When do CrossFit Games athletes break out?Is there a breakthrough year at the CrossFit Games? A year where athletes show the world their true potential? To dive into this, I looked at all athletes who have finished in the top 10 as an individual at the CrossFit Games since 2017. This amounted to 56 athletes over 6 CrossFit Games seasons. Some of these athletes, like Annie Thorisdottir first made the top 10 well before 2017, while others didn’t have their rookie season until 2022. For each of these athletes, I highlighted in which trip to the CrossFit Games did they first make the top 10. When looking at this breakdown, athletes split into 3 categories. RookiesFrom the 56 athletes who have made the top 10 over the last 6 seasons, 22 had their first top 10 appearance in their rookie season. They weren’t just happy to make the CrossFit Games, they were here to prove a point. This group includes the G.O.A.T.s Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, and Mat Fraser, and current champ, Justin Medieros, along with mainstays in the sport like Scott Panchik, Patrick Vellner, and Kristi O’Connell. SophomoresOur second group needed an extra year to break through. Maybe it was butterflies their first year, maybe they needed a little extra confidence to show they are among the best of the best. Whatever the reason, another 22 athletes from our list made their first top 10 appearance in their second year at the CrossFit Games. Past champions, Annie Thorisdottir, Samantha Briggs, and Ben Smith are part of the sophomore group, along with BKG, Cole Sager and Brooke Wells. Late BloomersOur last group took a little longer to hit their stride, with 12 athletes making their first top 10 appearance in their 3rd trip to the Games or later. 6 athletes did so in their third year, most notably Katrin Davidsdottir, who won the CrossFit Games in her third season. 5 athletes made the top 10 for the first time in their 4th season. This includes podium finishers Kara Saunders, Kristin Holte and Lukas Hogberg. A single athlete, Thuri Helgadottir had a top 10 finish in the CrossFit Games in her 5th appearance at the Games. Based on the numbers since 2017, we have a pretty good idea of an athletes potential by the end of their second year, as 80% of athletes made their first top 10 appearance by this time. We have 22 rookies to keep our eyes on this year, and some 2nd year athletes that had impressive Semifinals performances, like Emma Cary and Dallin Pepper, who are looking to crack the top 10 this year. For third year athletes Ellie Turner and Emma Tall and fourth year athlete Jay Crouch, the numbers aren’t on their side. Can they be one of the 20% who make finish in the top 10 after their first two CrossFit Games? |
Quick Singles🚑 Not the kick off to Games training Christine Kolenbrander wanted Take Care Dave from Fran Lung |
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