Now we have talked about the history of the CrossFit Games before. But, here are some high points:

• CrossFit Games started as fun get-together for athletes to see who was the “fittest” out of all athletes at Dave Castro’s Family Ranch (CrossFit The Ranch) in Aromas, California in 2007.
  • Fitness is your work capacity,across broad time and modal domains. 
    • Who, on average, finishes the best across events of different lengths of time and demands on the body.
  • Dave Castro is the former GM of the CrossFit Games and programmed every event up until this year.
    • This year, long time head judge at the CF Games Adrian Bozman has taken over the programming duty.
• In 2010, the event was first televised on ESPN and moved into the Stub Hub Center in Carson, CA.
  • This is where the CrossFit games would stay until 2017. 
  • Events would be held in the complex where this stadium resided and would also have offsite events such as Camp Pendleton, various locations on Carson’s Beach, and a trip back to Aromas for the day in 2016 for the 10th CrossFit Games.
• In 2017, CrossFit moved the Games to Madison, Wisconsin at the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
  • This move was prompted by conflicting schedules with the newly relocated Los Angeles Chargers.
  • This is where the event currently resides through 2023!
    • CrossFit takes advantage of the local area by using the Coliseum (UW Basketball Arena), North Park (A Temporary Stadium that is erected every year by Rogue Fitness), and locations around Madison!
      • This year they are going to be using State St. and the State Capitol building for a workout on Friday!
• To read much more about the CrossFit Games History, check out THIS LINK to be able to read a break down of each year of the CrossFit Games and what made each year special!

Now the history of the whole event is a pretty cool thing to go over for sure. But, if this is your first year watching the Games. How to you watch? Who do you root for? And how do you even know who’s in winning or where anyone is for that matter??

How to Watch The CrossFit Games?

This part is super easy. CrossFit and CBS will stream the event live every day of the competition. The games will only be on the CBS TV Channel at 12pm-2pm on Sunday, everything else can be found on YouTube, Facebook, The CrossFit Games Website, and Twitch.

Here is the link that guides you to ALL of that: https://games.crossfit.com/article/2023-nobull-crossfit

Who Do You Root For??

This could take forever with 80 different athletes to run through. So, let’s spark note this years field by giving you a brief guide to the popular athletes in the field. It will be up to you to put their names into youtube and Instagram and learn more about their backstories.

First thing to know is that, even though each year has different workouts and qualification standards to make the Games. Ya generally have the same people show up every year. These are professionals who generally make all their income from event winnings and sponsorships from brands like NOBULL, Nike, and TYR. These athletes have huge followings and are celebrities inside the sport and some even become well known outside such as Tia Toomey, Mat Fraser, Rich Froning, and Annie Thorisdottir.

Speaking of those folks:

• Justin Medeiros is your returning male champion for the past 2 years! He had his rookie years at the games in the shadow of Mat Fraser (5x CrossFit Games Champ by WIDE margins). Medeiros is far more scrappy and wins the games by not having huge gaps, rather than just being overwhelmingly dominant in one area! Also, if you like mullets and want to root on the young buck that’s aiming to chase greatness, he’s your boy!
• The women’s field, for the first time in 8 years, does not feature Tia Claire-Toomey (6x CrossFit Games Champ and 2x 2nd Fittest on Earth). She has started her family and is aiming to be the first person to win the CrossFit Games after becoming a mom! In her stead is a field that has no clear favorite for the first time since 2015. Speaking of…Katrin Davidsdottir (2015 and 2016 CF Games Champ) is BACK after missing last year due to being cut at the semifinals last year! 
• Back to the guys where we have the Russian with a heart of gold, Roman Khrennikov, is aiming his sights on first place after his rookie season finish of 2nd place! He had actually qualified for the CrossFit Games a couple times before, but due to strict travel regulations, had his journey stopped by US Customs. He now lives here in the US and trains under the wing of 10x CrossFit Games Champion (4x Men’s Fittest and 6x Fittest Team) Rich Froning as part of the CrossFit Mayhem Crew.
• Along side CrossFit Mayhem, you have CrossFit Invictus, that is looking to take back the crown from the juggernaut with 3 teams qualifying for the Games. Look out of a sea of green in the stands to be cheering on the other dominant affiliate at the CF Games! (And who knows, maybe there will be an Ocean of Blue cheering on Vegvisir someday!)
• To round out the competitive female field, Danielle Brandon, Emma Cary, Emma Lawson, Alex Gazan, and Annie Thorisdottir are the athletes the talking heads are rumbling about this year! Danielle Brandon is known for flipping off the crowd triumphantly during the 2021 CrossFit Games after all of her training partners were removed from competition due to COVID regulations and she was required to compete alone on the floor as a safety precaution (she also has colorful hair, but is not sporting that this year). Emma Cary and Emma Lawson are the young guns (both 18 years old) that have won competitions outside of the Games and are SCARY good lifters. Then you have Alex Gazan who won the North America West Semifinals and is an athlete that has very few weaknesses. Annie is competing in her 13th CrossFit Games (won in 2011 and 2012) and has the highest finish at the CrossFit Games after becoming a mother of 3rd fittest in the World!!
• Last thing you should know, Noah Ohlsen is a famous CF Athlete who is known for owning a cute Golden Retriever and making it to the Games 10 times!! This will be his last year as an individual and was the only athlete to make it close with Mat Fraser back in 2019. 

Oh, and how do you know who is leading? Well the person in first will always have a white shirt with red bottoms. We’ll tell ya how to make sense of each even tomorrow just in time to watch your first event of the CrossFit Games!

Want to get involved with Crossfit? To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro