On Feb. 15, 2018, Diana Jordan was attacked by her soon-to-be ex-husband. He shot a bullet into her femoral artery.
Jordan died five times while at the hospital. She was put on a ventilator, had multiorgan failure, was put on dialysis, and had sepsis twice.
After 30 operations within the first six weeks after her attack, leading to the amputation of her left leg at the hip joint, Jordan spent the next four months in the hospital fighting for her life.
When she returned home, she weighed just 74 pounds.
The road to recovery took years, but through unwavering perseverance and grit, Jordan embraced her challenges and found strength and community through CrossFit, leading her to the biggest stage in the Sport of Fitness: the Adaptive CrossFit Games.
“(CrossFit) Completely Changed Everything For Me”
Jordan knew nothing about CrossFit when she was introduced to it at the end of 2020. Joining CrossFit Citadel in Longview, Texas, she soon learned how adaptable the training methodology was.
Photo courtesy of Diana Jordan
“It completely changed everything for me,” she said. “I really didn’t know anything about CrossFit before, so I was just kind of open to anything … . Everybody in that gym was super duper awesome. We just figured things out and adapted and got stronger.”
Jordan would scale each movement in the workout to her abilities. For most workouts, she would take off her prosthetic and complete them on one leg, placing a box behind her for stability when doing movements away from the rig.
After attending classes five times a week and mixing in strength work three days a week, Jordan started to see an improvement in her balance, strength, and flexibility.
In 2023, Jordan moved to CrossFit Lindale, owned by Nate and Jodi McCollum, who that same year tragically lost their son in a car accident. The community at CrossFit Lindale became a lifeline for the affiliate owners, supporting them through unthinkable grief.
When Jordan arrived at CrossFit Lindale, she found the same support.
“Nate and Jodi themselves have been through so much, and they are so good about adapting and overcoming and being so supportive,” she said. “Not only are they the owners, they’ve walked the walk and been through such a tragedy. They’ve opened their arms and embraced everything, and go above and beyond to help.”
“They Wanted Me to Win”
Just a few months after Jordan started CrossFit, the adaptive divisions were introduced to the CrossFit Open, the largest participatory sporting event in the world, and she jumped at the opportunity to try a new challenge.
She ranked 47th worldwide after the 2021 CrossFit Open in the Women’s Lower Extremity Division.
This year, splitting her time between CrossFit Lindale and Sanctum CrossFit, she rose to fifth overall in the Women’s Lower Above Knee Division at the 2025 Adaptive CrossFit Open, and finished in seventh place at Semifinals, earning her first ticket to the 2025 Adaptive CrossFit Games in Las Vegas, Nevada.
By the end of the season, Jordan became the fifth-fittest on Earth in her division.
“The community of CrossFit overall is just supportive and incredible people, hardworkers, determined,” Jordan said while reflecting on her time at the Games.
She thought back to Event 5, when she was struggling to get her first handstand walk. Her competitors rallied around her to help coach and support her to the finish line.
“Where does that happen?” Jordan asked. “In a competition where your competitors don’t want to help you, they want to win. But (here) they wanted me to win.”
Over the last five years, whether she was surrounded by her community at her CrossFit affiliates or her competitors on the competition floor, that has always held true.
The community wants her to win.
“Life Is Difficult and You Just Keep Going”
There is one thing Jordan has accepted since her attack: “Life is difficult and you just keep going … you just don’t quit.”
Adapting her life to the loss of her leg is hard. Showing up to CrossFit every day and putting in the work is hard. Training to become one of the fittest women on Earth as an adaptive athlete is hard.
“You may need to slow down. You may need to rest, but you just get up and you keep going, and you’ll eventually get through the workout, through difficult times, through everything,” she said. “Anybody can do (CrossFit). Get in the box, get going, and you will figure it out, and people will be there to help you.”