The CrossFit competition is biggest off-season event for competitor in January and a big highlight for lovers of the Sport.

When:

• January 11-14 (individual athletes compete on January 11-12 and teams on January 13-14)

Where:

• Bayfront Park, Miami, Florida, USA.

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A post shared by The TYR Wodapalooza (@wodapalooza)

How Much Money:

• Total prize purse of U$ 567,000

The prize purse saw an increase of $67,000 compared to the previous year. First elite individuals will earn $75,000, with second and third taking home $30,000 and $20,000 respectively. This year, the distribution of funds will also be more evenly distributed to lower placing athletes.

How to Watch 2024 Wodapalooza

The Livestream of 2024 Wodapalooza will be available on Loud and Live’s YouTube page for each day of the competition.

The Livestreams are also divided depending on the stage people are competing, such as Tina Hills, Flager, Bayside, Elite, and there is even a Portuguese Livestream of the 2024 Wodapalooza.

At the time of writing, the Livestreams available were only for the first day of competition.

• Thursday – Elite

To see the other days, head on to Loud and Live YouTube’s page below.

Click here to see all the Livestream of 2024 Wodapalooza.

Athletes Competing

The roster for Individuals, teams (three members, same gender) and adaptive athletes were revealed only this week.

If you want to see the workouts programmed for this weekend of CrossFit competition, click here.

Here are the official competitors as of January 8^th.

Elite Women

• Abigail Domit
• Allison Weiss
• Andra Moistus
• Arielle Loewen
• Ashley Shoemaker
• Becca Merritt
• Bergros Bjornsdottir
• Briony Challis
• Callista Lang
• Caroline Stanley
• Christee Hollard
• Dani Speegle
• Elena Carratala Sanahuja
• Elizabeth Wishart
• Ellia Miller
• Ellie Turner
• Emily De Rooy
• Emily Rethwill
• Emily Rolfe
• Emma Cary
• Feeroozeh Saghafi
• Freya Moosbrugger
• Gabriela Migała
• Gabrielle Spenst
• Grace Walton
• Jessica Androsik
• Julia Hannaford
• Katie Canning
• Keara Napoli
• Lexi Neely
• Margaux Masset
• Matilde Oyen Garnes
• Nicolette Torreggiani
• Nina Vragovic
• Olivia Kerstetter
• Rebecca Fuselier
• Rebecka Vitesson
• Ro Scott
• Stacy Lerum
• Sydney Wells

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Elite Men

• Alex Vigneault
• Alexandre Caron
• Antonios Makaronas
• Arturo Torres
• Austin Hatfield
• Brent Fikowski
• Bronislaw Olenkowicz
• CJ Gerald
• Colten Mertens
• Connor Voltz
• Drake Lewis
• Evan Rogers
• Francis Pelletier
• Guilherme Malheiros
• Harry Lightfoot
• Henrik Haapalainen
• Jack Farlow
• Jack Rozema
• James Sprague
• John Wood
• Joshua Hong
• Juan Ignacio Sforzini
• Kaique Cerveny
• Kalyan Ribeiro De Souza
• Kevin Jurs
• Lucas Heuze
• Luke Parker
• Martin Feiferlik
• Nick Mathew
• Nikita Yundov
• Patrick Vellner
• Ricky Garard
• Roman Khrennikov
• Samuel Cournoyer
• Samuel Kwant
• Spencer Panchik
• Tanner Balazs
• Travon Benton
• William Bennett

Source: Wodapalooza Instagram

LATAM Cup Women

• Fernanda Dotto
• Sasha Nievas
• Mariana Meza
• Paulina Haro
• Camila Marca
• Ana Cecelia Martinez Hernandez
• Vera Valdez
• Mariangela Vargas
• Emily Andrade
• Aliadhy Bass

LATAM Cup Men

• Isaiah Vidal
• Luis Cacacho
• Manuel Gallegos
• Roldan Goldbaum
• Vinicius Stoelben

Elite Team — Women

• Firebarns Club
• Kolesnikov Team
• Kriger Meets TrainingCulture
• Leapin Lemurs
• Lifters Girls
• Limey Girls
• Lycan Gang
• Mile High Muscles
• NGH
• Plus Ultra
• Reebok Crew
• Rx Performance
• Stronger Than a 90s Trend
• Sweet Sticky Thicc and Pretty
• Team Bareen
• Team Frog Grips
• Team Ice Barrel
• Team Scandinadian
• Team Treta
• Three Queens
• Torian Black
• Trailer Park Girls
• US Army Warrior Fitness

Elite Team — Men

• Canadians from the East
• Complex Wodex
• Conquer Athlete
• CrossFit Mayhem the Empire
• DSM Performance TCC
• EFP
• Foxed Ferret Manatee Men
• Kinesis Black
• Krypton
• Los Hombres
• Maxlift Australia
• Mayhem Outlaws
• Midwest Cowboys
• Omnia
• Picsil Traincult
• Project Girona
• Rehab to Perform
• Soul Ab Squad
• Team Evolve
• Team Gorila 911
• Team GOWOD
• Team Overtake
• Team Picsil
• Team TYR
• Tenskills Pro 1
• The Strapping Young Lads
• Tres Leches
• Truecoach Traincult
• Velites Traincult

Rx — Women

• Amber Takara
• Andrea Chiovitti
• Aubriana Montplaisir
• Caitlin Bernardin
• Claire Truax
• Cynthia Lemieux
• Grace Lochner
• Hannah Erickson
• Janie Cheverie
• Juliana Cavalech Ferrarini
• Kacey Wells
• Kelly Benfey
• Kelsey Hays
• Lilly Rodriguez
• Logan Filo-Loos
• Lydia Fish
• Saraí Rodríguez Camacho
• Trista Smith

Rx — Men

• Austin Evans
• Brandon Foor
• Brandon Smith
• Christian Ramon
• Dalton Rodgers
• Jacob Heart
• Juan Manuel Seitun
• Luis Guillermo Nuñez Hernández
• Martin Miguel Gonzalez
• Max Krieg
• Michael Evans
• Nicolas Bedon
• Ricardo Marquez
• Robert Yates
• Ryley Humrighouse
• Samuel Proulx
• Sarin Suvanasai
• Selvan Ramjattan
• Tyler Wright

Rx Team — Women

• No Excuses
• 8th Day
• Army Warrior Fitness Team Black and Gold
• BC Babes
• Blues City Kool-Aid
• Comtrain – Young and Dangerous
• Conquer + Jack Nation
• Conquer East
• CrossFit Lévis Paradise
• CrossFit Papio Cornhuskers
• CSA X Evernox
• Danielle Did It
• Duddy Buddies
• DVPMT Athlete
• From Réunion to Miami
• Get Griddy
• Gucci Gang
• HT + The Twins
• It’s Britney B*tch
• Lagniappe Ladies
• Mo’Stacked
• Monster Gals
• Off the Grid X CJC Gains Gals
• Oh My Quad!
• Overpowered Glowsticks
• PGPA
• Pop Lock and Lift It
• PR OR ER
• Ruster MX
• Sabal Park
• TCP Tonic CrossFit
• Team Lift Heavy
• Team Milk
• TeamLDN Valkyrie
• Tenskills X Le Repere
• Thiccc and Quick
• Tori in the Middle
• Triple Trouble
• TTRU Dawgs
• Underpups

Rx Team — Men

• 519 Aiminals
• Battle Cancer Peak360
• Beauty and the Beefs
• Black Pardus México
• Brits Abroad
• Conquer Thicc Boys
• CrossDepot
• CrossFit Chicoutimi
• CrossFit Cobourg
• CrossFit Dos Hermanas
• CrossFit Downtown Heights
• CrossFit Hype Gold
• CrossFit Krypton
• East Coast Boyz
• Italians
• Jai L’Doua
• John 13-7
• Just Train HQ
• Kirkland Built
• Kryptons B Team
• Last Second
• Lords of Dogtown
• Nor Cal Boyz
• Ocfit Ft 1855
• Omertá
• Override 4K
• Pale Cheeks
• Pardon My French
• Starr Strength Aus
• Street Sharks
• Team Rhabdo
• That’ll Do Donkey
• Thunder Cats
• Ticos Y Un Mexa
• True North CrossFit
• Try That In a Small Town
• Two Cowboys and a Canuck
• Waterbear CrossFit
• WOD Wizards
• WodeoReview

Intermediate Team — Women

• 12th State
• ACA
• All Level CrossFit
• Ammo
• Barbiedottirs
• Blondes Have More Fun
• Caribbean Misfits
• CFB Breakfast Girls
• CFDE Solid Prog
• CFZ
• Chicago Ave CrossFit
• CrossFit 401
• CrossFit Breakthrough
• CrossFit PSC
• CrossFit Southie
• CrossFit Wicked
• CTA Five Two
• DEKA CrossFit
• DSM Performance
• Girls From the North
• Girls Just Wanna Have Sun
• Hot Girl Sh*t
• Kinesis Young Does
• Kingpinbones
• La Grotta Girls
• Ladies of MFLH
• Last Minute Crew
• Man Made KTX FIT
• MMM Good
• NAPP
• Ninja Creami’s
• On S’Arrache – CrossFit Lévis / Tenskills CF
• Peak180 Athletics
• Peninsula Lifetree
• Picsil Latinomix
• Pota Fàuss
• Pwrd by Coffee
• Rammer Jammers
• Ride or Die
• Running Better Than the Government
• Ruster THP
• Rx Gymnastics
• Sore Queens
• Surviving Not Thriving
• Tall, Medium, Small
• Team Flying V – MTL Girls
• Team Nutripure
• Team Proud
• Team Quadzilla
• Tenperformance
• Tenskills CrossFit Rookies
• The Doc, Scientist, & Engineer
• Thick Thighs, Thin Patience
• U.S.EH
• Unio Strong(er)
• Weight Listed
• Westchase Duo + DC
• Whooties
• Wonder Latinas

Intermediate Team — Men

• 2 and ½ Cali Boyz
• 3 Headed Goat
• 3 Idiots With a Plan
• Alfredo Sauce Doesn’t Exist
• Armada Mex
• Athlete Standard Black
• ATP Labs Trio
• Big Weights in the AM
• Black and Gold Fitt
• Bridgetown Boyz
• C4 Athletics
• CF Estrie
• CFLC
• Chaffing the Dream
• Chimera CF
• CrossFit Genas
• CrossFit Kalliste
• CrossFit Watauga
• Dog Fight Fitness
• Dos Hermanos Y Gringo
• Drama Kings
• DSM Performance FYK
• Essenox
• Fenrir Programming
• Gritsu
• Hombres De Los Anjoseph
• HRA Papis
• Human High Definition
• Luffy, Zorro E Sparrow
• Major Penalty
• Man Made
• Mediocre Movment
• MF Falcons
• Montreal Boyz
• Mugiwara
• N.W.A.
• North East Boys
• North Haven CrossFit Freedom
• Off the Grid CJC Gains
• PRs All Day
• Rack House Fitness
• Rakun CrossFit
• Southern Boom
• Team Basics
• Team Capladuria
• Team Peak DTSC
• Temperance Hype Boyz
• Tenskills Coutreau
• The CrossFit Squad
• The Method
• The Moist Boys
• The Movement Collective
• The Potatoes Sunshine
• The Vikings
• Três Leches
• Union Strong
• Whiskey Dawgs
• Wodaparuba
• Woof Pack Is Back
• World Camps Bulls

Open — Women

• Agustina Monopoli
• Alicia Zink
• Allegra Tveito
• Allison Kindle
• Alyissa Landri
• Anabell Gomez
• Annie Woodard
• Autumn Leviston
• Bethany Jackson
• Briana Graham
• Brooke Armstrong
• Camille Sanghera
• Cyndi LaPalme
• Danei Bowers
• Flavia Bonacía
• Genesis Ubeda
• Haddit Godoy
• Hannah Waddell
• Helen Yeater
• Jennifer Grim
• Jordan Deveraux
• Kady Taylor
• Katelyn Tooley
• Krista Jaworski
• Lilian Socorro
• Lisa Mariano
• Maggie Bouckaert
• Maya Di Stefano
• Michelle Lammi
• Naomie Koutchouk
• Natalie Reid
• Natasha Vives
• Paige Hennighan
• Shannon McCauley
• Stephanie Douglas
• Susan Vierling
• Suzanne Gray
• Tania Epremian
• Tina Mikulcik
• Zoe Rolph

Open — Men

• Alexandre Chausse-Fonseca
• Billy Nowitzke
• Brendan Wright
• Brian Mariano
• Cody Worden
• Dan Coulson
• Daniel Kidd
• Daniel Krymow
• David Camirand
• Donnie Sherman
• Dylan Wahlstrom
• Eric Lee
• Ernie Garza
• Esteban Castro
• Everette Holguin
• Felipe Delgadillo
• Glenn Gravengard
• Jacob Auge
• Jacob Smith
• Jason Byrd
• Jeff Nevins
• Jeffrey Paul Jr.
• Joel Perez
• John Rae
• Jonathan LaCroix
• Josue Rangel
• Juan Belandria
• Michael Johnson
• Moises Romero
• Oliver Rack
• Philip Best
• Rafael Arreaza
• Rafael Rey
• Rogelio Tovar
• Ryan Tallmadge
• Sean Yeslow
• William Pennewell
• Yoilbert Aranguren
• Ziad Melhaoui

Open Team — Women

• Ab CrossFit
• Barbelle Trinity
• Baystate Brawlers
• Beefcake Babes
• Eers and Blizzards
• Big Leagues
• CFDO Girls
• Cirque De Sore
• Crocs Snowbirds
• CrossFit 3090 Women
• CrossFit Regulate
• Daddies Love Our Snatches
• Free Agents
• Girl Squad
• Guns & Honeybuns
• Hangry Birds
• Hustlin’ Hunnies
• HWDPO: Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off
• Hyte and Spicy
• Just the Kip
• Kippin’ It Real
• KJ CrossFit
• Life More, Chalk Less
• Maxabiliity Powerpuffs
• Mike’s Misfits
• Minism3
• Ninnik’s Plapurhut
• OCI Meets Waterside
• PCF Queens
• Power Buff Girls
• Royal Studio
• Team Ratchet
• Thatshype
• The 6ix On The Beach
• The Clean Queens
• The Sloppy Joes
• The Young & The Thickness
• Thicc As Thieves
• Three Girls One Snatch
• Three Peas In a Pod

Open Men — Men

• 3 Thicc Bchs
• 514 In Paradise
• Black Pardus Absoluto
• Canada Throwdown
• Cap City Canucks
• CrossFit 3090 Men
• CrossFit San Carlos
• CrossFit Strong Island
• Dumb & Dumbbells
• Favela Venceu
• Foggy Bottom of the Leaderboard
• Friends That Shine
• Fueled By Poutine
• Geaux Breauxs
• Golf Boyz & The Birdie
• Grit City Lions
• Hype Roosters
• Karmoy Boys
• Kona
• Les Wish Athèletes
• Los Trigres Del Norte
• M&NS
• Maxability Big Fish
• Maxability Just For Fun
• Move! We’re Gay
• Muskoka Grizzlies
• Ram Ranch: The Return
• Ripped Training Program
• Road to Rx
• Shelton Bros
• Supernova
• Swan Killers
• Swiss Alps

Rx Masters Team — Women

• Arklahoma
• Barbells and Bengay
• Cali Mamas
• Canadian Bacon
• Hype To Be Masters
• KAJ
• Masters Angels
• Team Mexico
• Team Redpill
• Wise Grit Ladies

Rx Masters Team — Men

• 2 Venecos 1 Gringo
• Danger Zone
• DNA
• Ham’s Crew
• Life Alert
• Magna Masters
• MF Fitness
• Old Italians Young
• The Business
• The Natural Disasters

Open Masters Team — Women

• CrossFit CSA
• CrossFit Encompass
• Grit & Grace
• Les Margaritas Du Lac
• Meny Mighty Moms
• Met In Miami
• Squat Girl Summer
• Team CrossFit Odense
• Whiskey Tango Fitness
• Woda Wonders 148

Open Masters Team — Men

• Bay State CrossFit
• Boxen Umeå
• Dad Bod…Older, Wiser, Slower
• Jersey Classics
• Juste Pour Bouger
• Mycroft Mayhem
• Pacemakers
• Team 178
• The Real Dads of CrossFit Strong Island
• Vintage Sexy

Masters 35-39 — Women

• Antea Longo
• Jessie Jo Young
• Kayleigh Walsh
• Lulu Faria
• Mallory Burda
• Marie-Eve Castonguay
• Mélody Andréani
• Michelle Palmer
• Rachel Lynass
• Samantha DeCristofaro

Masters 35-39 — Men

• Brandon Pastorek
• Breno Pinheiro
• Duke Burk
• Ivan Verdun
• Joshua Tarafa
• Matt Shorrock
• Michael French
• Ram Dover
• Travis Flannigan
• William Kane

Masters 40-44 — Women

• Ana Silva
• Asuka Burge
• Cristina Mainetti
• Elizabeth Lane
• Janet Dichter
• Jodi Pietrzyk
• Katrina LaClair
• Louise Cederblad
• Sophie Matthijs
• Stivalys Mendez

Masters 40-44 — Men

• Bill Lloyd
• Bradley Alcock
• Brandon Shuck
• Didier Leclercq
• Mareck Bigler
• Matt Lamberti
• Michael Walsh
• Nick Aranda
• Paul Delanoy
• Rudolph Berger

Masters 45-49 — Women

• Annie-Claude Delisle
• Barbara Macaluso
• Beth Thomas
• Brandi Cantwell
• Dania HOok
• Katrina Mattes
• Katrina Nichols
• Shellie Brickle
• Teresa Cuevas

Masters 45-49 — Men

• Cedric Frontini
• Chris Anderson
• Franck Attieh
• Maxime Lauzon
• Paul Desroches
• Ryan Bretag
• Shagel Butt
• Shawn Ramirez
• Stephen Vassallo
• Tony Kurz

Masters 50-54 — Women

• Giorgia Donato
• Lisa Freeman
• Lori Reed
• Stella Ladao
• Tracy Biro

Masters 50-54 — Men

• Benoit Desforges
• James Carkner
• Karsten “KP” Pfau
• Ramiro Gonzalez Amoedo
• Rodrigo Dölz Leon

Masters 55-59 — Women

• Ann-Britt Nilsson
• Erika Ritzer
• Julie Schaffer
• Marni Kallins
• Tiiu Maavere

Masters 55-59 — Men

• Jay Sanderson
• Kelly Barcol
• Kirk Williams
• Mark Sewell
• Sean Marsh

Masters 60+ — Women

• Betsy Vanderburgh
• Debbie Corwin
• Giannina Titus
• Jeannette Perret Gentil
• Sharon Evans

Masters 60+ — Men

• Bret Kurihara
• Christian Galy
• Daniel Ford
• Jose Luiz Vaz
• Ralph Bass

Teens 13-15 — Girls

• Autumn Sands
• Hayleigh Porrini
• Jeanne Asselin
• Keira McManus
• Maggie Sullivan
• Marley Francis
• Olivia Davis
• Phoebe Davis
• Tahlia Vosaki
• Tayah Bebzuck Marom

Teens 13-15 — Boys

• Akil Lopez
• Caden Cleaveland
• Facundo Salica
• Gavin Searcey
• Hunter Keith
• Jose Pablo Luna
• Leonardo Cruz
• Luke Valgos
• Maddox Metcalf
• Mourad Kady

Teens 16-18 — Girls

• Baylee Garnto
• Delia Moises
• Elsie Larson
• Hayes Willard
• Hayleigh Kanthack
• Kendall Gilmore
• Miley Wade
• Morgan Denofa
• Reese Littlewood
• Rylee Beebe

Teens 16-18 — Boys

• Caleb Buckmaster
• Clark Lawson
• Isaac Rojas
• Kai Chmielak
• Kyle Muckleroy
• Logan Jeune
• Lorenzo Pitruzzello
• Lukas Trovão
• Tindur Eliasen
• Yander Cacau

Rx Seated — Women

• Andrea Wilson
• Débora Roque
• Elizabeth Foster
• Geraldine Manríquez
• Neslie Bernardi

Rx Seated — Men

• Darren Thomas
• Jean-Christophe Marquestaut
• Lawrence Green
• Michael Egan
• Tom Miazga

Rx Standing Neuro — Women

• Alyssa Kobela
• Courtnei Lopez
• Faith Fordham
• Jules King
• Lauren Taylor

Rx Standing Neuro — Men

• Chris Schmulbach
• Elijah Sanchez
• George Simonds-Gooding
• Joshuah Robinson
• Russell Allmandinger

Rx Standing Upper — Women

• Christina Mazzullo
• Elaine De Rocco
• Jocelyn Casker
• Mia Van Rensburg
• Sandra Thiele

Rx Standing Upper — Men

• Breki Þordarson
• Casey Acree
• Josue Maldonado
• Lorenzo Casadei
• Rian Soares

Rx Standing Lower — Men

• Anthony Gutierrez
• Hildon Carvalho
• John Jarrett
• Omar Iglesias
• Vincent Cavazos

Open Seated — Men

• Adam Sivia

Open Standing — Women

• Allison Hansen
• Jessica Rausch
• Kirsten Kenny
• Mandy Drake
• Susan Gillson

Open Standing — Men

• Drew Selz
• Ethan Corregano
• Graham Giske
• Matthew Smith
• Samuel Lycett

Read More: Dates and Locations for the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals Revealed

The Dubai Fitness Championship came to an end on Sunday afternoon. A total of 29 women and 27 men competed at the capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE). And it was full on emotion for both men and women fighting for the top spot on the leaderboard.

In the men’s division, Ricky Garard, who missed the official season’s Semifinals after injuring himself in a mountain bike accident, competed earlier in the week in a team at the Down Under Championship. After the first day of events in Dubai, it seemed he would not be featuring among the podium athletes, with a terrible 25^th place in the first event, but respectable 6^th and 9^th in the consequent workouts.

However, it was on Sunday that he shifted to a higher gear in which he finished 2^nd, and took home the win in the last two events. Khrennikov, however, had already built a solid ground from event 3 and managed to stay on top of the game at all times until the final workout. On the other hand, Lazar Dukic saw his chance slip away after finishing 15^th on Saturday afternoon (event 5), but also finished strong on Sunday winning one event and finishing 4^th and 8^th respectively.

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A post shared by Dubai Fitness Championship (@dxbfitnesschamp)

In the women’s division, Karin Frey put a fine and consistent performance, but taking over the leaderboard since day 1 (just like Khrennikov). Besides the last event, in which she finished 6^th, she managed to get 5^th or better in every single event!

Andrea Solberg’s two event wins on Sunday helped her climb above French athlete Claudia Gluck to finish the podium.

Leaderboard

Men

1. Roman Khrennikov – 717 points
2. Ricky Garard – 628
3. Lazar Dukic – 605
4. Fabian Beneito Selles – 557
5. Aniol Ekai – 531

You can see the full leaderboard here.

Women

1. Karin Frey – 702 points
2. Andrea Solberg – 633
3. Claudia Gluck – 619
4. Manon Angonese – 552
5. Elisa Fuliano – 549

You can see the full leaderboard here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dubai Fitness Championship (@dxbfitnesschamp)

If you missed out on the action, you can check out the Livestream that happened for days 2 and 3 here.

Last year, Spanish athlete Fabian Beneito won in a technicality after finishing with the same points as 2^nd placed Moritz Fiebig – and they’re both competing this year again! On the women’s side, it was a bit smoother for Karin Frey who was crowned the winner, but the fight for the podium was intense until the last event. The year before, Laura Horvath and Roman Khrennikov won the tournament.

How to Watch the 2023 Dubai Fitness Championship

Just like in 2022, the first day of the competition will not be livestream. Below you will find the videos made available at the time of writing. They are all from Dubai Fitness Championship’s YouTube channel.

Day 2

Day 3

Athletes Competing

The competition is an invitation-only style. This year, many of the top athletes from the CrossFit Games are not in the roster. In the men’s division, three finished in the top 10 at the Games: Roman Khrennikov (3^rd), Chandler Smith (7^th), and Lazar Dukic (9^th). In the women’s division, the best ranked athlete at the Games who is also competing at the Dubai Fitness Championship is Emma Tall (11^th) and Emily Rolfe (12^th).

However, one big name that is returning this year is Ricky Garard. The Australian athlete missed Semifinals and, subsequently the Games, after injuring himself in a mountain bike accident.

Garard is in full gear after missing a big portion of competitions. He competed at the Rogue Invitational six weeks ago. He also competed earlier this week at the Down Under Championship. He was part of the team who finished 2^nd overall.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ricky Mac (@rickygarard)

As you can see in the picture above, Chandler Smith also competed at the Down Under Championship and he is going to Dubai this weekend for another test of fitness.

Men’s Division

Note: names in bold are athletes who competed at the CrossFit Games as individuals this year.

1. Alex Kotoulas
2. Aniol Ekai
3. Ant Haynes
4. Guillaume Briant
5. Bronislaw Olenkowicz
6. Chandler Smith
7. Daniel Tai
8. David Shorunke
9. Elliot Simmonds
10. Fabian Beneito
11. Giorgos Karavis
12. Griffin Roelle
13. Javier Gonzalez
14. Jorge Fernandez
15. Kaique Cerveny
16. Kalyan Souza
17. Kristof Horvath
18. Lazar Dukic
19. Luka Dukic
20. Martin Cuervo
21. Michael Smith
22. Moritz Fiebig
23. Reggie Fasa
24. Ricky Garard
25. Roman Khrennikov
26. Simon Mantyla
27. Toby Buckland
28. Uldis Upenieks

Women’s Division

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Note: names in bold are athletes who competed at the CrossFit Games as individuals this year.

1. Alexia Williams
2. Allison Nguyen
3. Andrea Solberg
4. Brittany Weiss
5. Camilla Salomonsson Hellman
6. Claudia Gluck
7. Dara Paran
8. Devyn Kim
9. Elena Carratala Sanahuja
10. Elisa Fuliano
11. Emily Rolfe
12. Emma Tall
13. Evie Hollis
14. Hanna Karlsson
15. Ingrid Hodnemyr
16. Jacqueline Dalhstrom
17. Julia Kato
18. Karin Freyova
19. Kyra Milligan
20. Lauren Fisher
21. Luiza Marques
22. Maddy Harris
23. Manon Angonese
24. Mia Hesketh
25. Noortje Bleeker
26. Seher Kaya
27. Shahad Budebs
28. Silvia Garcia
29. Tayla Howe
30. Veslemoy Kollstad

Prize Purse

The total prize purse of the competition is $259,000.

Here is a rundown of how individual athletes might get their share of the prize purse:

1. $50,000
2. $30,000
3. $20,000
4. $10,000
5. $5,000
6. $2,500

From 7^th to 30^th = $500

Athletes also get a change of earning a bonus depending on how well they finish each of the workouts described.

The payout per workout during Finals is:

1. $2,000
2. $1,500
3. $1,000

Read More: Dates and Locations for the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals Revealed

The dates and locations of the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals are now official after CrossFit made an announcement on Tuesday. Similar to last year, athletes will be divided into 7 different Semifinals depending on their place of birth or, for some exceptions, where they live.

The Semifinals will take place during the weekend between May 17^th and June 2^nd. A total of 40 men, 40 women, and 30 teams will compete in each Semifinal event before moving on to the ultimate fitness test: the CrossFit Games which takes place in Fort Worth, Texas from August 8-11 2024.

2024 CrossFit Semifinals Dates and Locations

Europe Semifinal by French Throwdown

• Date:                                   May 17-19, 2024
• Region:                                Europe
• Venue:                                LDLC Arena
• Location:                            Décines-Charpieu, France
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Five (5) Individual (minimum), Eight (8) Team 

Asia Semifinal by Far East Throwdown

• Date:                                   May 17-19, 2024
• Region:                                Asia                      
• Venue:                                Bexco – Centum City
• Location:                            Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Two (2) Individual (minimum), One (1) Team 

Oceania Semifinal by Torian Pro

• Date:                                   May 24-26, 2024
• Region:                                Oceania                             
• Venue:                                Pat Rafter Arena
• Location:                            Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Three (3) Individual (minimum), Three (3) Team 

North America West Semifinal by West Coast Classic

• Date:                                   May 24-26, 2024
• Region:                                North America West                     
• Venue:                                Dignity Health Center
• Location:                            Carson, California, United States
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Five (5) Individual (minimum), Seven (7) Team 

North America East Semifinal by Syndicate Crown

• Date:                                   May 31-June 2, 2024
• Region:                                North America East
• Venue:                                Knoxville Civic Coliseum
• Location:                            Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Five (5) Individual (minimum), Eight (8) Team 

South America Semifinal by Copa Sur

• Date:                                   May 31-June 2, 2024
• Region:                                South America                 
• Venue:                                Arena Carioca 1
• Location:                            Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    Two (2) Individual (minimum), Two (2) Team 

Africa Semifinal by Renegade Games

• Date:                                   May 31-June 2, 2024
• Region:                                Africa                   
• Venue:                                Emerald Resort and Casino
• Location:                            Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa
• Field:                                   40 Individuals, 30 Teams
• CrossFit Games Spots:    One (1) Individual (minimum), One (1) Team 

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As you might have noticed, each Semifinal has a “minimum” number of Games-qualifying spots. That is because of CrossFit’s worldwide ranking system.

The implementation of the new global ranking system plays a decisive role in determining the allocation of Games-qualifying slots for each of the Semifinal competitions. The number of athletes within the top 100 of the updated ranking system participating in a given Semifinal directly influenced the probability of that specific event receiving an additional invitation to the CrossFit Games.

You can see the entire ranking system updated in this link. The list was updated after this year’s CrossFit Games with Jeffrey Adler surpassing Medeiros and Emma Lawson climbing up to the 2^nd position overall behind Laura Horvath.

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

“We are excited about announcing these locations with these great events to execute on the upcoming semifinals,” said Dave Castro, General Manager of Sport and Education at CrossFit. “It will be a first-class experience and we are looking forward to how the competitions will shake out.”

Seven regions will host qualifying athletes who will be invited based on their country of citizenship for the third stage of competition. Athletes will know which region they will compete in (if they qualify) upon CrossFit Open registration.

However, a few exceptions are expected. For example, this year we saw 5 athletes receiving region exemption, including Roman Khrennikov.

In addition, CrossFit will standardize and program all tests for the entire season, including the Semifinals, and all individual athletes and teams from the same affiliate will compete at the same Semifinal.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Age-group and adaptive athletes will compete in an online Semifinal to determine who will advance to the CrossFit Games.

• The top 200 athletes from each age group will advance to the virtual Age-Group Semifinal to determine who will advance to the Games.
• The top 20 athletes from each adaptive division will advance from the Adaptive CrossFit Open by WheelWOD to the virtual Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal, also designed by WheelWOD.

Dates for the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals for Teens, Masters and Adaptive athletes:

• Age-Group Semifinal: May 8 – 13, 2024.
• Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD: May 8 – 13, 2024.

Check out two more links about the 2024 CrossFit season you might have missed.

2024 CrossFit Season Details Revealed

Dave Castro Reveals More Details About the 2024 CrossFit Games in Texas

Dave Castro did a 40+ minute interview for Fitness På Tid Podcast, a Danish podcast that puts CrossFit at its core and everything related to the Sport. The host Nikolaj Rønnow asked Castro about a variety of topics regarding CrossFit, and at one point, when discussing about the new season schematics, the General Manager explained the decision behind giving away the CrossFit Games responsibilities of Masters, Teens and Adaptive athletes to other organisations.

“By pulling them out [age-group and adaptive divisions from CrossFit’s official responsibility] we are able to a few things. Hyper focus on individuals and teams,  for their experience, for the fans, for the community. And have a requirement for facilities that is much less. So it kind of opens up where we can host the Games,” Castro said.

“Near term, it opens up hosting up locations in the U.S. Long-term, not even long-term, 3 or 4 years maybe, it opens up going overseas in different countries.”

“That is one of the big reasons that we made that decision. It kind of set us up for the future, to use a model that puts us on a path to take this to different places and specifically to take this overseas.”

Listen to it from minute 23:20 on Spotify.

What Did You Miss?

Back in September, CrossFit announced the CrossFit Games will move to Texas in 2024. The venue chosen was the Dickies Arena, a multi-event venue built in 2019 that had huge concerts such as Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton, but also other interesting events like Monster Truck and NCAA gymnastic championships.

Shortly after that, Dave Castro revealed a little bit more about the events that will take place during the CrossFit Games, claiming that “95% of the events are going to be inside the arena, cause it’s air-conditioned.”

At that time, nobody knew that CrossFit would overhaul the Games for adaptive athletes, as well as teens and masters. In October, in a press release, CrossFit unveiled three new partnerships across various divisions: WheelWOD Games (for adaptive), Pit Teen Throwdown (for 14-17 teens), and Legends Championship (for masters 35+ athletes).

Now we know that CrossFit made the decision to delegate the responsibilities to creating the CrossFit Games competition for those categories was to create this “model” that Dave Castro says to be able to take the Games overseas.

Source: Dickies Arena

2024 CrossFit Season Official Dates

Although we might not know the exact locations of some of the tournaments for next year’s, CrossFit has revealed the dates athletes will be competing.

2024 CrossFit Open:

• All athletes must compete to advance throughout the season.
• Workout 24.1: Feb. 29 – March 3, 2024
• Workout 24.2: March 7 – 11, 2024
• Workout 24.3: March 14 – 18, 2024

2024 CrossFit Quarterfinals:

• Team Quarterfinal: April 3 – 8, 2024.
• Individual Quarterfinal: April 17 – 22, 2024.
• Age-Group Quarterfinal: April 17 – 22, 2024.

2024 CrossFit Semifinals

CrossFit has not revealed the venues, dates, and number of qualifying spots by region for the individual an team Semifinal competitions. This will be announced at a later date.

• Age-Group Semifinal: May 8 – 13, 2024.
• Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD: May 8 – 13, 2024.

2024 CrossFit Games:

Individuals and teams will compete at Fort Worth, Texas from August 8-11 in 2024.

Teens, masters, and adaptive athletes will compete at separate, in-person championships. In a press release shared earlier, CrossFit mentioned the 3 partnerships across those divisions: WheelWOD Games (for adaptive), Pit Teen Throwdown (for 14-17 teens), and Legends Championship (for masters 35+ athletes).

• The top masters from the Age-Group Semifinal will advance to the Masters CrossFit Games by Legends. The location and competition dates will be announced at a later date.
• Masters Divisions will include:
  • Men and Women 35-39 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 40-44 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 45-49 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 50-54 (30 men; 30 women)
  • Men and Women 55-59 (30 men; 30 women)
  • Men and Women 60-64 (20 men; 20 women)
  • Men and Women 65+ (20 men; 20 women)
• The top 30 boys and 30 girls from the teenage divisions will advance from Semifinals to the Teenage CrossFit Games by Pit Teen Throwdown in Three Rivers, Michigan. The competition dates and exact location will be confirmed at a later date.
• Teenage Divisions will include:
  • Boys and Girls 14-15
  • Boys and Girls 16-17

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

The top 10 adaptive athletes from 15 divisions will advance from the Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD to the Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD. The competition dates and location will be confirmed at a later date.

Adaptive Divisions will include:  

• Upper Impairment 1 Point of Contact
• Upper Impairment 2 Points of Contact
• Lower Impairment Above Knee
• Lower Impairment Below Knee
• Lower Impairment Minor
• Seated Without Hip Function
• Seated With Hip Function
• Seated Quadriplegic
• Neuromuscular Major
• Neuromuscular Moderate
• Neuromuscular Minor
• Standing Diagnosed
• Visual Impairment
• Short Stature
• Intellectual

According to CrossFit, more than 320,000 athletes from 180 countries competed throughout the 2023 CrossFit Games season.

Read More: How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 Rogue Invitational

CrossFit has released a statement revealing the stages of the 2024 official season for athletes and teams who want to battle it out for the title of Fittest on Earth.

As BOXROX reported earlier, CrossFit announced a new partnership with 3 different organisations that will help the competition season for teens, masters and adaptive athletes.

However, one thing didn’t change: all athletes who want to progress further into the season need to participate in the CrossFit Open.

2024 CrossFit Season Details Revealed

This is what we know so far about the 2024 CrossFit season.

The CrossFit Open

• All athletes must compete to advance throughout the season.
• Workout 24.1: Feb. 29 – March 3, 2024
• Workout 24.2: March 7 – 11, 2024
• Workout 24.3: March 14 – 18, 2024

Quarterfinals

There will be 7 regions, just like 2023: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America East, North America West, Oceania, South America.

However, a few things are new for 2024, such as the number of athletes going through to Quarterfinals.

• Individual and age-group athletes who have qualified for the Quarterfinals will have the same programming and only need to complete the workouts once to be represented on both competition leaderboards. For dual-qualified athletes, one payment will register them for both competitions.
• The top 25% of individuals (used to be 10%) and teams in each region will advance to the Quarterfinals with a minimum of 50 athletes from each division.
• The top 25% of each age group from every region will advance to the Quarterfinals with a minimum of 200 athletes from each age group.

Dates of the 2024 CrossFit Quarterfinals:

• Team Quarterfinal: April 3 – 8, 2024.
• Individual Quarterfinal: April 17 – 22, 2024.
• Age-Group Quarterfinal: April 17 – 22, 2024.

Semifinals

CrossFit has not revealed the venues, dates, and number of qualifying spots by region for the individual an team Semifinal competitions. This will be announced at a later date.

• The top 40 individual men, 40 women and the top 30 teams from each region will compete in person at the CrossFit Semifinals.
• The top 200 athletes from each age group will advance to the virtual Age-Group Semifinal to determine who will advance to the Games.
• The top 20 athletes from each adaptive division will advance from the Adaptive CrossFit Open by WheelWOD to the virtual Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD.

Dates for the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals:

• Age-Group Semifinal: May 8 – 13, 2024.
• Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD: May 8 – 13, 2024.

CrossFit Games

Individuals and teams will compete at Fort Worth, Texas from August 8-11 in 2024.

Teens, masters, and adaptive athletes will compete at separate, in-person championships. In a press release shared earlier, CrossFit mentioned the 3 partnerships across those divisions: WheelWOD Games (for adaptive), Pit Teen Throwdown (for 14-17 teens), and Legends Championship (for masters 35+ athletes).

• The top masters from the Age-Group Semifinal will advance to the Masters CrossFit Games by Legends. The location and competition dates will be announced at a later date.
• Masters Divisions will include:
  • Men and Women 35-39 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 40-44 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 45-49 (40 men; 40 women)
  • Men and Women 50-54 (30 men; 30 women)
  • Men and Women 55-59 (30 men; 30 women)
  • Men and Women 60-64 (20 men; 20 women)
  • Men and Women 65+ (20 men; 20 women)
• The top 30 boys and 30 girls from the teenage divisions will advance from Semifinals to the Teenage CrossFit Games by Pit Teen Throwdown in Three Rivers, Michigan. The competition dates and exact location will be confirmed at a later date.
• Teenage Divisions will include:
  • Boys and Girls 14-15
  • Boys and Girls 16-17

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

The top 10 adaptive athletes from 15 divisions will advance from the Adaptive CrossFit Semifinal by WheelWOD to the Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD. The competition dates and location will be confirmed at a later date.

Adaptive Divisions will include:  

• Upper Impairment 1 Point of Contact
• Upper Impairment 2 Points of Contact
• Lower Impairment Above Knee
• Lower Impairment Below Knee
• Lower Impairment Minor
• Seated Without Hip Function
• Seated With Hip Function
• Seated Quadriplegic
• Neuromuscular Major
• Neuromuscular Moderate
• Neuromuscular Minor
• Standing Diagnosed
• Visual Impairment
• Short Stature
• Intellectual

According to CrossFit, more than 320,000 athletes from 180 countries competed throughout the 2023 CrossFit Games season.

Related: Dave Castro Reveals More Details About the 2024 CrossFit Games in Texas

The thrilling weekend reached its pinnacle as Laura Horvath and Pat Vellner emerged victorious, securing the CrossFit championship at the 2023 Rogue Invitational. In the Strongman division, Mitchell Hooper claimed the top spot.

Rogue Invitational is one of the biggest CrossFit competition outside the official season. That also reflects on the prize purse athletes compete for, bringing in much attention of the media and athletes themselves to do their best.

Source: Rogue Invitational Instagram

How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 Rogue Invitational

And how much money is involved for athletes competing at the 2023 Rogue Invitational in Texas? First, remember how the prize purse was calculated?

1. Rogue has provided a 1 million dollar cash investment.
2. $275,000 of Bitcoin purchased at $16,000 per coin. Any growth on this coin will add to the purse and will be paid out at the valuation at the time the prize purse is locked.
3. $5 per attendee ticket sold will be added to the purse.
4. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 online qualifier, “The Q”
5. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 community event, “The C”
6. $5.00 for every Rogue Invitational T-shirt sold
7. $5.00 for every pair of GORUCK Ballistic Trainers sold on roguefitness.com
8. Sponsors will have the ability to make direct contributions to the purse

One interesting thing about the prize purse is that it goes up with each day because of tickets sales and shirts sales. However, if you read our article a few days before the start of the events, the prize purse totalled U$ 1, 631,595.77.

However, now, after the competition is over, the prize purse declined by almost $2,000. That is likely due to the volatility of Bitcoin. But, in the bigger picture, since the prize purse are divided by the 20 individual athletes competing in the CrossFit division and the 10 Strongman competitors, the end result for each athlete is not something to worry about.

Ultimately, the prize purse was U$1,629,676.17.

So how much money did athletes earn at the 2023 Rogue Invitational? According to Rogue’s rules, each participant took a percentage of the prize purse home with them depending on final placement.

Women:

Men

Strongman

2023 Rogue Invitational

When: October 26-29, 2023

Where: Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, Texas, USA

How many competitors: 20 men and 20 women in the individual division

Other divisions: Not only some of the best elite CrossFit athletes will be competing, but also 10 participants go head-to-head in Strongman events, and 9 men and 7 women will take part in the Legends, a friendly CrossFit competition with names such as Rich Froning, Josh Bridges, Kari Pearce and Sam Briggs.

Missed out on the action? Watch the 2023 Rogue Invitational Livestream Here

The top of the leaderboard changed a lot during the 4-day event for CrossFit athletes in Texas this weekend. Addler and Toomey finished event 1 on the top, on Friday it was Khrennikov and Horvath who took the lead. Saturday, it all changed again with Vellner taking over and Toomey regaining top spot.

However, what counts is the placement on the last day and that is how Vellner managed to maintain his lead ahead of Adler and Khrennikov, while Horvath won the last event to beat Tia-Clair Toomey in the standings.

2023 Rogue Invitational Final Standings

Women

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1. Laura Horvath – 780 points
2. Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr – 770
3. Emma Lawson – 650
4. Gabriela Migala – 530
5. Alex Gazan – 590
6. Emma Cary – 550
7. Danielle Brandon – 540
8. Arielle Loewen – 510
9. Dani Speegle – 505
10. Manon Angonese – 460
11. Christine Kolenbrander – 455
12. Lauren Fisher – 420
13. Paige Powers – 405
14. Paige Semenza – 390
15. Emily Rolfe – 330
16. Bethany Flores – 320
17. Karin Freyova – 305
18. Kyra Milligan – 295
19. Shelby Neal – 265
20. Elena Carratala Sanahuja – 235

Men

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1. Pat Vellner – 660 points
2. Jeff Adler – 640
3. Roman Khrennikov – 610
4. Brent Fikowski – 610
5. Ricky Garard – 565
6. Travis Mayer – 555
7. Jayson Hopper – 545
8. Dallin Pepper – 545
9. Jay Crouch – 540
10. Noah Ohlsen – 530
11. Jelle Hoste – 485
12. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson – 475
13. Chandler Smith – 455
14. Lazard Dukic – 445
15. Tudor Magda – 435
16. Bayley Martin – 375
17. Victor Hoffer – 360
18. Will Moorad – 300
19. Garrett Clark – 255
20. Jonne Koski – 10 points (withdrawn)

Strongman

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1. Mitchell Hooper – 42 points
2. Tom Stoltman – 40
3. Mateus Kieliszkowski – 31.5
4. Evan Singleton – 28.5
5. Bobby Thompson – 25.5
6. Maxime Boudreault – 23.5
7. Thomas Evans – 23
8. Luke Stoltman – 22
9. Oleksii Novikov – 21.5
10. Trey Mitchell – 11.5

Horvath, Vellner Win 2023 Rogue Invitational

The 2023 Rogue Invitational began on Thursday afternoon with only a single event for individuals. Texas heavy comprised of running with a ruck, without one, and pulling a sled.

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Tia-Clair Toomey took the win to make a big statement. This was her first official competition after giving birth to her first child Willow in May. In the men’s division, Adler finished ahead of Hoste and Khrennikov.

Although the previous CrossFit Games champions won the first event, it all changed on the second day (Friday) when two more workouts programmed were thrown at the athletes.

Garard and Khrennikov won events 2 and 3, while Alex Gazan and Laura Horvath took the win for the same events in the women’s division. At the end of the day, Khrennikov went to sleep on top of the rank with a 20-point lead ahead of Adler and Vellner. Horvath had a 5-point lead on Toomey and 45 points in front of 3^rd place Gabriela Migala.

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But then Saturday shifted everything again. This was the day that provided Pat Vellner his big advantage that gave him a chance to win come the end of the weekend. Although Vellner started Saturday in 3^rd, he finished the day with an impressive 90-point lead ahead of Adler.

And the crazy thing is that Vellner did not win any of the 3 events on Saturday, but everything fell into place for him to keep distancing himself from the other competitors.

In the women’s division, in a cat-and-mouse game, Toomey took over Horvath again in the leaderboard with a minimum 5-point lead over the Hungarian athlete. Emma Lawson, 3^rd placed when lights went out, was 90 points behind the leader.

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The final day had come and the last three events would shift the women’s leaderboard once again. Horvath won event 7, but Toomey made up the difference in event 8. Before the very last event, the two athletes were tied in points in 1^st place.

But Horvath left any doubts behind her. She won the final event 30 seconds ahead of Tia-Clair Toomey to claim her crown at the 2023 Rogue Invitational. Emma Lawson finished 2^nd, cementing her overall 3^rd place on the podium.

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The men’s division was less intense, as Vellner only had to do damage control. He finished events 7, 8, and 9 in 9^th, 10^th and 10^th, respectively. That was enough to keep him 20 points ahead of Adler. The fellow Canadian had a closer battle with Khrennikov, but event 8 and the last one solidified his silver medal.

Did you enjoy the 2023 Rogue Invitational? Do you want to know how well we, at BOXROX, guessed the main athletes that would compete this weekend? Then click on the link below.

Who To Watch at the 2023 Rogue Invitational

How to Watch the 2023 Rogue Invitational

2023 Rogue Invitational

When: October 26-29, 2023

Where: Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, Texas, USA

How many competitors: 20 men and 20 women in the individual division; 10 in the strongman division; 9 men and 9 women in the legends division

Other divisions: Not only some of the best elite CrossFit athletes will be competing, but also 10 participants go head-to-head in Strongman events, and 9 men and 7 women will take part in the Legends, a friendly CrossFit competition with names such as Rich Froning, Josh Bridges, Kari Pearce and Sam Briggs.

2023 Rogue Invitational Livestream Here

List of All CrossFit Athletes Competing Individually

The final list of athletes invited and confirmed to the 2023 Rogue Invitational is official. Usually, the top athletes from the CrossFit Games receive an automatic invitation to Rogue. For those wanting to compete with the best of the best, they had to go through an online qualifier.

Of those who competed online, the top 5 men and 5 women then received an invitation to compete in Round Rock.

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Some athletes might choose to refuse the invitation; Rogue organisers then proceed to backfill the position until they have a confirmed 20 athletes on the field for each of the individual categories.

Here is a full list of the 20 individual athletes confirmed to appear at the 2023 Rogue Invitational.

Men:

Source: Courtesy of Lazar Dukic

1. Jeff Adler
2. Pat Vellner
3. Roman Khrennikov
4. Brent Fikowski
5. Dallin Pepper
6. Jonne Koski
7. Chandler Smith
8. Jay Crouch
9. Lazar Dukic
10. Jelle Hoste
11. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson
12. Bayley Martin
13. Will Moorad
14. Noah Ohlsen
15. Ricky Garard
16. Victor Hoffer
17. Travis Mayer
18. Tudor Magda
19. Garrett Clark
20. Jayson Hopper

Women:

1. Laura Horvath
2. Emma Lawson
3. Arielle Loewen
4. Gabriela Migala
5. Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr
6. Alex Gazan
7. Paige Semenza
8. Bethany Flores
9. Emma Cary
10. Danielle Brandon
11. Paige Powers
12. Emily Rolfe
13. Shelby Neal
14. Karin Freyova
15. Dani Speegle
16. Manon Angonese
17. Elena Carratala Sanahuja
18. Lauren Fisher
19. Kyra Milligan
20. Christine Kolenbrander

Who to Watch at the 2023 Rogue Invitational

In 2022, Justin Medeiros, Laura Horvath and Oleksii Novikov were crowned champions. This year, only Medeiros is not competing again.

In the women’s division, one name draws more attention than all other. Tia-Clair Toomey is back in business. She is the most dominant female CrossFit athlete in history, but that is only one of the reasons to watch her compete this weekend at the 2023 Rogue Invitational.

Source: Tia-Clair Toomey Instagram

The Australian athlete had to sit out during this year’s CrossFit Games to give birth to her first child Willow in May, just two months before the Finals. With her out, Laura Horvath managed to win the title of Fittest Woman on Earth, which was the first time someone other than Toomey had claimed since 2017.

Now it’s been 7 months since she had the baby and time to get back to her fitness levels. The fact that she is competing again is an incredible feat, but if you know anything about Tia-Clair Toomey is that she is out-of-this-world good. She actually might have a chance to win this weekend as a warning for future competitors that the 2024 CrossFit Games is going to be tough for everyone again if she steps onto the competition floor.

Two other names people must include in their bets to win this weekend are Laura Horvath, the current Fittest Woman on Earth, and Emma Lawson, the 18-year-old athlete from Canada who finished 2^nd at the Games this year.

BOXROX believes Gabriela Migala will be fighting for a spot on the podium, and other dark horses include Bethany Flores, Emma Cary and Arielle Loewen.

The men’s division is fully stacked with who’s who from the CrossFit Games. The 12 first-ranked at this year’s Games have confirmed their presence at the 2023 Rogue Invitational.

 Although Jeff Adler and Pat Vellner deservedly will be battling for the top spot, our pick for who to watch this year is Roman Khrennikov. The Russian athlete wore the leader’s jersey at the CrossFit Games this year for most of the events, but then got injured, couldn’t finish any of the last 2 events and still finished with a bronze medal.

It will be interesting to see how Khrennikov has recovered from his foot injury and, if so, how he might come back with a title in American soil.

Jeff Adler deservedly won the 2023 CrossFit Games. He snatched the leader’s jersey from Khrennikov before the Russian injured his foot and maintained the leadership to the end. He also had a nearly perfect 2023 CrossFit season by winning the Open alongside Mal O’Brien, the Semifinal and the Finals. He finished 5^th worldwide during the Quarterfinals, the only competition he didn’t win in the official CrossFit season.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Alongside Adler are Canadian besties Vellner and Fikowski. Both are incredibly well-rounded athletes who could take up the chance to climb up the ranks to the podium when others fail.

Our top pick for the surprise of the year at the 2023 Rogue Invitational is Ricky Garard. He injured his shoulder during a mountain bike accident weeks before the Semifinals and had to withdraw from competing in 2023. He was one of the top athletes poised to fight for the podium in Wisconsin, he might as well accomplish it in Texas this time.

Other dark horses who might fight for the podium, in our opinion, are Chandler Smith, Lazar Dukic, and Dallin Pepper.

Who do you think could win this weekend’s competition?

Prize Purse

And how much money is involved for athletes competing at the 2023 Rogue Invitational in Texas? The answer is not definitive yet, as the prize purse increases depending on a few factors:

1. Rogue has provided a 1 million dollar cash investment.
2. $275,000 of Bitcoin purchased at $16,000 per coin. Any growth on this coin will add to the purse and will be paid out at the valuation at the time the prize purse is locked.
3. $5 per attendee ticket sold will be added to the purse.
4. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 online qualifier, “The Q”
5. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 community event, “The C”
6. $5.00 for every Rogue Invitational T-shirt sold
7. $5.00 for every pair of GORUCK Ballistic Trainers sold on roguefitness.com
8. Sponsors will have the ability to make direct contributions to the purse

At the time of writing, the prize purse totals U$ 1, 631,595.77.

This is already a bigger prize purse compared to last year’s where a total of $1,272,490 was divided among the athletes depending on their ranking.

Just like in previous years, Rogue Invitational will make one main Livestream available for free. However, what is new this time, is that people will be able to choose to pay an additional fee to increase their access to other cameras during the Livestream. It’s called the Iron Game Premium viewing option (more details below).

2023 Rogue Invitational

When: October 26-29, 2023

Where: Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, Texas, USA

How many competitors: 20 men and 20 women in the individual division; 10 in the strongman division; 9 men and 9 women in the legends division

Other divisions: Not only some of the best elite CrossFit athletes will be competing, but also 10 participants go head-to-head in Strongman events, and 9 men and 7 women will take part in the Legends, a friendly CrossFit competition with names such as Rich Froning, Josh Bridges, Kari Pearce and Sam Briggs.

In 2022, Justin Medeiros, Laura Horvath and Oleksii Novikov were crowned champions. This year, only Medeiros is not competing again.

How to Watch the 2023 Rogue Invitational – Livestream

Divided by days, here are the Livestreams and how to watch the 2023 Rogue Invitational this weekend.

Thursday (Event 1):

Friday (Day 1):

Saturday (Day 2):

Sunday (Day 3):

Iron Game Premium:

If you want, you can pay a fee to increase the options of cameras you have to watch the events as they unfold.

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• U$25 fee

Once purchased, you will have added 4 different streams to your arsenal: Iron Game Tailgate, drone cam, featured Athlete Cam, and wide cam.

The Iron Game Tailgate stream is hosted by Pat Sherwood and it will bring elite athletes (both CrossFit and Strongman) for a more informal style of conversation with personal insights and immediate reactions to what’s going down on the field as events are happening.

Some of the confirmed athletes that will take part are Mat Fraser, Rich Froning, Justin Medeiros, Katrin Davidsdottir, Annie Thorisdottir, Annie Sakamoto, Brian Friend, Hafthor Bjornsson and more.

“Get a bird’s-eye view from our drone cameras, jump to our Wide Cams for an all-seeing view, or watch our Featured Athlete Cam, tracking one competitor up-close and personal through each workout.”

You can access the Iron Gam Premium content here.

Prize Purse

Source: Photos courtesy of Rogue

And how much money is involved for athletes competing at the 2023 Rogue Invitational in Texas? The answer is not definitive yet, as the prize purse increases depending on a few factors:

1. Rogue has provided a 1 million dollar cash investment.
2. $275,000 of Bitcoin purchased at $16,000 per coin. Any growth on this coin will add to the purse and will be paid out at the valuation at the time the prize purse is locked.
3. $5 per attendee ticket sold will be added to the purse.
4. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 online qualifier, “The Q”
5. 10% of registration fees for the 2023 community event, “The C”
6. $5.00 for every Rogue Invitational T-shirt sold
7. $5.00 for every pair of GORUCK Ballistic Trainers sold on roguefitness.com
8. Sponsors will have the ability to make direct contributions to the purse

At the time of writing, the prize purse totals U$ 1, 619, 370.80.

This is already a bigger prize purse compared to last year’s where a total of $1,272,490 was divided among the athletes depending on their ranking.

Thorisdottir broke the news yesterday in a somewhat simplistic post on Instagram. In a photo, alongside husband/coach Frederik Aegidius and their daughter Freyja, she simply wrote “2^nd of May” followed by a heart emoji.

In the photo, the three of them are walking down a pier towards the sunset, with Freyja in between the couple, and Annie Thorisdottir holding hands with a teddy bear, signifying the second child to come into their lives.

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The news comes 3 days before the first event at the 2023 Rogue Invitational. Thorisdottir had previously confirmed she would be competing, but changed her mind. Now, 18-year-old Shelby Neal has been confirmed to take her place.

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Neal has made her debut as an elite individual athlete at the CrossFit Games this year and finished 19^th in the world. In the past two years, she competed as a teen at the Games finishing 6^th and 8^th respectively.

Hopes are that Thorisdottir will come back stronger than ever if she decides to continue competing in CrossFit as an individual among the best. She gave birth to her first child back in August 2020. The following year, she finished with a bronze medal around her neck at the 2021 CrossFit Games.

In 2022, she decided to go team where they finished 4^th. She then made a return to individuals this year, finishing 13^th overall. Iceland Annie was the first female athlete to win the CrossFit Games twice in a row (2011 and 2012).

Read More: Athlete Svetlana Veselova Says She Will Sue CrossFit After Failed Drug Test

In a press release, CrossFit unveiled three new partnerships across various divisions: WheelWOD Games (for adaptive), Pit Teen Throwdown (for 14-17 teens), and Legends Championship (for masters 35+ athletes).

This means that for athletes in those divisions, the road to the finals will be different compared to elite competitors in the individual and team divisions. It was announced in late September that the CrossFit Games will be held in the Dickies Arena, in Fort Worth, Texas, next year.

However, that won’t be the case for teens, masters and adaptive athletes – they will not share the same stage as the elite athletes (individuals and teams) for the grand finale.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

What Will Change for the 2024 CrossFit Games

As mentioned above, men and women competing in the elite division (individual) and teams will not see any changes to the path to the CrossFit Games. Teens and masters will have changes for the finals only, while adaptive athletes will see a complete overhaul of their CrossFit season.

Teens and Masters

For Masters and Teenage Athletes in 2024, the season kicks off with the online Open, followed by the online Quarterfinals and Semifinals. This means that, up to the Semifinals, nothing will change for athletes in those divisions and CrossFit HQ will still design the tests during those stages.

However, things change when it comes to the in-person finals. Yes, both Masters and Teens will continue to have an in-person last set of tests, but it will be handled by the organisations partnered with mentioned earlier.

After Semifinals are concluded, qualifying masters athletes (ages 35-65+) will be “advancing to the Legends Championship for an in-person final.”

For teens, the top athletes will move on “before competing in the Pit Teen Throwdown.”

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This means that the finals for teens and master athletes will not be in Fort Worth in 2024, the same place where elite men, women and teams will be competing for the title of Fittest on Earth.

Related: Dave Castro Reveals More Details About the 2024 CrossFit Games in Texas

Where will teens and masters compete in the end?

CrossFit said it will reveal places and dates for the season at a later stage, including registration for the 2024 CrossFit Open.

However, we already know that the Pit Throwdown will be taking place in Three Rivers, Michigan. This is the same place where the competition has been taking place in the last few years.

According to their official website, “The Throwdown features the rugged diversity of our 65-acre fitness ranch, a former gravel pit with woods and water, sand and hills, and our 10,000-SQ FT gym, Triple River CrossFit.”

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However, we are still very much in the dark about the Master’s division. All we know is that the Finals will be taken over and programmed by Legends Championship. The Legends Championship, supporting top masters athletes worldwide, will host its 2023 edition in Tempe, Arizona, from December 7 to 10. We do not know if the finals for masters next year will happen in the same place as this year.

Adaptive Divisions

The Adaptive Athletes competition, managed entirely by WheelWOD, an organization with 11 years of experience, promises a fair and inclusive competition for CrossFit’s adaptive athlete community. The collaboration expands the competitive divisions for adaptive athletes from 8 to 15, providing a broader opportunity for athletes to advance to the in-person final.

In other words, WheelWOD will take over all the steps of the CrossFit season for adaptive athletes, from the “Open” all the way to the “Games” – these are in quotes as we do not know if they will be called Open or Games like CrossFit HQ does.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

It is still unknown where or when these athletes will compete for CrossFit’s next season. The WheelWOD Games 2023 is taking place from November 30 through December 3 in Raleigh, North Carolina and it will encompass athletes from 28 divisions.

The Pros and Cons of this 2024 CrossFit Season Overhaul for Teen, Masters and Adaptive Athletes

Any change is bound to bring something good, and maybe something bad. Here are some pros and cons we at BOXROX think should be addressed.

Pros:

As highlighted in the press release, CrossFit General Manager of Sport and Education Dave Castro explained the changes “will benefit each division in significant ways, most importantly more than doubling qualifying spots for masters and teens and allowing every adaptive division a place at the in-person championship.”

More adaptive divisions and more athletes will be competing in the end, which can only be positive for the Sport’s growth.

With each final being taken care of by different organisations, there will be better coverage of those events for people who actually want to see them. As Kevin Ogar, head judge and coach for WheelWOD put it:

“We will now have more eyes on, more exposure, more divisions, and unparalleled opportunities for athletes to not only grow in the sport but also to drive its evolution.”

Although he was talking specifically about the adaptive community, it can be broadened to teens and masters as well. Giving more exposure to those athletes will help them expand to a broader audience, hopefully give them more opportunities to live off the Sport, and attract more people to compete in the end.

Source: Wodapalooza / Courtesy of ATA

Cons:

Not all are rainbows and butterflies when we are talking about the changes CrossFit has made for the official 2024 season.

First and foremost, if you’ve read all paragraphs above, you might have noticed how little we at BOXROX used the term “CrossFit Games” or “Fittest on Earth.” That is because, honestly, CrossFit in their press release also refrained from using those terms – in contrast, CrossFit has used the terms “championship” and “final.”

One of the things nobody liked about the 2023 CrossFit Games was the Livestream coverage of masters, teens or adaptive.  It simply was a stationary camera, with no commentary, far away from the field where athletes were competing. CEO Don Faul addressed the situation at a press conference and said CrossFit made a tough decision about the Livestream coverage. “Sometimes we got to make tough calls. We’d love to be able to do everything, pragmatically that is not possible,” he said.

And now, with the “Games Athlete” or “#GamesBound” staple probably going out of the window for masters, teens and adaptive divisions, it seems like CrossFit is simply offloading its responsibilities to other organisations and hoping for the best.

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games – 4 Things We Liked and 4 We Didn’t

Dave Castro was interviewed by Mike Ritland in his personal podcast where they talk about the US Navy Seal, Castro’s involvement with the community and, of course, CrossFit. And as usual, Castro revealed a few extra bits of information regarding the upcoming 2024 CrossFit Games.

As reported earlier by BOXROX, the 2024 CrossFit Games will not be returning to Madison, Wisconsin, but rather Fort Worth, in Texas.

The venue chosen was the Dickies Arena, a multi-event venue built in 2019 that had huge concerts such as Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton, but also other interesting events like Monster Truck and NCAA gymnastic championships.

Source: Dickies Arena

Below you will read a short version of Dave Castro’s interview with Mike Ritland.

Dave Castro Reveals More Details About the 2024 CrossFit Games in Texas

Before getting fired, Dave Castro toured Dickies Arena in 2021 to move the Games to a different venue in 2023. “Toured the venue, loved it, then we toured another venue in Alabama. Also really liked that one, Birmingham.”

Then Castro was fired and then rehired back to the team. Once he was back, for the sake of freshness, Dave Castro was responsible for changing things up.

“We’re going to change the format of the CrossFit Games, going to a venue like Dickies would be perfect.”

Although CrossFit Inc. still had one more year with Madison agreed, Castro had to tell them the organisation was moving away. “We’re going to have a different footprint,” with a new model in a new location.

So what is this new format Castro keeps talking about? As BOXROX wrote previously, the biggest concern of the CrossFit Games was the heat stroke that athletes could suffer during WODs. But that is one of the reasons Dickies Arena was chosen.

“95% of the events are going to be inside the arena, cause it’s air-conditioned,” Castro revealed.

Castro believes they can sell out Dickies Arena at 15,000 people or maybe a thousand less, depending on how they distribute the place.

BOXROX wrote previously that CrossFit possibly would have to pay zero dollars in the end for renting the venue. That is because the bid from Dickies Arena in 2019 to be the new home of the Fittest on Earth had many concessions to CrossFit HQ of more than U$1 million. Castro, in this interview, said he didn’t know exactly how were the concessions and couldn’t talk much about it either.

It is possible that there was a new bid, or new concessions, from Dickies Arena for the 2024 CrossFit Games and the information provided earlier is outdated. But the fact remains that a Sports Commission from Fort Worth and Dickies Arena wanted the CrossFit Games to be played out in their venue since 2019.

As a fun side note, Castro said that CrossFit founder Greg Glassman once said he wanted athletes to “have a softball throw” at the Games. Not only that, but with both arms, once with the dominant, and once with the weaker arm. And Castro said they wouldn’t do it, because there would be a lot of memes coming out of it and some of the most athletic people managed to throw about 20 or 30 yards with their good arm – it could put a comedic scene by accident.

You can watch Dave Castro talking about the 2024 CrossFit in the video below.

Read More: CrossFit Worldwide Ranking System Updated: Adler Passes Medeiros, Lawson Climbs to 2nd

Since 2017, the CrossFit Games was hosted in Madison, but during this year’s post-Games press conference, General Manager of Sport and Education Dave Castro said the Games would eventually go overseas “sooner rather than later, but just not yet.”

As expected, the 2024 CrossFit Games is staying in the United States – Fort Worth, Texas.

2024 CrossFit Games To Happen in Fort Worth, Texas

In an announcement made yesterday, CrossFit said the competition would take place at the “state-of-the-art Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.”

The 2024 games are scheduled for August 8-11.

“Dickies Arena will provide CrossFit new opportunities to present the worldwide championship to fans in attendance with three standard levels of seating, including additional hospitality and elevated viewing experiences on the four-year-old building’s suite and loge box level,” the press release stated. “The nearly 30,000-square-foot event floor, depending on seating configuration, will provide the luxury of up to an estimated 10,000-plus seats once the field of play is completed.”

What We Know So Far About the 2024 CrossFit Games Location

Source: Dickies Arena

In 2021, representatives of Fort Worth made a bid to change the CrossFit Games location to Texas. Unless there was a new bid for 2024, this shows how much it will cost CrossFit to change location to Texas – spoiler alert, it will cost nothing.

Which places are included in the bid from Fort Worth:

• Dickies Arena + 100,000 square feet of expo space and open-air events plaza
• Will Rogers Texas Room – 100,000 square feet
• Will Rogers Auditorium – 2,856 seats
• Round Up Inn – 18,000 square feet
• Farrington Field – 20,000 seats
• Forth Worth Botanical Garden – for concerts, camping or similar activities
• Trinity River Trails – access to more than 100 miles of trails

How Much Will CrossFit Get From This New Venue?

According to documents, CrossFit could get more than U$1 million as a packaged value.

• Total venue expense – $787,000 ($625,000 for Dickies Arena; $77,000 for Will Rogers; $85,000 for Farrington Field)
• CrossFit venue expense to be reimbursed by the state – $500,000
• Fort Worth Sports Commission venue commitment – $287,000
• Additional bid enhancements (marketing, FW welcome, opening party) – $200,000
• Hotel rebates – $95,000

Total Fort Worth Package Value: $1,082,000

Final Venue Cost for CrossFit Games: $0

The bid for 2021 from Jason Stands (executive director at Fort Worth Sports Commission) and Heath Auction (event manager) can be seen in its entirety here.

What to Expect

Dickies Arena sure is a state-of-the-art centre for Sports and concerts. It was built in 2019 and the first event there was a concert from Twenty One Pilots in November that year.

The arena hosted concerts for big names such as Paul McCartney, KISS, and Eric Clapton. In terms of events, there was a wild mix from Monster Truck live shows and bull riders, to NCAA gymnastics championships and lacrosse.

What athletes will need to prepare though is the heat. Texas is known for their harsh elevated temperatures and with the Games scheduled for August next year, people on Reddit are afraid some athletes will suffer heatstroke.

In 2015, 2x CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdottir had to withdraw due to a heat stroke. Last year, Hanna Hardy, from team TTT CrossFit Black, also suffered a heat stroke during the 5K run test.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

According to AccuWeather, this year during August, Fort Worth recorded temperatures up to 109⁰F (43⁰C) on 4 days. The average high temperature in Fort Worth this month was 107⁰F (42⁰C).

During the evening, the city cools off in August and temperatures went as low as 71.6⁰F (22⁰C). The average low temperature for August in Fort Worth this year was 78.8⁰F (26⁰C).

2023 CrossFit Games: 4 Things We Liked and 4 We Didn’t

On September 14^th, CrossFit announced that Svetlana Veselova was banned for 4 years after providing a sample that contained Meldonium. This illegal substance increases and improves blood flow by reducing oxygen consumption within cellular structures.

According to Svetlana, she knew she took Meldonium and CrossFit also knew that well in advance before she went to compete at the 2023 CrossFit Games. Svetlana explained it all in a now-deleted Instagram post. The twist of the story is that the substances she took were prescribed by her doctor after she had emergency surgery.

“As prescribed by the doctors, I actually took Meldonium, it helped my body recover faster after a serious operation,” she wrote. “I notified the management of the CrossFit Games in writing […] provided all the certificates and documents that were requested.”

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“The management of the CrossFit Games were notified of the state in which I entered the competition, did not interfere with this and, in my opinion, acted poorly in making the decision to disqualify me.”

According to the athlete, CrossFit never replied to her messages regarding her situation and allowed her to compete anyway, only to later disqualify her for taking Meldonium.

She believes this unfair treatment of her could be linked to her being Russian. “I will not tolerate selective treatment of athletes based on nationality.” She finishes her post by claiming she is suing the CrossFit Games to fight for fair treatment of every athlete.

Svetlana Veselova Suing CrossFit Games Post

Below, you will find what she wrote on her Instagram post. The post was originally in Russian, but translated by The Barbell Spin.

Source: Svetlana Veselova IG

I’m suing the CrossFit Games.

In recent days, information has been actively spreading in our community that I am taking doping. In my doping tests, they found meldonium, a metabolism-improving agent, an analogue of gamma-butyrobetaine, and I was disqualified.

The management of the CrossFit Games were notified of the state in which I entered the competition, did not interfere with this and, in my opinion, acted poorly in making the decision to disqualify me. Therefore, I am ready to tell the whole truth, in which every athlete recognizes himself.

On June 20, 2023, I was hospitalized and had emergency surgery. A month before the competition. As prescribed by the doctors, I actually took meldonium, it helped my body recover faster after a serious operation. I notified the management of the CrossFit Games in writing that, precisely as prescribed by doctors and for a speedy recovery, I took a drug that was part of the prohibited drug. Provided all the certificates and documents that were requested.

Just a month after the most difficult operation, I performed on par with all the athletes, without demanding special treatment or concessions. And took 5th place in the group.

After the competition, the commission considered my arguments unconvincing and disqualified me. This is not just a disqualification, but an inability to develop as an athlete for the next few years. Which means the end of a career.

I will not tolerate selective treatment of athletes based on nationality. Every person, no matter what gender, nationality or skin color, has the right to fair judging. To respect his rights.

And that is why I will not remain silent. I am suing the CrossFit Games to fight for fair treatment for every athlete. And I will honestly share my successes and failures here. @crossfitgames @thebarbellspin

Read More: 10 PEDs Banne by CrossFit and How They Affect the Human Body

Brooke Wells is the newest addition to the HWPO training program created by Mat Fraser. She is another high-profile CrossFit athlete who will continue training under the guidance of the 5x Fittest Man on Earth.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Brooke Wells was previously training under the guidance of Shane Orr, coach and husband of 6x Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey. This year, Toomey didn’t make it to the Games because they became parents during the CrossFit season. It is unclear the reason for Wells changing ships from Shane’s PRVN to Fraser’s HWPO.

Brooke Wells Joins HWPO

Last year Katrin Davidsdottir, Sam Kwant and Amanda Barnhart joined the camp as well. Other CrossFit Games athlete that already train with Fraser are Mal O’Brien and Jayson Hopper.

“Hard Work Pays Off Grateful for all this journey has offered me and absolutely ready for the next chapter. Very excited for what’s to come this season with HWPO. Now let’s get to work,” Wells wrote on her Instagram.

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Brooke Wells has been a constant force in the Sport. She has been to the CrossFit Games every year since 2015, except for this year where she didn’t make the cut after finishing one spot behind at the North America East Semifinal.

In 2021, Wells had a severe elbow injury during the CrossFit Games and had to withdraw. After surgery, she made a huge comeback, got invited to the Games in 2022 and finished 5^th, tying her best placement yet (she also finished 5^th in 2020).

Read More: CrossFit Worldwide Ranking System Updated Post-CrossFit Games

A week after the 2023 CrossFit Games has wrapped up, favourite Justin Medeiros uploaded a video on his YouTube channel to explain why he and up-and-coming athlete Ellie Turner had a disappointing year at the competition.

Read More: CrossFit Worldwide Ranking System Updated – Adler Passes Medeiros; Lawson Climbs to 2^nd

What Happened to Justin Medeiros at the 2023 CrossFit Games

Although Medeiros was touted to win his 3^rd Fittest on Earth, or at least be on the podium, he finished 13^th overall and, at some point, was even below the cutline of the Games. In the end, Jeff Adler won, with Pat Vellner second and Roman Khrennikov third.

In short, Justin Medeiros peaked too early and was extremely nervous coming into his junior stint at the CrossFit Games.

“Going into the open obviously, didn’t do as well in the open as I did the previous year, but wasn’t like any reason for concern,” Medeiros says. Getting to Quarterfinals a few weeks later is when he wanted to prove a point, that he was here to stay and was a force in the competition.

“Obviously, the Quarterfinals went really well. Won two workouts in a competition which is unlike me from that time of the year.”

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

However, with that idea of proving himself to the other competitors, he ended up putting a lot of pressure on himself to be fitter than he was the year before. “I still haven’t been able to put my finger on why, but I definitely felt a lot more pressure than I have any other year.”

Medeiros finished Quarterfinals in the top position worldwide but finished 5^th at Semifinals, which was still enough to get an invitation to the Games.

Medeiros says that coming into the Games while training, there were a lot of little things that gave him doubts about whether he was going to accomplish what he set out to do.

“I know I’m doing everything I can but there’s a lot of things that I should be doing that I’m not doing and I think going into the Games with the pressure and the things that I had during Games training had some doubt I think kind of creep into my mind.”

Read More: How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 CrossFit Games

What Happened to Ellie Turner at the 2023 CrossFit Games

Ellie Turner is the Fittest Woman in Australia, but she had hoped for more than that this year. After finishing 9^th worldwide at the Open and winning the Torian Pro Semifinal, her eyes were locked on finishing the Games with a bang.

Up to this year, she went to the Games only twice, finishing 26^th in 2021 and 18^th last year. However, she didn’t manage to improve this year again and finished 31^st after withdrawing on Friday night.

Ellie Turner moved from Australia to the United States at the beginning of her CrossFit season and it had an impact on her season.

“That whole ordeal of officially moving from Australia to the US had a bigger impact on me than I thought and then you always have a few little injuries and things like that here and there. They’re little hiccups that make it challenging […] but going back for Torian [CrossFit Semifinal] was challenging in itself picking up once I had moved across.”

The problem for Turner happened during the first workout on Friday morning, the Alpaca Redux. When she had to clean and jerk the kettlebells, on the first few reps, she “felt something in my back.”

“Picked the kettlebells back up and I said ‘hmmm, that’s not good, that’s gonna be really bad’ so it was a war.”

She finished the workout and was happy with it, but soon came the warning. “Started walking back and it just locked up and probably took 20 minutes to walk from North Park to the warm-up area and at this point I didn’t know if I was going to have to withdraw, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to execute the rest of the weekend.”

Turner’s coaches said it was her decision to make, whether to withdraw or not. She wanted to see if withdrawing was really her only option, so she kept on pushing to the next workout. During the Ski-Bag event, she mainly used her legs for the workout to save her back and really felt it before heading to the final event.

“It was an emotional decision and I was emotional going out onto the floor knowing that it was my last event in Madison end of the weekend.”

To see both athletes giving their own explanations in more detail, watch the video below.

2023 CrossFit Games: 4 Things We Liked and 4 Things We Didn’t

The implementation of the new global ranking system played a decisive role in determining the allocation of Games-qualifying slots for each of the Semifinal competitions. The quantity of athletes within the top 100 of the updated ranking system participating in a given Semifinal directly influenced the probability of that specific event receiving an additional invitation to the CrossFit Games.

OPINION: CrossFit’s New Worldwide Ranking Has Potential, But Is Problematic

It’s noteworthy that CrossFit had previously revised the rankings subsequent to the Quarterfinals and Semifinals stages.

How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 CrossFit Games

Worldwide Ranking System Updated After the 2023 CrossFit Games

Men

In the men’s division, there was a lot of movement in the top 10 following the 2023 CrossFit Games. Adler won the Games and he also jumped from 5^th to 1^st in the worldwide ranking system.

Although Vellner was finished on the podium, he fell two positions to 4^th compared to post-Semifinals numbers. Dallin Pepper shot to 8^th placement after finishing 5^th at the Games.

In the men’s division, the most improved was newcomer Michal Wesolowski who climbed up 81 places to finish 294^th at the worldwide ranking system. He finished 36^th at the Games, 10^th at the Semifinals and 33^rd at Quarterfinals in Europe.

Check out the top 100 men worldwide here.

Women

In the women’s division, Laura Horvath maintained the top position after winning the CrossFit Games.

Amanda Barnhart, Emma McQuaid and Brooke Wells fell off the top 10 women worldwide, giving space for Alex Gazan, Katrin Davidsdottir and Paige Powers.

Kelly Baker was the most improved athlete across the entire updated worldwide ranking system. She moved up 133 positions to be ranked 147^th overall. This was the first time the American athlete competed at the Games as an individual, finishing 21^st overall on the leaderboard. At Semifinals she finished 10^th and at Quarterfinals 23^rd worldwide.

Check out the top 100 women worldwide here.

You can see the entire ranking system updated in this link.

2023 CrossFit Games: 4 Things We Liked and 4 We Didn’t

If you missed out on the action, you can either rewatch the Livestreams of each day from the CrossFit Games, or simply see all the recaps BOXROX wrote about each day and division.

The 2023 CrossFit Games took place during the first week of August and ran from Tuesday to Sunday.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters), adaptive athletes, and elite athletes in a team or competing individually put their fitness to the ultimate test.

Although it is a sports event, not everything happened smoothly and some things were rather disappointing. However, other moments will probably go down in history!

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

2023 CrossFit Games: 4 Things We Didn’t Like

1. Livestream Coverage

If you only watched the elite athletes competing, chances are you wouldn’t have much to complain about. However, the vast majority of athletes didn’t get their moment to shine, even in CrossFit’s official broadcast.

Any Livestream targeted at masters, teens or adaptive athletes was a complete disappointment. Although CrossFit announced it would showcase these divisions competing, little did we know it was going to be a stationary camera, with no commentary, far away from the field of competition.

Honestly, the photo from above is what you got to see the entire first and second day of the 2023 CrossFit Games.

Since adaptive divisions were introduced to the Sport, people have been asking for more visibility. This year, adaptives, teens and masters didn’t get to showcase their fitness. In the comments section, many talked about the lack of respect that CrossFit Inc. showed towards these athletes.

CrossFit CEO Don Faul Addresses Livestream Coverage

2. Which Ceremony Awards?

Speaking of disrespect towards those athletes that didn’t get coverage during the Livestreams, the ceremony awards for those divisions also wasn’t broadcasted.

To make matters worse, according to Fittest Dwarf on Earth Mike Witous, the ceremony left a “bad taste” in his mouth.

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That is because he felt like he was a “misfit toy” who didn’t receive the same shirt as the rest of the podium finishers from the elite and team divisions. “They knew we would be there over a month ago, and didn’t prepare,” he wrote. “We were handed generic NOBULL shirts, and pushed off to the side behind a black curtain.”

Mike said his wife and son stayed up at home to watch him receive the medal, but never managed to as there was not a single second of the broadcast of this moment.

From other photos of the podium, only the athletes who competed in Madison got the “correct” jersey – athletes from the upper, lower and multi-extremity division, masters and teens got the Fittest on Earth shirt.

3. 5K Run?

The 5K cross-country run was supposed to be a straightforward event with athletes running five kilometres (around 3.1 miles) in a somewhat plain terrain. The athletes did run it, but once their finish times were finalised, a lot of people began questioning whether it truly was 5 kilometres or less.

Jelle Hoste finished the event in 16 minutes and 39 seconds with Jeff Adler right on his heels crossing the line at 16 minutes and 46 seconds. In the women’s division, the top 2 finishers were Emily Rolfe with 17 minutes and 48 seconds and Katrin Davidsdottir with 18’20’’.

If you don’t know much about running events or CrossFit athletes, is that these timings are very close to some of the most impressive runners in the world. Hoste’s pace was 5 minutes and 21 seconds per mile (3’19’’ per kilometre) during the entire event!

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

According to the Marathon Handbook, an elite male athlete between the ages 20-30 would average running 5 kilometres in 17 minutes and 40 seconds – in fact, during the CrossFit Games event, the first 11^th male athletes finished ahead of that – and remember that these are CrossFit athletes, they did not train to become the fastest runners in the world, but rather to be more well-rounded.

Taking the same website into consideration, the average for a female elite runner between the ages of 20-30 would be 20 minutes and 47 seconds. Again, Emily Rolfe was 3 entire minutes faster than that and the following 25 athletes (almost everyone who participated) were also faster than that in the event.

So what is the conclusion? That the 5 kilometre cross-country race was not in fact 5 kilometres, but rather much smaller. But how small we couldn’t be able to conclude. Until Fabian Beneito, one of the elite CrossFit men who ran the cross-country race shared a photo of what his smartwatch showed.

If the race was in fact 4.5 kilometres, it would explain those numbers from CrossFit athletes.

4. Show Us The Leaderboard

Since the CrossFit Games became a sensational event, there are always ways to better introduce it to people who don’t know anything about the Sport at all. And one of those things is to show the leaderboard more often on the screen.

While it was great to know the Games was going to be broadcasted on ESPN, reaching thousands of people, at the same time it would have been nice to try to include those people into what was at stake.

Showing the leaderboard more often and how it changed from event to event could indicate the sense of “everything is at stake here” for the events. Truth is, we hardly would see the name of athletes who are in the middle of the table or at the bottom, so why should a regular person care about it if they don’t know who’s competing and what is on the line?

2023 CrossFit Games: 4 Things We Liked

1. Mooove along!

Although the coverage of the 5k cross-country race was also not the best (we hardly saw the female athletes running just because they were behind the men ahead) it was nice to see a couple of non-athletes bringing joy and having fun with it.

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People dressed as cows were cheering on athletes as they ran past and it got a few smiles in return.

2. Resilience from Kelly Baker

We know there were going to be two cut phases at the CrossFit Games this year – one after Friday night and one after Saturday evening.

Kelly Baker was 31^st came Friday evening and would be the first one to be cut. As she recalled, she slacked off and had a beer and burger that same night. The following morning, news broke that Ellie Turner (who was among the top 30) had to withdraw from competition due to medical reasons, which meant Kelly Baker was back in business.

Watch the video to see what she said about it.

She competed the following day and almost finished ahead of the second cut line. She was 21^st and the top 20 would move on. Although Jammie Simmonds withdrew from competition on Sunday, it was too late for Kelly Baker to backfill that position once again, but it showed how much grit you need to be a CrossFit athlete and, honestly, that they are just like us when it comes to cheat meals.

3. Khrennikov: the Beast from the East

That Roman Khrennikov is an incredible athlete, nobody had any doubts. But the 2023 CrossFit Games took things to a whole new level. He was wearing the leader jersey for most of the events. But on the workout that saw Adler pass him, he landed wrong on his foot and ended up with a terrible injury.

He reportedly was walking with crutches and even used a wheelchair to go from one place to the next. However, that didn’t stop him from competing. No sir.

The following event had heavy rope double-unders and the Russian athlete managed to get many reps jumping on a single leg. Mind you, he didn’t have to do any of the workouts, but he wanted to prove to himself and his son what kind of person he is.

“I want to be a hero for my son and have him see me fight to the end,” he said.

Well, he became the hero of more than just his son that evening, we are sure of it.

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4. No Barbie for Laura Horvath

After concluding the CrossFit Games and becoming the Fittest Woman on Earth for the first time in her career, Laura Horvath was asked about being a role model to thousands of women and girls across the world.

“I’m just very happy that me and my body can do this. And I’m not looking at the Barbie new movie, ‘Oh I want to look like that’. I want to look like I look like. And I just want to prove that my body, whatever it looks like, can do these amazing things.”

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What were your favourite moments of the 2023 CrossFit Games?

How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 CrossFit Games

If you missed out on the action, you can see the recap for individuals on the last day of the CrossFit Games here.

As previously reported by BOXROX, the cash prize for this year’s CrossFit Games increased from U$ 2.845 million to 2.945 million. Although there was an increase overall, only athletes placed 1^st through 9^th saw any change compared to last year’s.

How Much Money Did Athletes Earn at the 2023 CrossFit Games

From 1^st to 40^th place in the individual divisions, athletes will receive a fixed amount of cash. However, The top 3 athletes in any given event would also receive an increment to their final prize purse:

1. $3,000
2. $2,000
3. $1,000

Below is how much money each athlete earned after the 2023 CrossFit Games.

Men

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Women

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Teams

In the team’s division, there wasn’t any additional cash prize allocated per event. Only the overall placement would dictate how much money each team would earn at the 2023 CrossFit Games.

1. CrossFit Invictus – $100,000
2. CrossFit Eash Nashville PRVN – $75,000
3. CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue – $45,000
4. CrossFit Move Fast Lift Heavy – $30,000
5. No Shortcuts CrossFit – $25,000
6. CrossFit Walleye Athlete – $15,000
7. CrossFit Mayhem Independence – $12,000
8. CrossFit OBA – $9,000
9. CrossFit Omnia – $6,000
10. CrossFit Prestanda – $3,000

Masters

Masters athletes will receive the same payout as last year’s.

Masters 35-39:

1^st place – $25,000

2^nd place – $10,000

3^rd place – $5,000

Masters 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64:

1^st place – $10,000

2^nd place – $5,000

3^rd place – $3,000

Masters 65+

1^st place – $5,000

2^nd place – $3,000

3^rd place – $2,000

Total for all men’s and women’s Masters divisions: $280,000.

Adaptive

Podium finishers of all adaptive divisions will earn the same amount of money.

Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, Neuromuscular, Vision, Intellectual, Seated Without Hip Function, Seated With Hip Function, Short Stature

1^st – $5,000

2^nd – $3,000

3^rd – $2,000

Total for men’s and women’s adaptive divisions: $160,000.

Adaptive and Age Group Athletes Crowned Fittest On Earth at the 2023 CrossFit Games

Fifth time is the charm, huh? Jeffrey Adler has been to the CrossFit Games 5 times, but never managed to get on the podium. And the first time he does, it is on top of it.

Adler had an almost flawless 2023 CrossFit season. The Canadian athlete started the year perfectly by winning the Open alongside Mal O’Brien. He finished 5^th worldwide during the Quarterfinals, but came out on top at the North America East Semifinal.

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Jeff Adler is 2023 Fittest Man on Earth

During the CrossFit Games, Adler was as low as 13^th after the first day of competition. From that moment on, he only gain momentum and followed up on leader Roman Khrennikov closely until he took over after the first event on Sunday.

Adler won 2 events at the CrossFit Games this year and took 2nd in two other events.

Here are some of Jeff Adler’s CrossFit numbers prior to 2023:

• 2022 CrossFit Games placement: 5^th
• Best CrossFit Games placement: 5^th (2020, 2022)
• CrossFit Games appearances: 4
• Worldwide Ranking System placement: 6^th
• Best CrossFit Open placement: 1^st (2021, 2023)

If you missed out on the action, you can watch all the videos of the Livestream of the 2023 CrossFit Games in this link.

What is CrossFit?

Source: Bastien Plu / Unsplash

“CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance.

The program works for everyone — people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years.”

What are CrossFit Workouts?

“The magic is in the movement. CrossFit workouts are different every day and can be modified to help each athlete achieve their goals. The workouts may be adapted for people at any age and level of fitness.”

What is the CrossFit Community?

“Your support network. At thousands of affiliates around the world, people encourage and motivate each other in every class as they work toward their goals. Start training with friends. Make new friends. The fun is in the community.”

Is CrossFit for me?

“Yes. Everyone can do CrossFit regardless of age, injuries and current fitness levels. The program is modified for each person to help him or her safely become healthier and fitter. Grandparents and Olympians can perform modified versions of the same general workout.”

Source: Instagram

Do I need to be in shape to start CrossFit?

“No. CrossFit is the program that will get you in shape. No matter what your current fitness level is, you can start CrossFit.

As you become fitter, workouts will become more challenging. Every workout is designed to help you succeed, improve fitness and move you toward your goals.”

Is CrossFit safe?

“Yes. CrossFit training is very safe, and sitting on your couch is actually incredibly dangerous.

In CrossFit boxes, credentialed trainers provide precise instructions and coaching to help people move safely and efficiently, helping people avoid all the diseases that come from inactivity, obesity and poor nutrition.”

What about Nutrition?

“To accomplish your goals faster, we recommend you eat a variety of healthy foods in quantities that support fitness training but not body fat.

By avoiding excessive amounts of refined carbohydrates and measuring your intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat, you will see dramatic, measurable increases in health.”

How will CrossFit affect my health?

“CrossFit LLC holds a uniquely elegant solution to the greatest problem facing the world today: chronic disease.

The CrossFit program—constantly varied high-intensity functional movement coupled with meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar—can give you a pass on chronic disease.

If you are not sick, know that fitness provides a great margin of protection against the ravages of time and disease. Fitness is and should be “super-wellness.” To improve or preserve your health, do CrossFit.”

How will I get fitter with CrossFit?

“CrossFit improves general physical preparedness (GPP). We have designed our program to elicit as broad an adaptational response as possible.

CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of 10 fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.

CrossFit was developed to enhance an individual’s competency at all physical tasks. People who do CrossFit are prepared for all challenges, whether they come in the gym, on a playing field or as part of daily life.”

Where can I do CrossFit?

“You can use CrossFit.com resources to do CrossFit anywhere—even with minimal equipment. To work with a credentialed coach in a dedicated, fully equipped facility, find a local CrossFit affiliate.”

Where can I find CrossFit workouts?

“A workout of the day—WOD—can be found here. Each day’s workout post is accompanied by carefully selected resources and reference materials that will help you become healthier and fitter.”

What if I can’t use the recommended weight or perform the programmed movements in the WOD?

“Use a weight that’s manageable for you or use a percentage of the weight prescribed. Replace movements you can’t do with those you can. For more information on scaling and modifying workouts, review the “CrossFit Level 1 Training Guide.”

The CrossFit Journal also contains resources to help you scale the workout to your level.”

Is the WOD enough? Should I do more?

“The WOD is a starting point, and each person will need to experiment to determine what “enough” means. Experienced athletes with specific competition goals might need additional work to improve their fitness, while beginners might need to reduce the volume of the WOD to optimize results.

The exact amount of work can be determined with the assistance of an expert coach at a CrossFit affiliate or by carefully logging your workouts and evaluating the results.

The demands of sport and active living will affect what you can do in each WOD, and you will need to balance your work/rest cycles to allow for recovery.”

The Rise of the CrossFit Games – a Chronological Account of its History

HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 CROSSFIT GAMES LIVESTREAM

If you have tuned in to watch the CrossFit Games the past two days, you probably thought something was off – or at least wrong. CrossFit has simply put a stationary camera in the North Park or inside the coliseum and that was it. No deeper commentary, no change of angles, no focus on any athlete.

Clearly, people were disappointed with the coverage and called out CrossFit to do better. On Wednesday evening, Don Faul addressed the issue. Sort of.

According to him, CrossFit had to make a tough decision. “Sometimes we got to make tough calls. We’d love to be able to do everything, pragmatically that is not possible,” he said, exemplifying that one of those decisions was live streaming adaptive and masters.

CrossFit Games Livestream Coverage and Appearing on ESPN

Faul said his goal within CrossFit is to get the Sport to as many people as possible to change their lives through fitness. Although we weren’t able to watch up close Masters and adaptive athletes the on Tuesday and Wednesday, the CEO said the CrossFit Games will be back on the ESPN channel.

“Starting tomorrow (Thursday), CrossFit Games is back on ESPN.”

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The schedules and how to watch at ESPN and its different platforms (ESPN+ and ESPN2) vary if you are in the United States and/or if you want to watch it online. For all the details, click here.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

You can see the workouts revealed for individuals in this link.

5 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing
• Jason Smith – currently appealing

CrossFit Introduces 2 Cutting Phases at the Games for Individuals and Teams

HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 CROSSFIT GAMES LIVESTREAM

There are a total of 40 women and 39 men competing for the title of Fittest on Earth (Jason Smith has failed a drug test and second-placed didn’t accept the backfill due to an injury).

Many prominent names will not be making it to Madison this year to prove themselves in the head-to-head battle for the title of Fittest on Earth. Most notoriously is the current 6x Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey who had a baby this year, Mallory O’Brien, and Ricky Garard.

Full List of Athletes Invited to the CrossFit Games

Source: BOXROX

With that in mind, let’s see what the editors of BOXROX predicted for this year’s individuals at the CrossFit Games.

Robbie Wild Hudson (Editor-in-chief)

“In the Female Individual division, I am backing Hungarian athlete Laura Horvath. I also think Polish athlete Gabriela Migala will place highly as she excels across the board. Emma Lawson was hugely impressive last year so I believe she will place top 5 in Madison this week, alongside Danielle Brandon and Amanda Barnhart.”

1. Laura Horvath
2. Danielle Brandon
3. Gabriela Migala
4. Emma Lawson
5. Amanda Barnhart

“Khrennikov has been able to train consistently in the USA, compete in the USA and build on his excellent performance from the 2022 CrossFit Games. This could give him the boost he needs to secure first place. However, Medeiros is a true champion, and I think there will be an epic showdown for first place.”

“In my heart, I would love to see Pat Vellner take the top spot, as he is such a consistent legend within the sport of fitness. I’ve rounded out my choices with a duo of Canadians, both highly experienced at performing at the highest level on the planet.”

1. Roman Khrennikov
2. Justin Medeiros
3. Pat Vellner
4. Jeffrey Addler
5. Brent Fikowski

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Robert Born (Senior editor)

“I believe that Laura Horvath is unmatched this year and is finally up there to get her first title after finishing 3^rd and 2^nd in the past two years. Annie Thorisdottir is another famous athlete who might surprise (or not) many people this year – she went team last year and didn’t get the result she wanted, so she has the willpower to show she is a true contender for the title this year.”

“Emma Lawson got to wear the leader jersey last year, but I feel like mentally she didn’t do as well as she could. This year she has her boyfriend competing next to her and this might just be the key ingredient to get her to loosen up and finish in the top 3 overall. Gabriela Migala is also another name that is always thereabouts in the top 5 and I believe she is one of the best well-rounded athletes to compete in the women’s division. Arielle Loewen is one of the sneakiest dark horses one can expect and I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets to be in the top 5.”

1. Laura Horvath
2. Annie Thorisdottir
3. Emma Lawson
4. Gabriela Migala
5. Arielle Loewen

“Justin Medeiros is another well-rounded athlete that always surprises me with how amazing he is. He is not the best at anything, but he is usually top 5 in most events, which could secure him the top spot again. But, like Robbie, my heart is with Pat Vellner and I fully believe he has the credentials to take it home this year.”

“Roman Khrennikov and Medeiros could be the next big showdown that CrossFit lovers will see for the foreseeable future. Without all the pressure from travelling to Asia, competing, and Visa issues, he is grounded to make the best possible and could even take the win.”

“Lazar Dukic and Samuel Kwant are two names that can’t simply be overlooked. Dukic improved since 2021 when he first went to the Games and has all the tools to be in the top 5. Kwant was once a name everyone talked about in their top 5 list, took one year off due to an injury and everyone wrote him off – how did he respond? With a 4^th place finish in last year’s Games, so this time I am putting him down as 5^th overall.”

1. Pat Vellner
2. Roman Khrennikov
3. Justin Medeiros
4. Lazar Dukic
5. Samuel Kwant

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race
• Pig chipper

UPDATED: 5 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing
• Jason Smith – currently appealing

CrossFit Introduces 2 Cutting Phases at the Games for Individuals and Teams

This article includes the Livestream, times, dates and full details from your time zone.

The 2023 CrossFit Games will bring together more than 300 athletes across 27 different divisions as they compete for the title of “Fittest on Earth” in Madison, Wisconsin, USA for the last time.

There will be 40 men and 40 women competing as individuals and 38 teams competing in the Rx’d divisions.

Other divisions include masters (35+ years), teens (14-17), and adaptive athletes (upper extremity, lower extremity, multi-extremity).

See below everything you need to know about the 2023 CrossFit Games.

How to Watch the 2023 CrossFit Games

Livestreams: The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games will be streamed live on Games.CrossFit.com and in the CrossFit Games app. 

Live updates will be posted on games.crossfit.com.

CrossFit is yet to release more information about how to watch the 2023 CrossFit Games.

LIVESTREAM – How to Watch the 2023 CrossFit Games

Below will be uploaded the livestreams so that you can watch each day correctly.

At the time of writing, CrossFit Inc. still hasn’t released any of the links for the live videos of the 2023 CrossFit Games.

The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games will be streamed live on Games.CrossFit.com and in the CrossFit Games app and on their YouTube Channel.

Day 1 (Tuesday) – Age Group + Adaptive

Day 2 (Wednesday) – Age Group + Adaptive

In Coliseum:

Day 3 (Thursday) – Age Group + Adaptive

Second part:

Day 1 (Thursday) – Individuals + Teams

Part 2:

Day 2 (Friday) – Individuals + Teams

Part 2:

Day 3 (Saturday) – Individuals + Teams

Part 2:

Part 3:

Day 4 (Sunday) – Individuals + Teams

Final Event:

When to Watch the 2023 CrossFit Games from Your Location

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

According to the official schedule, age group and adaptive athletes will start the competition on Tuesday (August 1^st) at 9 am CT time (all following times are in the CT time zone).

Accordingly, this is when the 2023 CrossFit Games will begin in these other cities:

• Rio de Janeiro – 11:00
• London, Lisbon – 15:00
• Berlin, Paris – 16:00
• Moscow – 17:00
• Dubai – 18:00
• Mumbai – 19:30
• Singapore – 22:00
• Beijing – 22:00
• Tokyo – 23:00
• Sydney – 00:00
• Auckland – 02:00

Cut Phases of the 2023 CrossFit Games

CrossFit announced two cutting phases for individuals and teams.

The start of both individual and team competitions is set for Thursday, August 3rd, featuring 40 male participants, 40 female participants, and 38 teams vying for victory. However, by the conclusion of Friday evening, the competition will have narrowed down to the elite group of the top 30 teams, as well as the top 30 male and female individuals.

Subsequently, as Saturday draws to a close, the field will be further reduced, leaving only the crème de la crème of 20 teams, along with the top 20 male and female contenders, who will continue to battle it out on Sunday.

The cuts this year are similar to the ones we’ve seen back in 2021 where Dave Castro announced two rounds of cuts for individuals, reducing the playing field to 20 athletes.

Last year, CrossFit announced a single cut of individuals and teams competing after the last event on Saturday night. At that time, individuals were cut down to 30 while teams were reduced to 20 participants.

Who Are The Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

Schedules of Events at the 2023 CrossFit Games

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What are the Dates of the 2023 CrossFit Games?

The dates of the 2023 CrossFit Games are August 1-6.

What Athlete Divisions will Participate at the CrossFit Games 2023?

The following athlete divisions will compete at the 2023 CrossFit Games:

• Adaptive – upper extremity, lower extremity, multi-extremity
• Teenagers – 14-17 years old
• Masters – 35+ years old
• Individuals – elite individual athletes
• Teams

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race
• Pig chipper

At the time of writing, 4 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

What is CrossFit?

Source: Bastien Plu / Unsplash

“CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance.

The program works for everyone — people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years.”

What are CrossFit Workouts?

“The magic is in the movement. CrossFit workouts are different every day and can be modified to help each athlete achieve their goals. The workouts may be adapted for people at any age and level of fitness.”

What is the CrossFit Community?

“Your support network. At thousands of affiliates around the world, people encourage and motivate each other in every class as they work toward their goals. Start training with friends. Make new friends. The fun is in the community.”

Is CrossFit for me?

“Yes. Everyone can do CrossFit regardless of age, injuries and current fitness levels. The program is modified for each person to help him or her safely become healthier and fitter. Grandparents and Olympians can perform modified versions of the same general workout.”

Source: Instagram

Do I need to be in shape to start CrossFit?

“No. CrossFit is the program that will get you in shape. No matter what your current fitness level is, you can start CrossFit.

As you become fitter, workouts will become more challenging. Every workout is designed to help you succeed, improve fitness and move you toward your goals.”

Is CrossFit safe?

“Yes. CrossFit training is very safe, and sitting on your couch is actually incredibly dangerous.

In CrossFit boxes, credentialed trainers provide precise instructions and coaching to help people move safely and efficiently, helping people avoid all the diseases that come from inactivity, obesity and poor nutrition.”

What about Nutrition?

“To accomplish your goals faster, we recommend you eat a variety of healthy foods in quantities that support fitness training but not body fat.

By avoiding excessive amounts of refined carbohydrates and measuring your intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat, you will see dramatic, measurable increases in health.”

How will CrossFit affect my health?

“CrossFit LLC holds a uniquely elegant solution to the greatest problem facing the world today: chronic disease.

The CrossFit program—constantly varied high-intensity functional movement coupled with meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar—can give you a pass on chronic disease.

If you are not sick, know that fitness provides a great margin of protection against the ravages of time and disease. Fitness is and should be “super-wellness.” To improve or preserve your health, do CrossFit.”

How will I get fitter with CrossFit?

“CrossFit improves general physical preparedness (GPP). We have designed our program to elicit as broad an adaptational response as possible.

CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of 10 fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.

CrossFit was developed to enhance an individual’s competency at all physical tasks. People who do CrossFit are prepared for all challenges, whether they come in the gym, on a playing field or as part of daily life.”

Where can I do CrossFit?

“You can use CrossFit.com resources to do CrossFit anywhere—even with minimal equipment. To work with a credentialed coach in a dedicated, fully equipped facility, find a local CrossFit affiliate.”

Where can I find CrossFit workouts?

“A workout of the day—WOD—can be found here. Each day’s workout post is accompanied by carefully selected resources and reference materials that will help you become healthier and fitter.”

What if I can’t use the recommended weight or perform the programmed movements in the WOD?

“Use a weight that’s manageable for you or use a percentage of the weight prescribed. Replace movements you can’t do with those you can. For more information on scaling and modifying workouts, review the “CrossFit Level 1 Training Guide.”

The CrossFit Journal also contains resources to help you scale the workout to your level.”

Is the WOD enough? Should I do more?

“The WOD is a starting point, and each person will need to experiment to determine what “enough” means. Experienced athletes with specific competition goals might need additional work to improve their fitness, while beginners might need to reduce the volume of the WOD to optimize results.

The exact amount of work can be determined with the assistance of an expert coach at a CrossFit affiliate or by carefully logging your workouts and evaluating the results.

The demands of sport and active living will affect what you can do in each WOD, and you will need to balance your work/rest cycles to allow for recovery.”

The Rise of the CrossFit Games – a Chronological Account of its History

How to Watch the 2023 CrossFit Games Livestream

The announcement from CrossFit came out just days before Individuals would step on the competition floor to test their fitness in Madison. According to the press release, Jason Smith’s sample provided after the 2023 Africa Semifinal contained “exogenous 5a-androstane-3a,17b-diol (5aAdiol) and 5b-androstane-3a,17b-diol (5bAdiol).” Smith is appealing the process.

>Smith is provisionally suspended pending the outcome of his appeal and will not be allowed to compete at the 2023 CrossFit Games, the document stated.

An automatic invitation was sent out to 2^nd place finisher from the Rebel Renegades Games in Africa, Conrad Winnertz. However, the athlete from South Africa declined the invitation due to an injury. This leads us to believe that nobody will backfill the position reserved for the Fittest in Africain the men’s division, although at the official leaderboard for the 2023 CrossFit Games, Jason Smith is still there.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Jason Smith’s Response to Being Suspended Due to Contaminated Sample

Jason Smith has been in the Sport since 2011. Although he is in the 35-39 Masters division, he chose to compete with the elite for the past few years. He has been to the Games on 3 different occasions: 2017, 2019, and 2021. His best placement was in 2017 when he finished 10^th.

On his Instagram, Smith shed some light on his feelings after receiving the news he wouldn’t be able to compete at this year’s CrossFit Games.

”Completely shattered. Speechless and have so many questions,” he wrote.

Below you will find his full statement.

Completely shattered. Speechless and have so many questions.

I have been living in a nightmare the past week after receiving an email from CrossFit to say I’ve failed a drug test almost 2 months after Semi finals, and will be not be competing at the CrossFit Games.

For anyone who knows me, knows how against using Performance Enhancers I am to gain any advantage in sport or CrossFit.

I have competed in CrossFit for 14 years, I own 2 CrossFit gyms, and have only encouraged health and fitness through CrossFit training.

There is no reason for me to do this, or current explanation of how this has happened. I am getting legal and medical advice and will be appealing the decision by CrossFit.

This is not an apology nor am I seeking sympathy. I do however appreciate those who support me during this time as this is something I’ve never imagined to have happened or deal with, but I will get to the bottom of this!

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2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race
• Pig chipper

At the time of writing, 5 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing
• Jason Smith – currently appealing

Who Are The Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

CrossFit Introduces 2 Cutting Phases at the Games for Individuals and Teams

Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 CROSSFIT GAMES LIVESTREAM

If you are a fan of the CrossFit Games because they get to try new workouts that are simply not usual at your local Box, you are in for a treat. Event 2 for individuals at the Games has just been revealed 4 days before the beginning of the competition.

Pig Chipper: Individual Event 2

Here is the workout 2 for individuals at the 2023 CrossFit Games.

For time:

• 10 pig flips
• 25 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 50 toes-to-bar
• 100 wall ball shots
• 50 toes-to-bar
• 25 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 10 pig flips

Time cap: 18 minutes.

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We saw the pig flip making an appearance last year at the workout named The Capitol.

That workout consisted of 20 pig flips, 3.5-mile run, 200-metre Jerry bag carry and a 200-metre Husafell carry.

The winners of that particular workout were Ricky Garard and Gabriela Migala. Sadly, a shoulder injury prevented Garard to compete at Semifinals, ending his official 2023 CrossFit season earlier than expected.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race
• Pig chipper

At the time of writing, 4 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing

Who Are The Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

CrossFit Introduces 2 Cutting Phases at the Games for Individuals and Teams

Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

Information about the event that will include the mountain bike race is still scarce. However, we know individuals and teams will be jumping on a Trek Marlin 8 Mountain Bike at some point during the 2023 CrossFit Games. You can see the bike in the photo below.

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Lovers of the Sport will remember that last year we saw athletes taking the mountain bike for a run as well. It was the very first event of the 2022 CrossFit Games and it was incredibly messy, to say the least.

The first workout of the 2022 CrossFit was titled “Bike to Work.”

For time:

• 75 toes-to-bars
• 5-mile bike
• 75 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 5-mile bike

At the end of the event, a number of athletes counted their mountain bike laps wrong doing either one less than expected, or one more. Ricky Garard and Haley Adams won the event – both athletes are not competing this year.

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Let’s hope this year there isn’t such a big mess regarding the bike event in Madison.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race

At the time of writing, 4 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

On Saturday, likely inside the Coliseum, individual athletes will have to show their strength in Test 9.

For load:

• 1 rep-max snatch
• 1 rep-max clean & jerk

All other divisions (adaptive, age group and teams) will compete in a different version of the workout.

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What to Expect?

We haven’t had a 1-rep-max snatch coupled with a 1-rep-max clean & jerk at the Games yet. We did see athletes performing 1-rep-max snatch in 2021 where Gui Malheiros became the overnight sensation after lifting 305 pounds with ease.

On the women’s side, Tia-Clair Toomey and Annie Thorisdottir went head-to-head and both made a 200-pound snatch to then go to tiebreak after failing the following lift.

It is incredible that then-15-year-old Olivia Kerstetter had the biggest lift of all women: 202 pounds. Kerstetter is competing for the first time as an individual athlete at the Games this year and could win the event.

Who Are All Individual Athletes Competing at the Games for the 1^st Time in Their Career?

In the 2015 CrossFit Games, we saw athletes performing a 1-rep-max clean & jerk. The results were as follows.

Men:

1. Aaron Hanna – 350 pounds
2. Nicholas Urankar and Ben Smith – 347 pounds
3. Mat Fraser – 342 pounds

Women:

1. Brooke Ence – 242 pounds
2. Lindsey  Valenzuela – 240 pounds
3. Brooke Wells and Emily Abbott – 232 pounds

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run

At the time of writing, 4 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

This is the second time organisation has announced news about the events that will take place during the 2023 CrossFit Games. Earlier this week, HQ announced a version of the workout Helen will be featured for everyone except teams.

Running is often considered a good test of overall athleticism because it involves several key components of physical fitness and performance as it challenges people’s cardiovascular and muscular endurance, strength and speed.

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Chris Hinshaw is a former All-American swimmer and an experienced professional triathlete with top international finishes including a 2nd place overall finish at the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships, 2-time member of Team USA at the Hawaiian Ironman, 2nd place overall finish at the Ironman World Championships in Canada, and a 1st place overall finish at Ironman Brazil.

He wrote that a 5 kilometre distance is the “true test of overall athletic fitness.”

“It requires a unique combination of physiological factors such as aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, running economy, and psychological factors like motivation and perceived exertion.”

How to Build a Bigger Engine for CrossFit with Chris Hinshaw

It is likely that the 5k run will be the entire workout, without anything added to it. Last year, during the Games, we saw one of the most iconic events including a long run: the Capitol.

That time, the event consisted of pig flips, 3.5-mile run, 200-metre Jerry bag carry and a 200-metre Husafell carry finishing at the stairs of the Capitol, a landmark in Madison, Wisconsin.

Lower-extremity athletes will go through a 5-kilometre SkiErg instead of the run.

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

At the time of writing, three athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

Ant Haynes will make his second stint at the CrossFit Games in his career. The fittest man in China has posted online his official invite – the news came on the day of his birthday.

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Haynes finished 3^rd at the Asia CrossFit Semifinal (Far East Throwdown) despite only the top 2 individual athletes receiving an automatic official invitation to compete at the 2023 CrossFit Games.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Although speculation was high regarding an athlete being disqualified due to failing a drug test, Haynes quickly put those questions to rest when he shared the e-mail he received from CrossFit Inc revealing that “an athlete from your region had to withdraw because of visa issues.”

Ant Haynes Takes Morteza Sedaghat’s Place?

At the time of writing, the official CrossFit leaderboard shows 41 athletes, although only 40 athletes will compete. As of this moment, all top 3 athletes from the Asian Semifinal are touted to compete: Arthur Semenov (1^st place), Morteza Sedaghat (2^nd place) and Ant Haynes (3^rd place).

Although not official yet, it is highly likely that it was Morteza Sedaghat that is facing Visa issues to travel to the United States to compete at the CrossFit Games. If confirmed, the fittest man in Iranian since 2020 will miss his first chance to compete at the highest level of the Sport.

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Why could it not be Arthur Semenov? The Russian athlete made it to the Games for the first time last year and according to his recent Instagram posts, he is currently training in Utah for the Games, so he is already on American soil and probably had no problems with Visa.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

At the time of writing, three athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

If you are unfamiliar with it, here is what the workout Helen is:

3 rounds for time of:

• 400-metre run
• 21 kettlebell swings (1.5/1 pood, 24/16 kg)
• 12 pull-ups

This is the first clue of any 2023 CrossFit Games workout so far with exactly 2 weeks for the kickstart of the events in Madison.

Variation of WOD Helen to Be Featured at 2023 CrossFit Games

According to the announcement made by CrossFit, the workout will not be a copy of the famous workout Helen.

“All individual, age-group, and adaptive athletes will do a version of the benchmark workout Helen at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games,” the press release stated.

We have previously seen a variation of Helen in 2010 where individual athletes had to do the pyramid double Helen and shoulder-to-overhead.

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

At the time of writing, three athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

This was the first time Williams was competing in a team. In 2022 and 2021, he competed as an individual and finished 11^th and 14^th at Semifinals, respectively.

According to an official statement from CrossFit HQ, Williams received a sanction of 4 years after being found in violation of the Drug Testing Policy. His sample contained Clomiphene, which can stimulate the production of testosterone in males, which can lead to increased muscle mass, strength, and endurance. It can also be used to counteract the side effects of anabolic steroid use or to restore natural testosterone production after a steroid cycle. Athletes may misuse clomiphene to enhance their athletic performance or to mask the use of other banned substances.

Source: Photo by Kelly-Jane Trindade

According to the Barbell Spin, Trent Williams admitted he took Clomiphene back in January and did not realise that it could still be in his system months later.

Trent Williams is the 3^rd Athlete Who Failed a Drug Test After Semifinals in 2023

Trent Williams is now the third athlete who officially failed a drug test following in-person tests after Semifinals in the 2023 season.

Angelique Connoway, a team member who finished 1^st at the same African Semifinal, tested positive for metabolites of GW1516 and has received a 4-year ban sanction. At first, she wasn’t named, but then withdrew her appeal due to being too expensive to go on. Cape CrossFit Wolfpack finished 2^nd at the Semifinals with 555 points and received the backfill invitation.

Alyssa Wilhelm, a member of the 12^th-place finishing team CrossFit 8035 at the North America West Semifinal also provided a sample with banned substances: Ostarine and metabolites of GW1516. The case is currently in appeal, CrossFit revealed.

Read More: 2023 CrossFit Games Introduces Two Cutting Phases for Individuals and Teams

Wodapalooza has, for the past 12 years, become a recurring CrossFit competition that brings many of the most famous athletes in a head-to-head competition in Miami at the beginning of the year, unofficially kickstarting the CrossFit season.

Now, the same people behind the Miami tournament have come up with another competition, promising to bring the same vibes from its counterpart: it’s called TYR Wodapalooza SoCal.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

TYR Wodapalooza SoCal: the New CrossFit Tournament in California

“Introducing TYR WZA SoCal, our newest home to a second annual Wodapalooza Fitness Festival.” That is how the organisers of the event broke the news yesterday on their official Instagram profile.

• When: September 20-22, 2024
• Where: Huntington Beach, California

According to their official page, the TYR Wodapalooza SoCal will have “multiple stages with 1,000 competing athletes from around the world, brand activations and fitness lifestyle experiences, including educational seminars and workshops.”

This is similar to the already famous Wodapalooza in Miami where athletes from around the world compete in a weekend of fun and extravaganza.

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Not all relevant information has been released yet. For example, it is still unclear how participants can register for the competition, how they will qualify for the later stages and how Miami and SoCal editions will be connected.

Earlier this year, the winners of Wodapalooza Miami were Paige Powers and Ricky Garard in the individual divisions. For the team’s divisions, the champions were Canadian PB&J and Team BPN.

2023 Miami Wodapalooza Winners

We previously explained that individuals and teams competing at the CrossFit Games this year will go through two cutting phases (the field will be reduced on Saturday morning and Sunday morning). And now we know exactly how the scoring system is going to work before and after said cuts.

Who Are The Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

Scoring Tables for the 2023 CrossFit Games

As in previous years, each event winner will earn 100 points with the subsequent point system depending on how many athletes are competing. At the end of the Games weekend, the athlete and team with the most points is the winner and crowned the Fittest on Earth.

See below the scoring tables for the 2023 CrossFit Games for teams or athletes.

*the table for 5 and 10 athletes is reserved for the age group and adaptive divisions as the elite individuals and teams field will be cut to 20 participants on Sunday.

Ties will be broken by awarding the best position to the athlete who has the highest result in any single test. If athletes remain tied after this first tiebreaker, the process continues to their next highest single result, and so forth.

According to CrossFit, for some tests, “more than one athlete can share a test rank, and each will earn the original point value. The athlete with the top performance across multiple events in a competition will be placed higher on the leaderboard.”

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

After Semifinals finished, we found out the athletes and teams featuring at this year’s test of the fittest. In an e-mail sent this week to athletes, CrossFit announced there will be two rounds of cuts for both individuals and teams during the weekend of the CrossFit Games.

2023 CrossFit Games Cuts

The start of both individual and team competitions is set for Thursday, August 3rd, featuring 40 male participants, 40 female participants, and 38 teams vying for victory. However, by the conclusion of Friday evening, the competition will have narrowed down to the elite group of the top 30 teams, as well as the top 30 male and female individuals.

Subsequently, as Saturday draws to a close, the field will be further reduced, leaving only the crème de la crème of 20 teams, along with the top 20 male and female contenders, who will continue to battle it out on Sunday.

The cuts this year are similar to the ones we’ve seen back in 2021 where Dave Castro announced two rounds of cuts for individuals, reducing the playing field to 20 athletes.

Last year, CrossFit announced a single cut of individuals and teams competing after the last event on Saturday night. At that time, individuals were cut down to 30 while teams were reduced to 20 participants.

Who Are The Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Read More: Justin Bergh Leaving CrossFit Inc, Dave Castro Will Be New Leader of Sport Team

There were two e-mails circulating yesterday to announce Bergh’s departure. One was signed by CrossFit CEO Don Faul in an internal e-mail, and another was sent to affiliate owners signed by Austin Malleolo, the current general manager of affiliates.

In the email by Don Faul, the CEO wrote that Bergh “has done so much for our community and we’re incredibly grateful for the role he’s played in making CrossFit what it is today.”

In the affiliate e-mail, Malleolo said “Dave Castro will step in to lead our Sport Team as we prepare to have an amazing 2023 Games.”

Until the beginning of 2022, Castro was the general manager of Sport for CrossFit Inc. and was responsible for creating and expanding what we know as the CrossFit Games. He was fired in the first week of January from his post. Five months later, in June, Castro was officially back holding an advisory role for CrossFit’s CEO.

When Castro was fired, Justin Bergh took over the responsibilities. Although now that Bergh is moving on and Castro is stepping in, Dave Castro is not returning to his previous position as Director of Competition, as Adrian Bozman still holds that rank.

At the time of writing, neither Dave Castro nor CrossFit Inc. made an official statement to the public.

Read More: 7 Highlights of Dave Castro’s First Interview Back in CrossFit HQ with Sevan Matossian

The introduction of the new worldwide ranking system is what determined how many each of the Semifinals would have Games-qualifying spots – the more athletes in the top 100 of the new ranking were competing in the same tournament, the higher chances it would get an additional invitation to the CrossFit Games.

OPINION: CrossFit’s New Worldwide Ranking Has Potential, But Is Problematic

CrossFit previously updated the rankings after Quarterfinals to come up with the Games-qualifying spot for Semifinals. This time, the updated rankings will not any effect on the CrossFit season, but it is still interesting to see who made the top 100 after Semifinals.

Updated Worldwide Ranking System After CrossFit Semifinals

Men

Check out the top 100 men worldwide here.

In the men’s division, the top 2 spots remained unchanged. Justin Medeiros retained the 1^st position with Pat Vellner following second. Medeiros finished 5^th at the West Semifinal while Vellner won the same competition.

Of all names, newcomer Jesse Hoste made the biggest impact on the ranking among the top 100. He jumped 322 places to end up in 56^th. David Shorunke, another athlete who will debut at the Games this year, gained 1258 places to be ranked 110^th. Similar is the case of newcomer Luke Parker who gained 1313 places to finish 192^nd worldwide.

Women

Check out the top 100 women worldwide here.

On the women’s side, the top 3 athletes remained the same. Laura Horvath came in 3^rd at the European Semifinal and is still the highest on the ranking. Followed is Mal O’Brien who couldn’t compete at Semifinals for personal reasons. Third place is still Danielle Brandon after finishing 2^nd at the East CrossFit Semifinal.

Among the top 100 athletes, Olivia Kerstetter made the biggest jump (+118) to be ranked 63^rd. Overall, Mariska Smit and Kelly Baker got the biggest advancement in the rankings, 1278 and 1231 respectively. Smit is now ranked 281^st and Baker 279^th. Baker is going to the Games for the first time as an individual, while Smit finished 2^nd at the African CrossFit Semifinal.

You can find all athletes who participated in the 2023 Semifinals ranked in this link.

Read More: Who Are the Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

BOXROX previously made a full list of all individual athletes going to the 2023 CrossFit Games following the end of Semifinals.

Some athletes are very familiar to the public, such as 2x Fittest on Earth and current champion Justin Medeiros, or 12x Games athlete Annie Thorisdottir. But what about those who are competing for the title for the first time in their career in the individual category?

We decided to shine a light on those soon-to-be elite athletes.

*Note: some of these athletes have been to the CrossFit Games, but not as an individual athlete. Those who made it to the Games as a teenager or in a team, but never as an individual in the main division, are considered newcomers as well. This information was taken from CrossFit’s official platform.

There are a total of 10 men and 9 women who are newcomers to the CrossFit Games. See them below.

Men

1. Jelle Hoste

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Jelle Hoste has been crowned the fittest man in Belgium since 2017, but has never managed to get to the Semifinals until this year. And he took his first chance.

He set a world record in test 5 and won the first and last test of the European Semifinals.

2. Michal Wesolowski

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This was also the first time in his CrossFit career that Michal Wesolowski managed to get through to the Semifinals and finished 10^th in Europe this year.

The 30-year-old Polish athlete began doing the CrossFit Open in 2020.

3. Fabian Beneito

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The Spanish athlete almost retired last year, but then ended up winning the Dubai Fitness Championship and continued his trajectory.

This was his 3^rd time going to the Semifinals. The past two years, he went to the Last-Chance Qualifier round but never made it past that. This year, he (literally) snatched the last Games-qualifying spot in Europe.

4. Jake Douglas

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At 32 years old, Australian athlete Jake Douglas has participated in the Open since 2015. Last year was the first time he made it to Semifinals, only to finish 2 spots below the qualifying cut.

This year, he finished on the podium with 2 event wins.

5. Morteza Sedaghat*

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He is the fittest man in Iran since 2020 when he began taking part in the Open. After 3 Semifinals and one Last-Chance Qualifier, he finally is ready to make his debut at the CrossFit Games.

Sedaghat finished 2^nd at the Asia CrossFit Semifinals, 13 points above the cut line.

UPDATE: Morteza Sedaghat will no longer compete after not securing a Visa to travel to the United States. Ant Haynes is taking his place.

6. Luke Parker

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The North America East Semifinal was packed with big names, but it was also the tournament which brought the most newcomers in the men’s division: 3 in total (see the next two below).

Luke Parker has been to the CrossFit Games last year, but he was part of CrossFit Mayhem Independence, the team that finished 5^th overall. This is his first time competing individually in Madison.

7. Jack Farlow

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Jack Farlow has been to the Games as a teen in 2019, in the 16-17 division, where he finished 6^th overall.

Since then, he managed to go to 3 Semifinals, but this year he turned heads while lifting an impressive 300-pound barbell in workout 4 to finish 2^nd in the event.

Farlow will be joining his girlfriend, the explosive Emma Lawson who will be making her 2^nd individual Games appearance.

8. James Sprague

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Last year, James Sprague missed going to the CrossFit Games by 1 point. This time, he finished 2 spots above the cut line and will be making his Games debut in 2023.

9. Kaique Cerveny

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Both Brazilians who outperformed Guilherme Malheiros this year at Copa Sur are newcomers.

Last year, Cerveny had to withdraw from Semifinals due to an injury, but took the rest of the year to prepare for this moment and it paid off.

The 25-year-old Brazilian has been to the Semifinals for the last three years, and this time he took the top spot at the podium.

10. Kalyan Souza

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At only 22 years old, Kalyan has managed to get to the Games after three years competing professionally. He won two events at Copa Sur, including the last one that cemented his invitation to Madison.

Women

1. Manon Angonese

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Manon Angonese is one of those athletes who are incredibly famous in her country, but was still struggling to get the attention of the media internationally.

From Belgium, the 30-year-old has been taking part in the CrossFit Open since 2016 and got to Semifinals for the second time in a row. Her 7^th place overall guaranteed her first time going to the Games in her career.

2. Ella Wunger

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Ella Wunger got 3^rd place at the last event in the European Semifinals, which got her through to her first CrossFit Games ever.

This was the third time the Swedish athlete competed in the Semifinals.

3. Rebecka Vitesson

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Also from Sweden, Rebecka Vitesson edged out Ella Wunger at the last event to finish 2^nd and punch her ticket to Madison.

Although she has been in the Sport since 2016, this was only her second time making it to the Semifinals.

4. Olivia Kerstetter

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Kerstetter is one of the most famous names who are going to the Games for the first time. Why is that? Not only was she trained by CrossFit legend Jacob Heppner until recently, but she was crowned Fittest Teen on Earth the past two years when she was 15 and 16 years old.

Yes, this year, although she qualified to go to the Games one last time as a teenager, she decided to take a chance at the elite individual and finished 7^th in the North America West Semifinal ahead of names like Dani Speegle and Lauren Fisher.

5. Abigail Domit

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Three years into CrossFit and this 25-year-old athlete from the United States is already making her first appearance at the Games.

Abigail started in 2021 in a team, but didn’t pass the Semifinals. Last year, competing for the first time individually, she finished 16^th at the Syndicate Crown. This time around, she finished 8^th and well above the cutting line.

6. Emily de Rooy

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With 2 event wins, Emily de Rooy managed to edge out some athletes who were expected to make a Games appearance this year such as Katelin Van Zyl and Madeline Sturt.

This was De Rooy’s 2^nd Semifinal competition.

7. Shelby Neal

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Shelby Neal started CrossFit really young. She is only 23, but began competing back in 2015 when she was 15 years old.

This year was her third time reaching the Semifinals as an individual athlete. She made it to the Games as a teen in 2016 and 2017 where she finished 8^th and 6^th, respectively.

8. Caroline Stanley

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Another American athlete who began at a young age (17 years old), but now, six years later, she is finally going to the CrossFit Games.

Last year at the Granite Games, Stanley finished 9^th, but only the top 5 athletes would move on to the next stage. This time, with 11 invitations on the line, she finished 12 points above the cutline to punch her way to Madison.

9. Alexia Williams

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At Copa Sur, with only 2 invitations to be handled, the stakes were high and it all came down to the last event. Alexia Williams won the workout and finished 2^nd overall to grab the last Games-qualifying spot on the weekend.

From Argentina, Williams began doing CrossFit in 2021 where she got to the Semifinals straight away. Last year, she also made it to Semifinals, but fell short of the cutline.

10. Kelly Baker

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Kelly Baker has been to the Games twice before (2016 and 2022) but always as part of a team. This time, she finished 10th at the North America West Semifinal and got her deserved first shot at the elite individuals.

Notable Names Not Going to the CrossFit Games

In the list below are names of CrossFit athletes who were bound to the Semifinals and either dropped out during the competition, days before, or couldn’t make the cut at the end of the weekend. These athletes have previous Games experience and were thought to be amongst the people going to Madison this year.

We are not considering those who pulled out substantially before the Semifinals (such as Tia-Clair Toomey), or those who got injured and were not able to compete well in advance (like Ricky Garard).

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Men

• Guilherme Malheiros
• Reggie Fasa
• Luka Dukic
• Giorgos Karavis
• Saxon Panchik
• Alexandre Caron
• Kealan Henry
• Tyler Christophel
• James Newbury

Women

• Mal O’Brien
• Sara Sigmundsdottir
• Brooke Wells
• Anikha Greer
• Carolyne Prevost
• Jacqueline Dahlstrom
• Thuridur Erla Helgadottir
• Dani Speegle
• Lauren Fisher
• Sydney Michalyshen
• Rebecca Fuselier

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

CrossFit Games

All Semifinals have finished and we now know which individuals are competing in Madison for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa finished 1^st in the Teams division at the Rebel Renegades Games, the African CrossFit Semifinals tournament and automatically received their invitation to the CrossFit Games. However, there is a big chance the team won’t be allowed to continue their path to fight for the title of Fittest on Earth.

UPDATED: On June 26th, CrossFit revealed Angelique Connoway was the athlete who failed the drug test and received a ban of 4 years.

According to a post by Michelle Merand, one of her team members tested positive for a banned substance. “We went to semi finals to win. We knew we would get tested,” she wrote.

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A post shared by Michelle Merand (@mishmerand)

Merand believes the positive test is likely due to cross-contamination. “Unfortunately we live in a world where things go wrong, supplements are contaminated, drug agencies make mistakes it’s just the way life works and it’s something we cannot control.”

She says they are in the appeal process with CrossFit and are “praying for a miracle” to be able to travel to Madison this August to compete at the CrossFit Games.

Merand’s other teammates are Angelique Connoway, AJ Visser, and Alan Foulis. At the time of writing, only Alan Foulis reacted to the news in an Instagram story. “We are standing strong, none of us would ever do anything like this. Please keep us in your prayers,” he wrote.

The African Semifinals have place for only one team to go to the CrossFit Games. CrossFit Inc. is yet to unveil the results of the appeal process for CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa. There are three possible outcomes:

1. CrossFit rules in favour of team FBDV Mayhem Africa and the team is allowed to compete at the CrossFit Games.
2. Team FBDV Mayhem Africa is able to prove there was cross-contamination from supplements and the team member who tested positive is banned for 2 years – the team is not able to go to the 2023 CrossFit Games.
3. CrossFit rules against the appeal, the team member who tested positive is banned for 4 years and the team is not allowed to compete at the 2023 CrossFit Games.

Of those outcomes, it is extremely rare that outcome number 1 will happen. Although the team might prove its innocence, CrossFit believes it is the athlete’s responsibility to know what it puts inside their body. This is why Merand says they need a “miracle” to continue their way to the CrossFit Games.

In case that team CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa is disqualified, the rulebook states the next in line should be invited. Cape CrossFit Wolfpack finished 2^nd at the Semifinals with 555 points.

Last year, Africa’s 1^st place in the teams’ division also was barred from competing in the CrossFit Games after Lize Burns failed a drug test which was embroiled in controversy.

Team CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa Post

Below is Michelle Merand’s full post from Instagram.

It is with a very heavy heart that I sit and type this message. Unfortunately one of our team members yielded a positive drug test. We 100% know that no one took any kind of performance enhancing drugs and that these things happen to the best in the sport. We went to semi finals to win – we knew we would get tested. But unfortunately we live in a world where things go wrong, supplements are contaminated, drug agencies make mistakes it’s just the way life works and it’s something we cannot control.

We are in the appeal process with CrossFit and are praying for a miracle. We are going to stop all fundraising until we have concrete information going forward.

I ask that you keep us in your prayers. God always has a plan and right now we need to sit back and allow Him to take control where ever that might lead us.

Please when reading this post just take a moment before you judge or comment as we are all dealing with this as best we can.

This is my team and I stand with them 100%

CrossFit Games

CrossFit’s rulebook states that “drug testing is required for any individual athlete or team to advance to the Games or collect prizes.”

All Semifinals have finished and we now know which individuals are competing in Madison for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Full List of Individual Athletes Invited to the CrossFit Games

CrossFit Semifinals were the last step before reaching the Finals, commonly known as the CrossFit Games. After 7 workouts, three weekends, on 6 continents on 7 different occasions, we now know which athletes are going to compete in Madison on August 1-6.

Full List of Athletes Invited to the CrossFit Games

Below is a list of all athletes who are #GamesBound in 2023 following the events from all CrossFit Semifinals.

* In asteriscus are athletes who are going to the Games for the first time as an individual (teens and teams don’t count in this instance) according to their official CrossFit profile.

There are a higher number of athletes in this list due to some of them not being able to compete, but were invited at first such as Jason Smith and Morteza Sedaghat.

Men

1. Lazar Dukic
2. Henrik Haapalainen
3. Moritz Fiebig
4. Jelle Hoste*
5. Jonne Koski
6. Uldis Upenieks
7. David Shorunke
8. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson
9. Bronislaw Olenkowicz
10. Michal Wesolowski*
11. Fabian Beneito*
12. Jay Crouch
13. Bayley Martin
14. Jake Douglas*
15. Arthur Semenov
16. Morteza Sedaghat*
17. Ant Haynes
18. Pat Vellner
19. Brent Fikowski
20. Samuel Kwant
21. Cole Greashaber
22. Justin Medeiros
23. Chandler Smith
24. Nick Mathew
25. Colten Mertens
26. Cole Sager
27. Jeffrey Adler
28. Jayson Hopper
29. Dallin Pepper
30. Roman Khrennikov
31. Samuel Cournoyer
32. Will Moorad
33. Noah Ohlsen
34. Luke Parker*
35. Alex Vigneault
36. Jack Farlow*
37. James Sprague*
38. Spencer Panchik
39. Jason Smith
40. Kaique Cerveny*
41. Kalyan Souza*

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Women

1. Gabriela Migala
2. Annie Thorisdottir
3. Laura Horvath
4. Emma Tall
5. Karin Freyova
6. Matilde Garnes
7. Manon Angonese*
8. Ella Wunger*
9. Elisa Fuliano
10. Emma McQuaid
11. Rebecka Vitesson*
12. Seher Kaya
13. Shadad Budebs
14. Alex Gazan
15. Katrin Davidsdottir
16. Arielle Loewen
17. Christine Kolenbrander
18. Bethany Flores (Previously Shadburne)
19. Emily Rolfe
20. Olivia Kerstetter*
21. Abigail Domit*
22. Baylee Rayl
23. Kelly Baker
24. Ellie Turner
25. Jamie Simmonds
26. Emily de Rooy*
27. Emma Cary
28. Danielle Brandon
29. Amanda Barnhart
30. Emma Lawson
31. Alexis Raptis
32. Pauge Powers
33. Sydney Wells
34. Feeroozeh Saghafi
35. Shelby Neal*
36. Caroline Stanley*
37. Paige Semenza
38. Michelle Basnett
39. Victoria Campos
40. Alexia Williams*

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Who Are the Individual Athletes Going to the CrossFit Games for the First Time

Notable Names Not Going to the CrossFit Games

In the list below are names of CrossFit athletes who were bound to the Semifinals and either dropped out during the competition, days before, or couldn’t make the cut at the end of the weekend. These athletes have previous Games experience and were thought to be amongst the people going to Madison this year.

We are not considering those who pulled out substantially before the Semifinals (such as Tia-Clair Toomey), or those who got injured and were not able to compete well in advance (like Ricky Garard).

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Men

• Guilherme Malheiros
• Reggie Fasa
• Luka Dukic
• Giorgos Karavis
• Saxon Panchik
• Alexandre Caron
• Kealan Henry
• Tyler Christophel
• James Newbury

Women

• Mal O’Brien
• Sara Sigmundsdottir
• Brooke Wells
• Anikha Greer
• Carolyne Prevost
• Jacqueline Dahlstrom
• Thuridur Erla Helgadottir
• Dani Speegle
• Lauren Fisher
• Sydney Michalyshen
• Rebecca Fuselier

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape after all athletes and teams know who is going to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events for the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

Workout clues/events revealed so far:

• Variation of Helen WOD
• Olympic weightlifting total
• 5k run
• Gymnastic skills test
• Mountain bike race
• Pig chipper

UPDATED: 5 athletes have provided a sample with illegal substances to CrossFit:

• Trent Williams – 4 year-ban
• Angelique Connoway – 4-year ban
• Alyssa Wilhelm – currently appealing
• Oihana Moya – currently appealing
• Jason Smith – currently appealing

CrossFit Introduces 2 Cutting Phases at the Games for Individuals and Teams

Thursday through Friday, lovers of CrossFit got to see some of the best athletes in action in Europe and Asia. With CrossFit Games invitations on the line, they gave their all to continue their journey to fight for the title of Fittest on Earth.

Did you miss out on the action? Watch the Livestream for all days from Europe and Asia CrossFit Semifinals here.

BOXROX previously wrote their predictions for who would win and who could be dark horses coming into the weekend. Before we tell you about those who got their wish granted, let’s take a look at some surprises this past weekend.

8 Men Withdrew During Competition in Europe

A total of 8 men withdrew from competition during the European CrossFit Semifinals.

Most notably, Serbian athlete Luka Dukic and English powerhouse Reggie Fasa had to withdraw from competition during the weekend. Both were not considered among the favourites to win the competition, but have previous Games experience and were touted to get an invitation.

Source: Instagram

Luka Dukic said he was dealing with “wild flu for the past days” explaining that, even though his mind was on the floor for the first two events, his body wasn’t. He withdrew during the first day of competition before workout 3.

Reggie Fasa began workout 6, but appeared to have injured his upper body during the seated legless rope climb.

Other athletes who also withdrew during the weekend event were Anestis Artemis, Mats Cibis, Nikita Yundov, Daniel Camacho, Alexandre Pinsolle and Giorgos Karavis.

Iurii Marincenco also did not finish the last workout at Semifinals, but CrossFit’s official leaderboard does not compute him as a withdrawal.

Another Year for Sara Sigmundsdottir

Sara Sigmundsdottir was, more than once, the favourite to win the CrossFit Games in the past. After a few injuries that took her out the past couple of years from competing, she promised an epic comeback in 2022, which didn’t happen.

This was her Semifinals, her chance to prove herself to everyone that she still got what it takes. Ntil event 6 with seated legless rope climbs came on board and killed her chances. With only one spot from qualifying, she was time-capped in test 6 and slipped to 18^th overall.

“Finishing event 6 in sub 12 minutes in training and then this happens,” she wrote on Instagram.

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Other notable athletes in the female category in Europe who couldn’t pass the cut line to go to Madison include Jacqueline Dahlstrom, Oihana Moya, Thuridur Erla Helgadottir, Andrea Solberg, Aimee Cringle, and Elena Carratala Sanahuja.

Who Qualified for the CrossFit Games?

Europe

Men

1. Lazar Dukic – 607 points
2. Henrik Haapalainen – 565
3. Moritz Fiebig – 531
4. Jelle Hoste – 524
5. Jonne Koski – 520
6. Uldis Upenieks – 483
7. David Shorunke – 481
8. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson – 481
9. Bronislaw Olenkowicz – 449
10. Michal Wesolowski – 426
11. Fabian Beneito – 420

Women

1. Gabriela Migala – 629 points
2. Annie Thorisdottir – 604
3. Laura Horvath – 577
4. Emma Tall – 556
5. Karin Freyova – 544
6. Matilde Garnes – 494
7. Manon Angonese – 483
8. Ella Wunger – 476
9. Elisa Fuliano – 441
10. Emma McQuaid – 429
11. Rebecka Vitesson – 424

Teams

1. No Shortcuts CrossFit – 546
2. CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue – 534
3. CrossFit Walleye Athlete – 519
4. CrossFit Oslo Blackout – 516
5. CrossFit Genas – 492
6. CrossFit Prestanda – 492
7. CrossFit Portii – 435
8. CrossFit Trondheim – 420
9. CrossFit Oslo Najs – 399
10. CrossFit Rotherham – 396

Far East Throwdown (Asia)

Men

1. Arthur Semenov – 612 points
2. Morteza Sedaghat – 573

Women

1. Seher Kaya – 664 points
2. Shahad Budebs – 535

Teams

1. CrossFit Fly High Kolesnikov Team – 590 points
2. CrossFit Marvel Black – 525

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape with no more Semifinals to decide who are the fittest athletes who will get to compete in the ultimate test of fitness.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events of the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

The past two weekends were packed full of emotion for athletes in North America, Africa, South America, and Oceania. Now, to finish off the last set of CrossFit competitions, athletes from Europe and Asia will battle it out in a face-to-face competition in Germany and South Korea to find out who is going to be at the 2023 CrossFit Games.

There are some big names stepping onto the competition floor this weekend and these are the ones we believe you should keep an eye out for.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Who to Watch in CrossFit Semifinals

Europe

This year CrossFit has made a big overhaul regarding Semifinals. Last year we had two competitions in Europe, but it has all been condensed into a single one this time. That means your favourite European athlete competing against each other!

How Many Athletes Will Advance from Europe?

• Top 11 men
• Top 11 women

Men

One of the hardest things to predict is who will win in the men’s division this weekend. Although there are many names to be thrown in the hat, there isn’t one favourite to stand on top of them all.

Because of that, our picks for the podium will be, in no particular order, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, Lazar Dukic, and Jonne Koski. All three have vast experience at the Games and are coming in hot after Quarterfinals.

Perhaps the biggest name that could surprise a few people is Fabian Beneito. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a surprise at all. He finished 1^st at Quarterfinals in Europe and he also won the Dubai Fitness Championship in December last year. The only reason he isn’t seen by some as a favourite for the podium is that he has never been to the CrossFit Games in his career – but we would bet this year is his!

A couple of other names who could surprisingly be on the podium include Feggie Fasa, Mortiz Fiebig and Henrik Haapalainen.

Women

Although there are two women touted as the possible winners for this weekend in Europe, it doesn’t mean it won’t be easy. Friends Gabriela Migala and Laura Horvath are set to dispute who will come up on top on Sunday afternoon.

Horvath and Migala finished 1^st and 2^nd at Quarterfinals respectively. Horvath comes in with a slight edge in favouritism as she also finished 3^rd at the Games last year while Migala ended up 8^th.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

The following athletes are only dark horses to win the competition this weekend, although we are fairly certain they will manage to get their invitation to the Games.

Emma Tall is looking ready for her 3^rd Games appearance. Thuri Helgadottir has been in the Sport since 2011 and has been to the Games 7 times as an individual athlete and could pose a threat to Migala and Horvath. Lastly, Annie Thorisdottir is perhaps the biggest threat this weekend who could make her comeback to individual competition and simply dust the competition.

It’s all up in the air, really.

Other names that are considered to get their Games invitation include Sara Sigmundsdottir, Manon Angonese, Oihana Moya, Emma McQuaid and Karin Freyova.

Asia – Far East Throwdown

In Asia, some of the biggest names from the past are not competing this year such as Seungyeon Choi and Nasser Alruwayeh.

But here are some picks for winning one of the Games invitation this weekend.

How Many Athletes Will Advance from Asia?

• Top 2 men
• Top 2 women

Men

Roman Khrennikov was competing out of the United States this year, so the top position on the podium will be interesting to watch.

A few names that jump out of the crow are Arthur Semenov who was invited to the Games for the first time last year, Morteza Sedaghat (1^st place at Quarterfinals), and Andrei Fedotov, who finished behind Sedaghat, but has better experience at Semifinals than the Iranian athlete.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Women

The two women who finished on top during Quarterfinals are the favourites to win this weekend. Dawon Jung will be competing in her home territory and has finished 1^st during Quarterfinals, she is yet to get her invitation to the CrossFit Games.

On the other hand, Seher Kaya made her debut at the Games last year and is looking to secure her 2^nd trip to Madison.

Who are you cheering for this weekend? Do you want to watch the livestreams of the events? Click on the link below.

How to Watch CrossFit Semifinals Europe and Fat East Throwdown Asia

Click on the CrossFit Semifinal of your choice below to know more details about it and how to watch it.

After Semifinals, athletes and teams are invited to compete in the CrossFit Games, in Madison (USA) from August 1-6.

Europe

The CrossFit Semifinal in Europe will be happening in Berlin this year and it will put together all European athletes who want a chance to go to Madison and fight for a chance at the title of Fittest on Earth.

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games from Europe?

As BOXROX has covered before, Semifinals will have different Games-qualifying spots depending on the strength-of-field.

• Top 11 men
• Top 11 women
• Top 10 teams

Livestream 2023 CrossFit Semifinals Europe

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Asia – Far East Throwdown

While in Europe the Semifinals begin on Thursday, a day later we get to see Asian athletes and teams competing for their chance to go to the CrossFit Games in Madison in August.

The Far East Throwdown is happening in Busan, South Korea.

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games from Asia?

As BOXROX has covered before, Semifinals will have different Games-qualifying spots depending on the strength-of-field.

• Top 2 men
• Top 2 women
• Top 2 teams

Livestream 2023 CrossFit Semifinals Asia Far East Throwdown

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

2023 CrossFit Games

The 2023 CrossFit Games is taking shape with only two Semifinals yet to decide who are the fittest athletes who will get to compete in the ultimate test of fitness.

• When: August 1-6
• Where: Madison, Wisconsin (USA)

Athletes from all age groups (teens, masters) and adaptive athletes will be joining the teams and individual athletes who received an invitation to compete in Madison this summer.

You can check out the overall schedule of events of the 2023 CrossFit Games here.

This past weekend, competitors from North America West, Oceania and South America went through 7 workouts to make their best attempt at going to the CrossFit Games this August.

As we mentioned earlier, Semifinals will have different Games-qualifying spots depending on the strength-of-field. The North America West handed out 19 individual invitations at the end of the weekend.

Who Is Going to the 2023 CrossFit Games

North America West

The biggest showdown was seen at the North America West packed with elite-level athletes competing side-by-side such as Justin Medeiros and Kathrin Davidsdottir.

The top 9 men and 10 women received an invitation after the weekend and our prediction was a bit off.

We touted Dani Speegle to get an invitation with ease, but she finished 2 points shy and in 11^th, leaving her out of Madison this time. Another surprise was Moosbrugger finishing 33^rd overall.

In the men’s division, the biggest surprise was Justin Medeiros not featuring on the podium despite being the current Fittest Man on Earth and finishing on top at Quarterfinals. From our predictions, the one-off we got was touting Tudor Magda as a dark horse for the podium while he ended up 25^th on the leaderboard.

Women

1. Alex Gazan – 538 points
2. Katrin Davidsdottir – 527
3. Arielle Loewen – 525
4. Christine Kolenbrander – 507
5. Bethany Shadburne – 504
6. Emily Rolfe – 465
7. Olivia Kerstetter – 457
8. Abigail Domit – 421
9. Baylee Rayl – 415
10. Kelly Baker – 415

Men

1. Pat Vellner – 612 points
2. Brent Fikowski – 569
3. Samuel Kwant – 564
4. Cole Greashaber – 528
5. Justin Medeiros – 519
6. Chandler Smith – 490
7. Nick Mathew – 472
8. Colten Mertens – 458
9. Cole Sager – 458

Teams

1. CrossFit Franco’s Misfits – 555 points
2. CrossFit Invictus – 555
3. CrossFit Omnia – 555
4. CrossFit Kilo II – 528
5. Koda CrossFit Redemption – 486
6. CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable – 483
7. Rhino CrossFit Dawgs – 444
8. CrossFit Invictus Sea of Green – 432
9. Einhorn CrossFit Ascend – 417
10. CrossFit Believe – 364

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A post shared by CrossFit Games (@crossfitgames)

Full leaderboard here.

Torian Pro – Oceania

The two most famous female athletes from the region did not compete this weekend. Both Tia-Clair Toomey and Kara Saunders got pregnant last year and have dedicated their time to the new addition to the family instead of CrossFit competitions.

With only 3 spots available, it was up for grabs for both men and women to start planning their flight to the United States during the summer.

The women’s division was incredibly difficult to pinpoint to a favourite and we guessed 2 out of 3 who could come out on the podium. Katelin Van Zyl, despite finishing 1^st during Quarterfinals, did not manage to get her comeback to the Games.

In the men’s division, Ricky Garard had to pull out weeks in advance as he had a mountain bike accident and his season was cut short. BOXROX predicted that Jay Crouch would win, and we got that one right. Our dark horses pick completed the podium this weekend.

Women

1. Ellie Turner – 592 points
2. Jamie Simmonds – 568
3. Emily de Rooy – 556

Men

1. Jay Crouch – 600 points
2. Bayley Martin – 554
3. Jake Douglas – 531

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Teams

1. CrossFit Torian Mayhem – 585 points
2. Plus64 CrossFit 64Army Endgame – 570
3. PFC CrossFit 3076 – 505

Full leaderboard here.

South America – Copa Sur

Copa Sur was held in Rio de Janeiro this year and all eyes were on Guilherme Malheiros, the Brazilian athlete who took the CrossFit world by storm two years ago after finishing 7^th with impressive lifts at the Games. The following year he finished 10^th overall in Madison and everyone, including BOXROX, had written him off as a guarantee for a Games comeback this year – we were all wrong.

With only 2 spots awarded for both men and women, the competition was down to the last workout to know who would come out on top. To have an idea, none of our predictions got through in the men’s division, but at least we got the women’s winner correctly.

Women

1. Victoria Campos – 616 points
2. Alexia Williams – 600

Men

1. Kaique Cerveny – 660 points
2. Kalyan Souza – 644

Team

1. Templo SA CrossFit Blacksheep Treta – 535 points

Full leaderboard here.

Who else surprised you this weekend at Semifinals?

According to IMDB, this the plot of the documentary.

In 2022 a new mastermind entered the arena to craft the tests for the Fittest on Earth. Longtime CrossFit Games Head Judge and Seminar Staff Flowmaster Adrian Bozman’s approach to programming the CrossFit Games brought the sport’s top athletes back to the basics while challenging them to develop new skills. Tia-Clair Toomey vied for an unprecedented sixth title while rumors of retirement swirled and Mal O’Brien continued to rise. Meanwhile, 2021 Fittest Man on Earth Justin Medeiros worked to defend his title against determined competitors such as Roman Khrennikov – a multiyear qualifier who had yet to step onto the Games competition floor – and Ricky Garard, newly returned from a four-year ban for violating CrossFit’s drug policy. In “Fittest on Earth: Retro/Active,” watch as athletes face familiar movements with new twists, some thriving and others learning the hard way to begin anew with the basics, this time paying more attention.

Watch the Trailer for the 2022 CrossFit Games Documentary Fittest on Earth: Retro/Active

You can pre-order the movie on Vimeo or on Apple TV by clicking here.

Last year we also saw the Fittest on Earth CrossFit documentary dropping just before the 2022 CrossFit Games.

Source: CrossFit Inc. / Brooke Wells Instagram

This documentary seems to spotlight on Tia-Clair Toomey after her ups and downs at the Games (spoiler alert, she won it again), and Ricky Garard returning to competition after his 4-year ban after testing positive for PEDs.

LIVESTREAM CrossFit Semifinals – North America West, South America and Oceania

Although this weekend will put individuals and teams to compete, we will only be taking a look at the individual athletes on this page.

North America West Predictions

As BOXROX has covered before, Semifinals will have different Games-qualifying spots depending on the strength-of-field.

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – top 9 athletes
• Women – top 10 athletes

Men’s Division

So who can come out on top, finish on the podium and who could be a surprise this weekend on the men’s division at North America West?

It is difficult not to look at the current 2x Fittest Man on Earth as a favourite to win this weekend. Justin Medeiros finished 1^st at Quarterfinals and is set to make a return to the Games.

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

If Medeiros is a big contender for winning this weekend, the current champ is not only definitely going to win because two other elite-level athletes are right behind him. Canadians Pat Vellner and Brent Fikowski.

Fikowski was disappointed with his Games performance last year (he finished 16^th) and that might give him the boost he needs for this year’s tournament. Vellner, on the other hand, finished 2^nd in this year’s Quarterfinals and has had his eyes locked on Medeiros since April.

There are a couple of other athletes who will make a splash this weekend such as Cole Sager, Chandler Smith and Samuel Kwant.

For our dark horses, our picks go with Colten Mertens and Tudor Magda, although both have prior Games experience.

Women’s Division

With 10 spots being awarded to the top athletes in the women’s division this year, it will be interesting to see how much athletes will push themselves, or save their stamina and play it smart.

BOXROX believes the top spot is very much up for grabs, without a very clear chance of one or another athlete coming out the winner this weekend.

However, we believe that up to four athletes could very well finish ahead of everyone else. Dani Speegle, Arielle Loewen, Bethany Shadburne and Freya Moosbrugger.

Of those athletes, Shadburne has the most Games invitation (5), Speegle made a big impact last year after finishing 17^th overall, and Moosbrugger has only been to the Games once last year, but is already making waves for this year. Loewen might have an edge over the other athletes as she finished 3^rd at the Quarterfinals this year and has ranked higher than the others at the Games last year (11^th).

Source: Photos Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Our picks for dark horses go to Olivia Kerstetter, Rebecca Fuselier, Sydney Michalyshen, and Christine Kolenbrander.

South America Predictions – Copa Sur

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – 2
• Women – 2

With only two places for contenders, athletes need to be at their best capability to earn an invitation to the CrossFit Games.

Men’s Division

Although there isn’t room for errors this weekend, it is difficult not to see one man as a favourite to come out on top on Sunday evening: Guilherme Malheiros.

The Brazilian is regarded as one of the strongest CrossFit athletes at the moment. He finished 7^th in 2021 at the Games and 10^th last year.

Although a big contender to win this weekend, Malheiros have two competitors who could grab the top spot and, who knows, even knock him out of the Games for the first time in a while.

Argentinian Agustin Richelme has been to the Games as an individual athlete in the same years as Malheiros, creating a somewhat healthy rivalry between them. Richelme even won the South American Semifinal in 2021, with Malheiros trailing behind.

The second person who could surprise this weekend, and is our pick for the dark horse too, is Benjamin Gutierrez. The Chilean athlete finished 2^nd at Quarterfinals this year and, to this date, has only been to the Games as a teen athlete in 2018 where he finished 8^th.

Another person who could surprise this weekend is Pablo Chalfun.

Women’s Division

Two places to grab and BOXROX sees three distinct athlete fighting for that podium: Victoria Campos, Julia Kato and Sasha Nievas.

Brazilians Campos and Kato made their debut at the Games last year after finishing 1^st and 2^nd at Copa Sur in 2022 respectively. Although they are both confident of their chances this year, the Argentinian powerhouse Nievas is back.

Nievas was part of a CrossFit Mayhem Independence last year and finished 5^th at the Games. That experience might turn into her upsetting the Brazilians this weekend in Rio.

Source: Photo courtesy of Sasha Nievas

Our dark horse pick goes to Amanda Fusuma who finished 3^rd last year at Copa Sur and is yet to go to the Games.

Oceania Predictions – Torian Pro

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – 3
• Women – 3

The two most famous female athletes from the region will not be competing. Both Tia-Clair Toomey and Kara Saunders got pregnant last year and have dedicated their time to the new addition to the family instead of CrossFit competitions.

Mens’ Division

As expected, the men’s side is packed with high-level athletes. Ricky Garard was touted to be a shoo-in to the Games this year, but he got into a mountain bike accident and his season was cut short.

With him out of the picture, who could be the contenders to win this weekend? Our pick goes to Jay Crouch. The 24-year-old Australian is likely returning to the Games for a 4^th time as an individual (he’s been there as part of a team in 2017 and 2018).

Source: Instagram

Next to Crouch, there are a couple of athletes who pose a threat to his chances at the podium such as 4x Games athlete James Newbury and Luke Fowler. Our picks for the dark horse are Jake Douglas and Bayley Martin – only Martin has been to the Games, as a teen, in 2017.

Women’s Division

Without Toomey or Saunders competing, the podium is very much up for grabs this year at the Torian Pro.

Although BOXROX does not see one athlete as a clear favourite, there are 4 athletes fighting for those 3 Games-qualifying spots.

Katelin Van Zyl has returned from team competition to try and claim her rightful spot at the Games this year. She finished 1^st at Quarterfinals, making her a strong candidate to go to Madison again.

Ellie Turner is an athlete gaining more ground in the Sport as time goes by. She went to the Games in 2021 and 2022, getting better each time.

Madeline Sturt can be considered a somewhat dark horse, although she has been to the Games every year from 2016 to 2019. In the past two years, she finished 4^th and 5^th at the Torian Pro.

Lastly, we have Jammie Simmonds, the most experienced Games athlete of the bunch with 5 appearances in total. She actually finished 3^rd at the Games in 2019 and the following year finished 12^th – however, that was the last time she competed in Madison for the title of Fittest Woman on Earth.

Are you excited for the CrossFit Semifinals this year?

LIVESTREAM – How To Watch CrossFit North America West, South America, Oceania

Click on the Semifinal below depending on which you would like to watch and see more info.

North America West

The North America West is the second and last CrossFit Semifinal that put together athletes from the northern continent. Last week we saw Jeff Adler and Emma Cary winning the North America East and punching their ticket to Madison with 21 other individual athletes.

• When: May 25-28
• Where: Pasadena, California

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – 9
• Women – 10

Livestream – How to Watch CrossFit North America West

At the time of writing, CrossFit has only made available the first day of the competition which will go live on Thursday.

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Some of the names you will see in California this weekend include Katrin Davidsdottir, Dani Speegle, Justin Medeiros and Pat Vellner.

South America

In South America, the battle is on beginning Friday, in Rio de Janeiro. Athletes such as Guilherme Malheiros and Agustin Richelme in the men’s division, and Victoria Campos and Julia Kato in the women’s side.

• When: May 26-28
• Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – 2
• Women – 2

Livestream – How to Watch CrossFit South America Copa Sur

The links below are for Portuguese commentary. If you want to see them in Spanish, click here.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Oceania

The Semifinal from down under is named Torian Pro and some people suggest it might be one of the hardest competitions for athletes to compete to get to Madison – it certainly was the case last year.

• When: May 26-28
• Where: Tennyson, Australia

How Many Athletes Will Advance to the CrossFit Games?

• Men – 3
• Women – 3

Livestream – How to Watch CrossFit Oceania Torian Pro

The events will be televised for free on CrossFit’s Youtube channel, on their homepage and through the app.

Sadly, we won’t be seeing Tia-Clair Toomey or Kara Saunders this weekend as both athletes were pregnant and made the decision not to compete this year.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Are you excited for this weekend packed with CrossFit action?

Read More: Athletes React to CrossFit Pulling Out Alex Caron and Korby Foxall from Semifinals After Workout 2

Alex Caron and Korby Foxall both flew to Miami to compete at the North America East Semifinal this past weekend. Both athletes went in knowing they were injured and would probably not be able to finish workout 2 because of the muscle-ups.

Workout 2

As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:

• 5 ring complexes (1 toe-to-ring, 1 muscle-up, 1 ring dip)
• 20 single-leg squats
• Max burpees over box

Complete 3 rounds, resting 1 minute between rounds.

Score is total reps across the 3 minutes. 

 Wear a 10-lb ruck, 24-inch box
 Wear a 20-lb ruck, 30-inch box

Caron said he tore his pec “a little by practicing the muscle-up complex” with the ruck, so he knew he would have a hard time completing any reps for the movement.

Korby had a similar problem as he hurt his “shoulder on the muscle-ups a week ago.”

CrossFit stated prior to the Semifinals’ weekend that there would be “no minimum work requirements,” so the athletes believe they would be safe to continue competing and maybe punch their tickets to Madison via the other events. But that is not what happened.

Both athletes were pulled from the competition before event 3 was underway. And this is where the story differs from athletes to the Sport’s organisation.

What Does CrossFit Say?

CrossFit released a statement explaining why the athletes were withdrawn from competition explaining, in short, that it was due to their injuries.

“Both Alexandre Caron and Korby Foxall had preexisting injuries that prevented them from being able to perform the ring complex. Both athletes’ situations were assessed and they were withdrawn from the competition,” the statement read.

“My heart goes out to both Alex and Korby. There’s nothing we enjoy about having to make these decisions, but there’s no way, in good conscience, that we could let any athlete with an injury move on and compete in a benchmark workout like Linda,” said CrossFit General Manager of Sport Justin Bergh.

CrossFit continues to say that, although there was no minimum work required for the North America East competition, “athletes are expected to put forth an effort to complete each test throughout the duration of their respective heat.”

The press release goes further. “CrossFit’s Head Judge has the authority to remove any athlete from competition based on injury severity, likelihood of further injury, and/or other factors that could impact the health and safety of an athlete or the integrity of the competition.”

You can read the full statement here.

What Do the Athletes Say?

Caron and Foxall said they were not removed due to injury, but rather arbitrarily by CrossFit because they didn’t push themselves hard enough. On Instagram, Caron wrote:

“They told me that my “effort” during the muscle up event was not good enough for a semifinal athlete and that I clearly had an advantage over my competitors for the rest of the weekend from not doing any repetition in that workout.”

Foxall said the same thing happened to him, that just minutes before going into the next workout the following day he was told about being forced to withdraw by CrossFit due to “an unfair advantage based on the work I didn’t do in event 2 and the events that were coming up.”

You can read Caron’s post in its entirety here.

You can read Foxall’s explanation in its entirety here.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Both athletes say they were blindsided by this decision by CrossFit. While Foxall says he was told by the head judge that he just needed to stay on the competition floor after finishing just one ring complex and things would be ok, Caron said he questioned the organisation about removing every other athlete who scored 0 on the same event. “The answer was: ‘We won’t have this argument with you, but the decision is final.”

You can see the entire event below in the video. Korby Foxall was in heat 3 at lane 5, Caron was in heat 5 lane 2.

And just like Caron questioned about other athletes not scoring a single rep on event 2, inexplicably only he and Foxal were withdrawn from the competition. Below is a screenshot of the points rewarded to athletes at event 2.

Source: CrossFit Inc.

As you can see, only Caron and Foxal were withdrawn (WD) from competition. However, there were 6 other athletes who also scored 0 on the event and were allowed to continue competing. They “clearly had an advantage too,” according to Caron and his understanding of CrossFit’s logic to pull him out of the competition.

The other athletes who scored 0 and continue competing were Ben Sexton, Cal Bauer, Kyle Baughman, Jordan Lundin, and Cam Crockett.

Community Reacts to Alex Caron and Korby Foxall Being Pulled Out of North America East

Many athletes and people from the CrossFit community reacted to the news of Alex Caron and Korby Foxall being pulled out from the competition after event 2. And all comments we managed to track down were in defence of the athletes and against CrossFit’s decision.

Brent Fikowski

“This is beyond comprehension Alex. As a sport we need to do better.”

Armen Hammer

“The more things change, the more they stay the same. This sucks.”

Facundo Etchecolatz

“Incomprehensible that this happened. Really brutal. I don’t doubt that you’ll come stronger out of this.”

Pat Vellner

“This is brutal. I’m sorry Alex.”

Chyna Cho

“WOW. This has to be beyond frustrating.”

Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault

 “Ridiculous. I don’t even know what to say. We’re with you Alex.”

Justin Cotler

“This is an embarrassment. You are right brother. We have a long way to go for our sport to be ‘professional’.”

Andre Hiller

“Unbelievable.”

Craig Richey

What do you think?

The weekend was packed with adrenaline with athletes competing out of North America East and Africa for their invitation to the CrossFit Games in August. North America East started a day earlier than the Rebel Renegade Games.

Here is how it all went down after 7 workouts.

Did you miss out on the action? See the livestreams from North America East and the Africa CrossFit Semifinals here.

North America East

Who Qualified to the CrossFit Games?

As we mentioned earlier, Semifinals will have different Games-qualifying spots depending on the strength-of-field. The North America East is one that provides the most invitations.

• Top 11 women will be invited to the Games
• Top 12 men will be invited to the Games

Women

1. Emma Cary – 607 points
2. Danielle Brandon – 601
3. Amanda Barnhart – 577
4. Emma Lawson – 575
5. Alexis Raptis – 564
6. Pauge Powers – 557
7. Sydney Wells – 409
8. Feeroozeh Saghafi – 398
9. Shelby Neal – 397
10. Caroline Stanley – 395
11. Paige Semenza – 386

Full leaderboard here.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Men

1. Jeffrey Adler – 613 points
2. Jayson Hopper – 598
3. Dallin Pepper – 586
4. Roman Khrennikov – 575
5. Samuel Cournoyer – 538
6. Will Moorad – 535
7. Noah Ohlsen – 521
8. Luke Parker – 513
9. Alex Vigneault – 507
10. Jack Farlow – 477
11. James Sprague – 460
12. Spencer Panchik – 439

Full leaderboard here.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Teams

Unlike individual athletes, teams competing out of Semifinals did not see a difference in their Games-qualifying spot compared to last year. The top 10 teams were awarded an invitation to Madison after the weekend.

1. CrossFit East Nashville – 573 points
2. CrossFit Move Fast Lift Heavy 247 – 549
3. AB CrossFit Mayhem – 513
4. CrossFit Mayhem Independence – 489
5. CrossFit Krypton – 486
6. CrossFit CLT the Grit Haus – 486
7. CrossFit OBA – 471
8. TTT CrossFit Black – 450
9. CrossFit PSC Invasion – 450
10. CrossFit Milford Team Conquer – 402

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Rebel Renegade Games – Africa

Who Qualified to the CrossFit Games?

Just like last year, in 2023 only one spot was awarded to the athletes from the African continent to go to Madison this year.

Women

1. Michelle Basnett – 613 points

The other athletes who finished on the podium were Mariska Smit (596 points) and Gilmari Reyneke (580 points).

Men

1. Jason Smith – 596 points

The other athletes who comprised the podium were Conrad Winnertz (500 points) and Ruan Potgieter (497 points).

Teams

1. CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa – 580 points

The other teams finishing on the podium were Cape CrossFit Wolfpack (555 points) and CrossFit 10 Star Hybrids (530 points).

Notable Names Not Going to the Games

Although it was a weekend for all these athletes to celebrate, there were a couple of elite-level and past Games-athlete who did not make the cut after a few days of competition.

In the North America East, the most notable is that Brooke Wells finished well below what was predicted. The 8x Games athlete finished 14^th this weekend but showed happiness for her twin sister Sydney Wells for punching her first ticket to Madison in her career.

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Anikha Greer, another athlete we predicted to be a dark horse going into the race that didn’t make the cut. One surprise that also didn’t pass the cut line was 3x Games athlete Carolyne Prevost (she finished 15^th).

There were a couple of names on the men’s side that didn’t make it that we thought were sure to go through. Most notable was Saxon Panchik who withdrew from competition after the third workout – he did not specify the conditions as of this writing.

Tyler Christophel went to the Games on 3 occasions (twice in a team), but also failed to make the cut this time.

One last person who got a lot of attention this weekend for not making the cut was Alexandre Caron. The 5x Games athlete from Canada was pulled from the competition under weird situations as he did not put too much effort into workout 2 and HQ pulled him out of the tournament.

Alex Caron and Korby Foxall Pulled by CrossFit from Competing at Semifinals – Community Reacts

In the Rebel Renegade Games, all eyes were on the battle between veteran Jason Smith and last year’s winner Kealan Henry. While Smith got his way to the top, Henry pulled out before the last workout due to “a week of food intoxication and other factors.”

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A post shared by Kealan Henry (@kealanhenryiv)