It’s hard to believe another CrossFit Games is now in the books, as athletes all over the world begin gearing up for another year of training and preparation.
We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen leading up to next year’s qualifying format, so in the meantime, let’s fondly look back at the performances from the summer as they were both predictable and surprising at times.
It was a year ago when Tia-Clair Toomey won her first “Fittest Woman on Earth” title at the same time that Mat Fraser won his second-consecutive title in the men’s division. There was a bit of déjà vu this year when Fraser and Toomey once again finished atop their respective divisions in Madison, Wisconsin, each taking home this year’s record $300,000 prize.
Before the first day of competition was over, Fraser had taken the lead in the men’s division and never really looked back, finishing no lower than 11th in any single event and only finishing outside of the top five in two events total. His margin of victory was an astounding 220 points, fueling his rise to the top once again.
Toomey’s repeat victory also was significant, considering she finishing the 2017 Games with the narrowest victory in the sport’s history.
Where there is Fraser, Vellner cannot be far behind. That was the case once again as he improved on last year’s third-place finish to wind up in second overall in 2018. His showing was especially incredible considering technical difficulties caused him to finish 35th in the opening Criterium bike race. Before his Games were over, Vellner had set a new deadlift PR at 595 pounds and won the Chaos event.
Lukas Högberg surprised casual fans and experts alike by finishing tied for third in total points with veteran Brent Fikowski. However, Högberg made it to the podium by way of a tiebreaker decided by the Two-Stroke Pull. Högberg finished that event about 19 seconds faster than Fikowski, so while both had great showings this year, it was Högberg who earned the right to step on the podium.
As the first Hungarian athlete ever to participate in the CrossFit Games, Laura Horvath made quite an impression as a rookie, finishing second overall behind two-time champion Tia-Claire Toomey. She even won a couple of events, showing just how promising her future will be as she looks to better her performance next year.
Former two-time “Fittest Woman on Earth” Katrin Davidsdottir lost last year’s title to Toomey by the smallest margin ever and fell further back in the standings this year. But she still proved herself to be one of the sport’s most impressive athletes, with strong finishes throughout the competition.
Wodify would like to congratulate all of this year’s Games participants and winners. Although we don’t quite know what to expect from the Games’ proposed format changes, we do know our software will continue to help support those elite athletes looking to become champions next year.
