As senior counsel at Hanson Bridgett, Payam Saljoughian spends most of his time representing hospitals, senior care providers and other health care clients in litigation and transactional matters. But recently, he's been spending a decent amount of his hours at the gym, training for the 2019 CrossFit Games.

Saljoughian, a 32-year-old Iranian-American lawyer from Oakland, will be the first athlete to represent Iran at the international fitness competition, which runs from Aug. 1-4 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Saljoughian, who was born in the U.S. to Iranian parents, obtained Iranian citizenship through his father, who came to the U.S. for graduate school decades ago, and ended up staying in the country.

The Recorder caught up with Saljoughian to learn more about his CrossFit training and how he has found himself in the unique position to represent Iran at the games. The following has been edited for space and clarity.

Payam A. Saljoughian senior counsel with Hanson Bridgett. Payam A. Saljoughian senior counsel with Hanson Bridgett.

When and how did you get involved with CrossFit?    

I have been an athlete pretty much my whole life. I was a collegiate swimmer at UC Santa Cruz, swam all four years and was a team captain my senior year. And then I got into triathlons, marathon running and ultramarathon running. I did that for a few years, and then I started CrossFit in 2011 and have been doing it since. I did the Diablo CrossFit in California. I have been continuing CrossFit since about 2013.

I qualified for the CrossFit Games this year because the CrossFit Games is an international competition that has been going on since 2007, but this year they changed the qualifying system, so it is now based on citizenship, not based on location. So, kind like the Olympics, it is based on citizenship. I am a dual citizen of Iran and the U.S., so I was able to qualify under my Iranian citizenship. The U.S. is very competitive in CrossFit, so I would have zero chance to qualify as American, but I was able to qualify as an Iranian. It is pretty exciting for me to represent Iran and to be able to compete at the highest level of the sport.

How did you get the spot to represent Iran?

I have been doing CrossFit for quite some time, and I just did my best. Not the best in the world by any means, but I am pretty competitive for an athlete. Qualifying for the games was never really an option for me, but when they changed the national model this year, I knew that as an Iranian I would have the chance to qualify probably because Iran is not that developed for CrossFit yet, and due to the same reason it is hard for Iran to compete in this types of national event. So, I have been an Iranian citizen, I have an Iranian passport. I was able to prove my citizenship. I realized that this is an opportunity for me, so I just began to train a little bit harder and signed up as Iranian when the time came. It all worked out.

What's your plan for the games?

I am heading down to Madison on July 27, which is four or five days before the competition even starts, just to get acclimated to the humidity, the time change. I realistically expect to be cut early on as they narrow the field down to the top competitors, but [am] hoping to do as well as I can on the first couple of days.

As a full-time attorney, how did you balance your work schedule with CrossFit training?

I have been an athlete my whole life. I like to train, I like to have something to train for. I like to stay fit. Time management has been central to my life. I usually [work out] early in the morning around 5:30 a.m. or later in the evening after work, and then on the weekend sometimes. I don't train as much as I would if I was not an attorney, but I like balancing both, it is just about time management and consistency.

Do you know any other attorneys are also doing CrossFit? How big is the community?

I do work with a couple who do CrossFit, not quite as seriously as I do, but they do. CrossFit, like any sports, there are people doing it at the elite level, there are people who are doing it at the recreation level and social level just to be fit. I think CrossFit is great for that.