Ben "Speedy" Thompson was placed third in the elite male class at the national CrossFit Games held in Auckland this past weekend.
It bodes well for the self-proclaimed "fittest man in Dunedin", who will take on all comers on Sunday, December 4.
A CrossFit personal trainer, Mr Thompson was part of a winning six-strong Dunedin team that competed in the annual Auckland competition.
In addition to Mr Thompson's third placing, Bailey Rogers and Clark Kiner won their respective intermediate women's and men's divisions.
Along with the other Dunedin competitors' placings, it gave the team the best result of any in the country.
Mr Thompson was elated by the result.
"It went really well," he said. "I was stoked. My goal was to be in the top 10, so this was fantastic."
Mr Thompson won two of five events in the elite male class.
He is now focused on next weekend's fittest man and fittest woman competitions, being organised by CrossFit manager Grant Hughes.
Mr Hughes is hoping to meet representatives of other gyms and sporting organisations in the next few days to decide the types of challenges to be included in the competition.
He expected the challenges would combine elements of gymnastics, weight-lifting and aerobic exercise.
Contestants will not be told exact details of the challenges until just before the day-long competition.
Mr Thompson is hoping for 10 competitors in each of the men's and women's divisions of the competition.
A top contender in the women's competition will be Invercargill-based Ruth Anderson, Mr Thompson said.
The competition, which had been planned for the Caledonian sports ground, would now be held at the CrossFit centre, on Princes St, to ensure the event could proceed without being affected by the weather.
Contestants need to register and pay an entry fee.
Entry forms are available from CrossFit, 172 Princes St, and online at www.crossfitdunedin.co.nz.
