 14 men.
His efforts saw him take the overall title of New Zealand's best pound for pound crossfitter.
Queenstown athletes Hope Bates and Danielle Sherman also competed in the final, against 13 of the country's fittest females.
Earlier in the week Mr Leckie took second place in a regional competition organised by CrossFit Dunedin, won by the affiliate's Mike Mikaere.
CrossFit Uncut co-owner Janelle Miskimmin was first equal in the WOD League masters women section, and fellow CrossFit Uncut athlete Amanda Gould won the open female division.
Mr Leckie was proud of those he trained with, and said their success was ``pretty special'' considering the box (CrossFit Uncut) had been open less than a year.
