CrossFit has undoubtedly become one of the most popular physical exercises. So it’s only natural it has evolved into a competitive sport as well. That’s why today, we’re going to talk about the 12th CrossFit Games which were held on August 1-5 2018, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States.
Each day of the competition is divided into events and there are four different categories of participants competing. This setup makes the competition interesting and fun to watch or participate in all of us!
While entertaining and motiving to watch, the Games are much more than regular Crossfit. Most events are kept secret and in 2018, an event called “Chaos” was announced to all of us only when it began.
We also get to see a lot more than the usual Crossfit exercises which make the games more challenging if we participate and more interesting if we want to simply spectate.
The 2018 CrossFit Games
INDIVIDUALS AND TEAM RESULTS FOR THE 2018 CROSSFIT GAMES
Mat Fraser was crowned “Fittest on Earth” in the men’s category while Tia-Clair Toomey also impressed us with her win in the same category for women, for the second consecutive year. Noticeably absent was Emily Abbott who failed a drug test and was stripped of her qualifying regional title.
One of the most impressive results was 15th place for the women, Amanda Barnhart who came out of nowhere to place so high! And we also would like to mention fan favourite Bethany Shadburne (Branham), a relative newcomer to the CrossFit world who placed an impressive 16th.
While both of them scored lower than the top in some of the events, they proved to us that overall consistent performance is what matters most. And let us not forget Team Crossfit Mayhem Freedom, who won the Teams category for the 8th time!
2018 CrossFit Games: Men’s Competition
MASTERS MEN
This category, same as with the rest below, is separated into 6 age groups so we have a lot of winners and variety to see!
Kyle Kasperbauer (35-39)
Neal Maddox (40-44)
Robert Davis (45-49)
Cliff Musgrave (50-54)
Brig Edwards (55-59)
David Hippensteel (60+)
MASTERS WOMEN
There were a few surprises and first-time winners in this category! The winners per age group were:
Anna Tobias (35-39)
Stephanie Roy (40-44)
Amanda Allen (45-49)
Eva Thornton (50-54)
Mary Beth Prodromides (55-59)
Shaun Havard (60+)
TEEN
The teens’ category is split into two subcategories, Boys and Girls and two different age groups so we have four winners;
Tudor Magda (Boys 14-15)
Olivia Sulek (Girls 14-15)
Dallin Pepper (Boys 16-17)
Haley Adams (Girls 16-17)
The 2018 CrossFit Games
Events for the 2018 CrossFit Games
If you want to see what your favourite athletes were up to in 2018, then here’s a list of events that they had to do at the Games. What do you think: Tougher than previous years, or similar? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Day 1
- Event 1: Crit (Bike 10 laps for time, each lap was approximately 1200 meters)
- Event 2: 30 muscle ups on gymnastics rings, as quickly as possible
- Event 3: CrossFit Total (one lift each for a maximum on the back squat, shoulder press and deadlift
- Event 4: Marathon Row (using a Concept2 Rowing Machine, athletes had to travel 42.195 km, the same distance as a running marathon)
Day 2
- Event 5: The Battleground, which consisted of drags, rope climbs, obstacle course and runs
- Event 6: Clean and Jerk Speed Ladder (5 progressively heavier clean + jerks)
- Event 7: Fibonacci, consisting of handstand push-ups, deadlifts, kettlebells, and overhead lunges
Day 3
- Event 8: Madison Triplus (Swimming, paddle boarding and running)
- Event 9: Chaos (Ski-erg, burpees, various squats, box jump-overs, and a tumbler pull)
- Events 10 + 11: Bicouplet 1 + 2 (Snatches, muscles-ups and pull-ups)
Day 4
- Event 12: Two-Stroke Pull (Run, assault bike, and sled pull)
- Event 13: Handstand walk and 50 double-unders
- Event 14: Aeneas (Peg board ascents, thrusters, and a yoke carry)
Highlights of these CrossFit Games
One of the highlights of the competition is, of course, Mathew Fraser’s win. If Fraser competes and wins next year as well, he will be the one holding the record for four wins in a row! The athlete holding the record currently is Rich Froning. He also competed this year with Crossfit Mayhem Freedom team!
We should also mention Olivia Sulek for being the youngest athlete to ever win the 14-15 division.
Something else that truly impressed us was the fact that many athletes competed even though they had recent, serious injuries.
Laura Horváth who came second to Tia-Clair Toomey performed extraordinarily and might be the only one who almost beat the fittest woman on earth for 2018. We can safely say that Horváth is a rising star athlete and we can’t wait to see more of her.
Crossfit Games 2018 also had the hardest first day in the competition’s history. We watched the athletes get started with a 10 lap cycling race around the Games venue.
CrossFit Games 2018 Handstand Walk Event
Conclusion for the 2018 CrossFit Games
The Crossfit Games 2018 was for sure an incredible spectacle for all of us with a ton of top CrossFit athletes. We believe it’s also much more than that.
The athletes themselves, teach us with their endurance and persistence how much we can achieve. Even when faced with serious competition, difficulties and having a long road ahead which is mostly unknown, we shouldn’t give up!
Many of us might even want to get involved with Crossfit but tend to think it might be too hard. Watching the Crossfit Games 2018 made us realize that we’re all capable of reaching our goals as long as we keep going!
Past CrossFit Games Results
Here are some of the results and highlights from previous competitions.
Have your Say about the 2018 CrossFit Games
What are your thoughts about the CrossFit Games in 2018? Any surprises that you’d like to share with us. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.
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Brian Westen
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