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The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games are about ready to start. From Aug. 3-7, athletes from Adaptive, Age Group, Team, and Individual divisions will descend on Madison, WI to battle it out for their respective titles of Fittest on Earth®. The field is stacked with incredible competitors worldwide — so how do you know who to look out for?
Any athlete who’s made it to the Games is worth following. Their prowess on the competition floor has been proven repeatedly by the time they secure their ticket to Madison. Certain athletes are a must-watch — Tia-Clair Toomey and Justin Medeiros, fresh off their 2021 Games wins, are obvious picks. Toomey is looking for her sixth such crown. But plenty more athletes will be fighting for glory in Madison.
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Names like Mal O’Brien and Chyna Cho may be a bit more commonplace in CrossFit circles, and they’re bound to put on incredible shows at the 2022 Games. You’ll also want to tune into rising stars and consistent but less well-known players across multiple divisions — like Victoria Campos, Samer Zaarour, Letchen Du Plessis, and Casey Acree. Read on to find out which other athletes to watch out for at the 2022 CrossFit Games.
2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Athletes to Watch
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Individual — Women
Though there are some obvious choices for who to watch here (Tia-Clair Toomey, anyone?), make sure you keep your eyes on the rest of the field. You never know what could happen.
Danielle Brandon
This year’s Games will see Danielle Brandon fully integrated with the competition once again. In 2021, Brandon tested negative for COVID throughout the Games, but had been in contact with Kara Saunders and/or Bethany Shadburne — both of whom later tested positive for COVID and had to withdraw from the competition. Though Brandon tested negative herself, she competed using socially distanced lanes and workout areas throughout the 2021 Games.
She wasn’t deterred by the difficulties in 2021, when she placed 11th in a heavily-competitive field. Brandon will be back on the close-contact competition floor this year after winning the 2022 Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. This will be her fourth Games appearance. She’s never finished worse than 15th at the Games.
Victoria Campos
Victoria Campos will make the trip to Madison to compete in the Games for the first time. The Brazilian athlete won the 2022 CrossFit Copa Sur Semifinal, never finishing lower than ninth. In four of six events, she ranked in the top four with three third place finishes.
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While even elite CrossFitters struggle when they find themselves in swimming events in Madison, Campos gets plenty of practice in the water — she coached surfing when she was living in Hong Kong and went surfing on the side during her trip to Brazil for the Semifinals.
Seungyeon Choi
Taking her second trip to the Games, Seungyeon Choi is fresh off of a victory at the 2022 Far East Throwdown Semifinal. She finally clinched the top spot after finishing second in the 2021 Semifinals and Quarterfinals.
In 2021, Choi became the first athlete from South Korea to qualify for the Games. Her competition in Madison came tumbling to a painful close, though, when she sprained her ankle during the seventh event of the weekend. Though she limped across the finish line, the crowd buoyed around her to cheer her on. The 2022 Games will give a recovered Choi a second opportunity to gain applause and make waves in Madison.
Mal O’Brien
After finishing seventh at the 2021 CrossFit Games, the then-Rookie of the Year Mal O’Brien is set to pull off another impressive performance in Madison. She ranked first worldwide in the 2022 Open, including beating out Toomey in Workout 22.1 and finishing in a close second to the reigning champ in Workouts 22.2 and 22.3. After coming in second at the 2021 Granite Games Semifinal, O’Brien came back to take the overall victory at the Granite Games in 2022.
O’Brien has spent this year training with five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser, and it’s been showing in her performances. She’s widely considered a podium-contender in Madison despite being so new to the Games on the individual side.
Alexis Raptis
This year marks Alexis Raptis’ rookie season at the Games as an individual — she took second place in 2016 in the Girls’ 16-17 and fourth place in the same division in 2015. As an individual, Raptis is off to a promising start in 2022. She took home second in the Syndicate Crown Semifinal after finishing second in North America for the Quarterfinals and seventh worldwide in the Open.
Raptis’ climb has been rapid, making those jumps after finishing 95th worldwide in 2021’s Open and 41st in the 2021 North American Quarterfinal. She outperformed legend Tia-Clair Toomey in Open 22.1 and beat both Toomey and O’Brien in the first Quarterfinals event.
Kara Saunders
Despite earning her ticket to Madison, Kara Saunders had to sit out the 2021 CrossFit Games. She withdrew after day one of the Individual competition, citing a difficult time recovering from COVID — which she tested positive for in transit to the Games — even though she tested negative in time to be allowed to compete.
Saunders is back in 2022 for her 10th CrossFit Games. She’s been a consistent fixture at the Games since 2012, taking home second in 2017 and fourth in 2018. Saunders is fresh off of a second-place finish at the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal.
Tia-Clair Toomey
Anyone and everyone watching the Games will have no choice but to keep their eyes on five-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey. After dominating the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal and winning the Quarterfinals, Toomey is poised to continue her massive winning streak at the Games.
Toomey is poised to take home a sixth Fittest on Earth® title, which would make her the winningest Individual athlete in CrossFit history. And it wouldn’t just be her sixth overall title but her sixth title in a row.
Brooke Wells
Brooke Wells is riding high during the 2022 season. It’s one of her best seasons despite her injury at the 2021 Games that forced her to have Tommy John surgery. She dislocated her right elbow mid-rep during a 190-pound snatch attempt in 2021, but that hasn’t stopped her from crushing 2022.
Wells finished fifth worldwide during the 2022 Open and took home fourth at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. Her surgery doesn’t seem to be toning down her excellence, so it’ll be interesting to see what she can pull off during the Games.
Individual — Men
The Men’s side is loaded with both experience and fresh talent that are poised to give an excellent showdown in Madison.
Nasser Alruwayeh
After transitioning from CrossFit to wrestling with the WWE, Kuwaiti athlete Nasser Alruwayeh is back into CrossFit in a big way. He was scouted by the WWE in 2017 and spent 2018 and 2019 with WWE NXT. Now that he’s worked his way back into CrossFit, Alruwayeh is looking strong.
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He ranked ninth in Asia during the 2022 Open, took 25th in Asia in the Quarterfinals, and climbed to second place in the Far East Throwdown Semifinal. He dramatically improved his performance from 2021, when he placed 23rd at the CrossFit Asia Invitational.
Kealan Henry
Kealan Henry is making his way to the CrossFit Games for the first time after winning the 2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal. He ranked third in Africa during the 2022 Quarterfinals and first in Africa in the Open.
Henry was 24th in the world in the 2022 Open, and ranked no worse than 10th during the Semifinals events. As CrossFit Tijger Valley Unit, the only team from the continent invited to the 2022 Games, were disqualified due to drug testing, Henry will represent the continent at the Games along with Michelle Merand in Women’s Individual, Kaiden Steyn in Teen, and Letchen Du Plessis in Women’s Neuromuscular.
Roman Khrennikov
Roman Khrennikov came into the 2022 season determined not only to qualify for the Games but to be able to compete. In both 2018 and 2019, the Russian athlete was denied a visa to the United States to compete in the Games despite qualifying in both years. He competed in 2020, where he came in 13th overall.
In 2022, Khrennikov ranked fifth in Asia during the Open, first in Asia during the Quarterfinals, and secured his spot at the Games by winning the 2022 Far East Throwdown. He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his social media account. Khrennikov also won the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship.
Samuel Kwant
Sam Kwant will be making his fifth appearance at the CrossFit Games after securing fourth place at the 2022 Granite Games Semifinal. In 2020, Kwant was the second Fittest Man on Earth®, bested only by Mat Fraser.
Kwant is returning to the Games for the first time since his runner-up performance. He will be wearing soon-to-be-released PUMA FUSE 2.0 cross-trainers and wrote a workout — to be coached by fellow elite CrossFitter Chandler Smith — to be hosted on Saturday, Aug. 6 for the Trisomy 18 Foundation, his charity of choice, and Southern Area Hospice Care, three-time Games veteran Emma McQuaid’s charity of choice.
Guilherme Malheiros
Rising star Guilherme Malheiros finished second in the Boys’ 16-17 Division in 2017 and hasn’t stopped climbing since. Though he came in 48th at the 2019 CrossFit Games — his first as an Individual — he pulled off a seventh place finish in 2021. That year, he pulled off three event wins, going toe-to-toe in that department with Pat Vellner.
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This year, Malheiros ranked 90th worldwide in the Open, first in South America for the Quarterfinals, and won CrossFit Copa Sur outright. During the Semifinal, he managed to best the Barbell Complex record — set only a week earlier by Anthony Davis at the Granite Games — with a gigantic 357-pound lift of three cleans, two front squats, and one shoulder-to-overhead.
Justin Medeiros
Justin Medeiros and his mullet need no introduction. At 22 years old, he became the Fittest Man on Earth® in 2021. Should he repeat this year, he’ll be the first Men’s Individual athlete to take back-to-back titles since now-retired Mat Fraser.
During the 2022 season, Medeiros has looked in shape to do just that. He ranked third worldwide during the Open, took first in North America during the Quarterfinals, and dominated the Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Though he only won a single event there, his overall consistency was enough to keep him on top — and he’s hoping that well-roundedness will pay off again in Madison.
Patrick Vellner
The 2021 second Fittest Man on Earth®, Pat Vellner, is looking to continue a solid 2022 season. He won Wodapalooza again in 2022 after taking home the crown the previous two years — a three-peat.
He arguably might have been able to edge Medeiros out of the top spot in 2021 at the Games (if his swimming had been better). If Vellner can iron out his swimming game, he may well be looking at a podium finish.
Teams
Though the Semifinals made CrossFit Mayhem Freedom look like it could easily run away with the Games, the Teams Division still promises to be exciting.
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom is prepared to continue its domination of the Teams division at the 2022 Games.
Led by four-time Fittest Man on Earth®, Rich Froning, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom won all six events at the 2022 Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Andrea Nisler and Taylor Williamson, two of the best women’s Team competitors, were a huge part of that victory. The fourth leg of the team is Samuel Cournoyer, an excellent individual competitor who took home an impressive third place at Wodapalooza.
CrossFit Reykjavík
Annie Thorisdottir, CrossFit legend and two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® (2011-2012), is bringing team CrossFit Reykjavík back to the Games for the first time since 2017.
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Alongside experienced Teams, athletes Lauren Fisher, Tola Morakinyo, and Khan Porter, Thorisdottir, and co. won the Snatch Ladder in the Semifinals, totaling 955.5 pounds between them. They also came in an impressive second during the Thruster + Legless Semifinals workout, making them strong contenders for the title in Madison.
Adaptive Divisions
CrossFit has several officially-sanctioned Adaptive Divisions, including Vision, Intellectual, Seated With Hip Function, Seated Without Hip Function, and Short Stature. These Divisions have their Fittest on Earth®, crowned during the Semifinals.
Three Adaptive Divisions are represented at the Games — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular. As with Individual and Age Group Divisions, each Division is broken down into Women’s and Men’s competitions*.
*CrossFit welcomes trans athletes to compete with other members of their gender, but doesn’t have divisions to specifically accommodate nonbinary athletes.
Upper Extremity — Women
Women’s Upper Extremity is seeing more than one star make a return trip to Madison.
Sabrina Daniela Lopez
Sabrina Daniela Lopez pulled 300 pounds in last year’s Games, securing her an event win in the deadlift. She brought home first place overall and earned herself the title of Fittest on Earth® in Women’s Upper Extremity as a rookie. Lopez also competed in the Women’s Individual division in the Open each year from 2015 to 2020.
Camille Vigneault
Camille Vigneault is traveling to Madison with tremendous pulling strength. She deadlifted 395 pounds in the final workout of the 2022 Semifinals, during which she took home the win for three of six events.
Upper Extremity — Men
This division has largely been synonymous with one name — Casey Acree — but he’s not the only one to watch.
Casey Acree
Casey Acree’s dominance of the Upper Extremity Men’s division is continuing in 2022 after an incredible performance during the 2021 Games. There, Acree took home first in six out of seven events and was crowned the Fittest on Earth® in Men’s Upper Extremity. Acree also won the 2022 CrossFit Open worldwide and the 2022 Adaptive Semifinals.
Josue Maldonado
Josue Maldonado is returning to the Games for the second time, after winning second overall in 2021. He deadlifted 525 pounds during the 2021 Games, earning him a spot at the top of the only event Acree didn’t win.
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He pulled 495 in the 2022 Semifinals for another event win, where he took home second overall.
Lower Extremity — Women
This Division boasts everyone from returning Games athletes to a Paralympian.
Valerie Cohen
After crushing the competition during the 2021 Games, Cohen is poised for another incredible performance in 2022. She won four of six events in the 2022 Semifinals and dominated the Open.
Natalie Rovirosa
At 40 years old, Rovirosa will make her second trip to Madison as a CrossFit Games athlete. In 2021, she brought home second place in Women’s Lower Extremity. Rovirosa is also a Paralympian. She earned sixth place in Discus in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Lower Extremity — Men
From Games rookies to Games vets, Men’s Lower Extremity is poised to be a solid competition.
Charles Pienaar
While all eyes will undoubtedly — and deservedly — be on returning champ Ole Kristian Antonsen, Pienaar managed to win the 2022 Semifinals without winning a single event. He’ll be heading to the Games for the first time.
Elliot Young
Elliot Young won the max snatch event in the 2021 Games — where he hit a 205-pound lift — marking his strength as a huge asset to his Games performance this year. He took home second in the 2022 Semifinals and is eyeing the podium in Madison.
Neuromuscular — Women
With only one Games veteran among the competitors, Women’s Neuromuscular is poised for a new champ.
Letchen Du Plessis
The South African athlete secured second place in the 2021 Games, winning the one-rep max clean and 300-meter swim.
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This well-roundedness is likely to serve her well in Madison, as is her experience — she’s the only athlete in her division returning to this year’s Games.
Alyssa Kobela
The Games rookie won the 2022 Semifinals, earning herself two event wins and never finishing outside the top-three. She also secured second worldwide in Women’s Neuromuscular in 2022, marking a good start to her rookie year as a Games athlete.
Neuromuscular — Men
Like the women’s side, Men’s Neuromuscular also only has one returning Games vet, leaving the field open to changes and fresh excitement.
Brett Horchar
Horchar is the only returning athlete from 2021 in his division — it’s fitting, perhaps, that he’s also the reigning champ. He won the Games last year with a dominant six-event win. He also ranked number one in the world during both 2021 and 2022 in the Open.
Jeremie Perera
France’s Jeremie Perera is poised to disrupt the United States’ previous podium dominance in this division. He came in third in the 2022 Semifinals after ranking ninth worldwide and third in Europe. This will be his first Games appearance.
Age Group Divisions
Each age group — Teen and Masters — have individual divisions broken down into specific age brackets. Those Divisions are as follows:
14-15 — Girls
These athletes are young but are training with the best of the best.
Rylee Beebe
This will be Rylee Beebe’s second trip to the Games, where she finished 15th as a 14-year-old last year, during which she recorded all top-10 finishes. She’s been training in elite company during her freshman year of high school, where she’s joined CrossFit greats Chandler Smith and Amanda Barnhart in training in New England.
Lucy McGonigle
As a 14-year-old in 2021, Lucy McGonigle took second place at the Games. In 2022, she won the Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals to sweep her way into Madison.
14-15 — Boys
This division hosts the younger Subiono brother along with a lot of collective competition experience on the field.
Ka’eo Subiono
Most eyes will deservedly be on 15-year-old RJ Mestre, who dominated the 2022 Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals. But fellow 15-year-old Ka’eo Subiono also promises to be a force to be reckoned with.
Subiono debuted in the Games last year when he was 14, finishing in ninth. This year at the Semifinals, he clocked in five top-10 finishes for a second-place finish. He also ranked third worldwide in the Open.
Leonardo Torres
Torres is an experienced Olympic weightlifter, giving him the competition experience that will serve him well under the high-pressure atmosphere in Madison. He also boasts a 220-pound snatch, which would have earned him a second place finish during the 2021 Games.
16-17 — Girls
The older Teen Division isn’t lacking in excitement — or elite training experience.
Olivia Kerstetter
Sitting atop the current Girls’ 16-17 leaderboard heading out of the Semifinals, Olivia Kerstetter never finished worse than fourth in any 2022 Semifinals event. She outright won three of those workouts, and she was 2021 Girls’ 14-15 Division champ. Kerstetter polished off her Semifinals victory this year with a 242-pound lift in the max clean & jerk event.
Trista Smith
Before opting to compete in with her age group, Trista Smith qualified for the Individual Semifinals with an 86th-place finish in the 2022 Open and a 110th-place Quarterfinals finish. She trains in Vancouver with the likes of Fittest Man on Earth® Justin Medeiros and Ellie Turner. In the 2022 Semifinals, Smith placed no worse than 10th in each event.
16-17 — Boys
The Boys’ 16-17 Division hosts the elder Subiono brother and offers a young athlete a chance to join some very prestigious company.
Ty Jenkins
If 16-year-old Jenkins takes home the crown this year, he’ll be joining elite company in being one of the only two-teen division champions. Chloe Smith, Kealo Stephano, Dallin Pepper, and Angelo Dicicco have accomplished this feat before him. Jenkins came in second place in the 2022 Semifinals after winning the Boys’ 14-15 Division in 2021.
Elijah Subiono
Ka’eo isn’t the only Subiono brother in the Games this year. Elijah took home sixth in last year’s Games and sixth in the 2022 Semifinals. He hoisted 306 pounds during the max clean & jerk event in the Semifinals, earning himself second place.
35-39 — Women
The Women’s 35-39 Division will see the return of a much-beloved Games athlete.
Chyna Cho
Cho last appeared in the Games in 2019, where she was a key player in CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s victory in the Teams Division.
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She was also a Games mainstay on the Individual side from 2014 to 2018. She secured herself sixth place overall in 2015.
Maryam Zanbagh
The 38-year-old firefighter took third place in the 2022 Semifinals and took home two event wins. This will be her first Games appearance, though she did rank third at the 2022 Occupational Games.
35-39 — Men
From Games vet to Games rook, this division is offering it all.
Sam Dancer
Sam Dancer’s 2022 season has been absolutely dominant. He won the Open and secured first place finishes in both the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals. Dancer secured himself a spot in the top five in five out of six Semifinals workouts after outright winning the opening workout of the weekend.
Bryan Wong
Bryan Wong placed third in the 2022 Semifinals, finally securing his place at the Games after participating in the Open as an Individual every year since 2015. This will be Wong’s first time at the Games, and first time competing in any Age Group Division.
40-44 — Women
More than one of these athletes were invited to compete in the Women’s Individual Division.
Jimena Delamer
Jimena Delamer will be competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time after spending a couple of seasons in the 35-39 Division.
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While she placed eighth in the South America Quarterfinals and earned an invite to the Semifinals, she declined and took the opportunity to place fifth at the Age Group Semifinals.
Rebecca Voigt Miller
With the exception of the 2020 season, when the division was canceled due to COVID, Voigt Miller has been a force at every Games since 2012. Though she was invited to the 2022 Granite Games Semifinals, she declined to so she could participate in the Masters’ Division for the fourth time.
40-44 — Men
The Men’s 40-44 will see some seasoned Masters competitors and some new blood at the Games.
Michael Laverriere
Michael Laverriere earned first place in the 2022 Semifinals and second in the 2022 Online Qualifier. He is competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time. However, this isn’t Laverriere’s first time at the Games. He participated in the Men’s 35-39 Division in 2018 and 2019. The latter year, he ranked fifth overall.
Samer Zaarour
Hailing from Lebanon, Samer Zaarour is looking to bring home the title of Fittest on Earth® to his country for the first time. He came in second in the 2022 Semifinals. He ranked 24th overall in the 2022 Online Qualifier and was 30th worldwide in the Open.
45-49 — Women
This division will see opportunities for redemption and repeat podium finishes.
Jessica Manfro
Jessica Manfro just missed the podium at 2021’s Games with a ranking of fourth place. She’ll be looking to secure that spot this year. She placed third in this year’s Semifinals after a 13th place position in the Online Qualifier.
Karen McCadam
McCadam made her first appearance in the 45-49 Division last year, but she’s no stranger to the Games. This will be her seventh year at the Games, and she’ll be aiming to make the podium for the third time. She also competed as an individual at the Regionals level for five years.
45-49 — Men
Dominant performances throughout the 2022 season are melding with years of Games experience here.
Mike Kern
No stranger to the big event, Mike Kern will be making his fifth appearance at the Games. He’s finished in the top 10 three times, placing second in his division in both 2016 and 2021.
Vlad Liashkevich
Vlad Liashkevich is making his Games debut after a dominant performance in the 2022 season. He won both the 2022 Quarterfinals and Semifinals. During the Semifinals, he placed in the top-six in all six events.
50-54 — Women
Seasoned Games athletes will be taking the field, but only some have experience in this division.
Cheryl Brost
Cheryl Brost took seventh place in the 2011 CrossFit Games as an individual and was the Fittest on Earth® in the 45-49 Division in both 2016 and 2017. This will be the fourth division she’s competed in.
Carrie Sandoval
Carrie Sandoval finished third in this division in 2021, and is the top competitor to return in 2022. She’s no stranger to the Games, having taken four trips to the big event.
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She’s only finished worse than the top 10 once, with a 14th place finish in the Women’s 45-49 Division in 2018.
50-54 — Men
These men might not be new to the Games, but they’re new to this age group.
Chris Exarhos
Chris Exarhos isn’t new to the Games, but this will be his first time competing in the 50-54 Division. He’s competed in four Games and he demonstrated that experience in the 2022 Semifinals, where he won the max clean & jerk event by hoisting 252 pounds.
Clint Paddock
A Games veteran, Clint Paddock has competed in the 45-49 Division three times at the Games. He came in fourth in 2017 in that division and took home fifth in 2019. This is his first time competing in the 50-54 Division.
55-59 — Women
There’s a lot of accumulated Games experience between these athletes.
Joanne McCullough
This year will mark Joanne McCullough’s second Games appearance — she placed sixth in her division in 2021, her rookie year. During the Semifinals, the British athlete took home three event wins. She hefted 169 pounds during the max clean & jerk event.
Laurie Meschishnick
Laurie Meschishnick took home first place at the Games for the second time in 2021. This year, she placed fifth in both the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. This will be her eighth overall Games appearance, where she’s been more or less a mainstay since 2012.
55-59 — Men
One athlete is is seeing his first trip back to the Games since before COVID.
Bill Cileo
Bill Cileo has put up a consistent and high-ranking performance throughout the 2022 season. The American took home second place in the Open and in the Semifinals, where he also scored two event victories. He came in third in the 2022 Quarterfinals.
Leonardo Wernersbach Lima
This year marks Leonardo Wernersbach Lima’s third trip to the Games, though it will be his first time competing in the 55-59 Division. He took home a victory in the 2022 Semifinals. The Brazilian has not been at the Games since before the COVID pandemic, when he placed fifth in the 50-54 Division in 2019.
60-64 — Women
History is waiting to be made in this division.
Shelly Chapple
Shelly Chapple might be a Games rookie, but she didn’t look like it in the 2022 Semifinals. She didn’t place worse than eighth in any of the six workouts, and she crushed a 170-pound lift to take home a victory in the max clean & jerk event.
Mary Beth Prodromides
This year, Mary Beth Prodromides is looking to make Games history.
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She’s been crowned Fittest on Earth® in two divisions already, with a victory in 50-54 in 2014 and two wins in 55-59 in 2016 and 2018. If she were to take home a win in 60-64, she would have been the Fittest across three divisions.
60-64 — Men
Experience at the Games is a-plenty here.
Shannon Aiken
Shannon Aiken has yet to compete in the 60-64 Division, but he’s used to crushing it at the Games. In 2017, he took home the crown in the 55-59 Division and came in second in the division the following year. This year, he earned himself second place in the Semifinals.
Will Powell
No stranger to making Games history, Will Powell is looking to secure his fifth overall title in the Games. He’s won titles in three different divisions over the span of his appearances at eight Games.
65+ — Women
This division hosts the oldest woman to qualify for the Games.
Patty Bauer
As a Games rookie in 2021, Patty Bauer took home an impressive victory in her division, winning by a clear 90-point margin. She finished fourth at the 2022 Semifinals and won the 65+ max clean & jerk event with a 130-pound lift.
Joke Dikhoff
72-year-old Joke Dikhoff is the oldest woman to qualify for the Games.
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She’s coming back to the Games for the first time since 2015, but she’s doing it in style — after placing sixth in the Semifinals, she showed off a legless rope climb in training.
65+ — Men
The Men’s 65+ Division is hosting the return of the Fittest Man on Earth® in this division.
Michael Bridges
Michel Bridges took home wins in multiple 2022 Semifinals events, where he came in fourth place overall. He won the max clean & jerk event with a 217-pound heft that bested the second place finisher by a full 25 pounds.
Ken Ogden
Ken Ogden is the oldest man to be competing at this year’s Games. The 67-year-old came in fourth in the Quarterfinals this year and took home ninth in the Semifinals. He was crowned Fittest on Earth® in the Men’s 65+ Division in 2021. This will be his third overall Games appearance.
How to Watch the 2022 CrossFit Games
If you can’t make it to Madison, WI, you can watch the Games through YouTube, the CrossFit Games app, Facebook, Twitch, and Pluto TV. The only exception is the final time slot (see below), which will air exclusively on CBS.
Here is the full streaming schedule. The times listed are in CST, but viewers can find the Games schedule in their local time through the CrossFit Games app.
Wednesday, Aug. 3 — 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. CST
Thursday, Aug. 4 — 9 a.m. – 6:15 p.m. CST
Friday, Aug. 5 — 9 a.m. – 7:15 p.m. CST
Saturday, Aug. 6 — 8 a.m. – 8:20 p.m. CST
Sunday, Aug. 7 — 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CST
Sunday, Aug. 7 — 12 – 2 p.m. CST on CBS Television Network
The Individuals and Teams Divisions will kick off the Games on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and take a break on Thursday, Aug. 4, when the Adaptive and Age Group Divisions will start their competitions. Adaptive and Age Group will both wrap up on Saturday, Aug. 6.
CrossFit Games Cuts, Explained
It’s common for the field of athletes to narrow as the Games progress, especially in the Individual divisions. The 2022 CrossFit Games cut schedule is simple and one of the more forgiving cut schedules in recent years.
Individuals
The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games will begin with 40 individual athletes in the Men’s and Women’s divisions. On the final day of the competition, 10 athletes will be cut — only 30 will remain contenders to be crowned Fittest on Earth® in their respective divisions.
Teams
For the Teams, 36 will begin the competition, but only 20 will finish the Games on the final day. The cuts were announced two weeks ahead of the August 3-7, 2022, competition on Games Central, an official production of the CrossFit Games.
Featured Images (left to right): @crossfitgames and @guimalheiros162 on Instagram
The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games are about ready to start. From Aug. 3-7, athletes from Adaptive, Age Group, Team, and Individual divisions will descend on Madison, WI to battle it out for their respective titles of Fittest on Earth®. The field is stacked with incredible competitors worldwide — so how do you know who to look out for?
Any athlete who’s made it to the Games is worth following. Their prowess on the competition floor has been proven repeatedly by the time they secure their ticket to Madison. Certain athletes are a must-watch — Tia-Clair Toomey and Justin Medeiros, fresh off their 2021 Games wins, are obvious picks. Toomey is looking for her sixth such crown. But plenty more athletes will be fighting for glory in Madison.
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Names like Mal O’Brien and Chyna Cho may be a bit more commonplace in CrossFit circles, and they’re bound to put on incredible shows at the 2022 Games. You’ll also want to tune into rising stars and consistent but less well-known players across multiple divisions — like Victoria Campos, Samer Zaarour, Letchen Du Plessis, and Casey Acree. Read on to find out which other athletes to watch out for at the 2022 CrossFit Games.
2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Athletes to Watch
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Individual — Women
Though there are some obvious choices for who to watch here (Tia-Clair Toomey, anyone?), make sure you keep your eyes on the rest of the field. You never know what could happen.
Danielle Brandon
This year’s Games will see Danielle Brandon fully integrated with the competition once again. In 2021, Brandon tested negative for COVID throughout the Games, but had been in contact with Kara Saunders and/or Bethany Shadburne — both of whom later tested positive for COVID and had to withdraw from the competition. Though Brandon tested negative herself, she competed using socially distanced lanes and workout areas throughout the 2021 Games.
She wasn’t deterred by the difficulties in 2021, when she placed 11th in a heavily-competitive field. Brandon will be back on the close-contact competition floor this year after winning the 2022 Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. This will be her fourth Games appearance. She’s never finished worse than 15th at the Games.
Victoria Campos
Victoria Campos will make the trip to Madison to compete in the Games for the first time. The Brazilian athlete won the 2022 CrossFit Copa Sur Semifinal, never finishing lower than ninth. In four of six events, she ranked in the top four with three third place finishes.
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While even elite CrossFitters struggle when they find themselves in swimming events in Madison, Campos gets plenty of practice in the water — she coached surfing when she was living in Hong Kong and went surfing on the side during her trip to Brazil for the Semifinals.
Seungyeon Choi
Taking her second trip to the Games, Seungyeon Choi is fresh off of a victory at the 2022 Far East Throwdown Semifinal. She finally clinched the top spot after finishing second in the 2021 Semifinals and Quarterfinals.
In 2021, Choi became the first athlete from South Korea to qualify for the Games. Her competition in Madison came tumbling to a painful close, though, when she sprained her ankle during the seventh event of the weekend. Though she limped across the finish line, the crowd buoyed around her to cheer her on. The 2022 Games will give a recovered Choi a second opportunity to gain applause and make waves in Madison.
Mal O’Brien
After finishing seventh at the 2021 CrossFit Games, the then-Rookie of the Year Mal O’Brien is set to pull off another impressive performance in Madison. She ranked first worldwide in the 2022 Open, including beating out Toomey in Workout 22.1 and finishing in a close second to the reigning champ in Workouts 22.2 and 22.3. After coming in second at the 2021 Granite Games Semifinal, O’Brien came back to take the overall victory at the Granite Games in 2022.
O’Brien has spent this year training with five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser, and it’s been showing in her performances. She’s widely considered a podium-contender in Madison despite being so new to the Games on the individual side.
Alexis Raptis
This year marks Alexis Raptis’ rookie season at the Games as an individual — she took second place in 2016 in the Girls’ 16-17 and fourth place in the same division in 2015. As an individual, Raptis is off to a promising start in 2022. She took home second in the Syndicate Crown Semifinal after finishing second in North America for the Quarterfinals and seventh worldwide in the Open.
Raptis’ climb has been rapid, making those jumps after finishing 95th worldwide in 2021’s Open and 41st in the 2021 North American Quarterfinal. She outperformed legend Tia-Clair Toomey in Open 22.1 and beat both Toomey and O’Brien in the first Quarterfinals event.
Kara Saunders
Despite earning her ticket to Madison, Kara Saunders had to sit out the 2021 CrossFit Games. She withdrew after day one of the Individual competition, citing a difficult time recovering from COVID — which she tested positive for in transit to the Games — even though she tested negative in time to be allowed to compete.
Saunders is back in 2022 for her 10th CrossFit Games. She’s been a consistent fixture at the Games since 2012, taking home second in 2017 and fourth in 2018. Saunders is fresh off of a second-place finish at the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal.
Tia-Clair Toomey
Anyone and everyone watching the Games will have no choice but to keep their eyes on five-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey. After dominating the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal and winning the Quarterfinals, Toomey is poised to continue her massive winning streak at the Games.
Toomey is poised to take home a sixth Fittest on Earth® title, which would make her the winningest Individual athlete in CrossFit history. And it wouldn’t just be her sixth overall title but her sixth title in a row.
Brooke Wells
Brooke Wells is riding high during the 2022 season. It’s one of her best seasons despite her injury at the 2021 Games that forced her to have Tommy John surgery. She dislocated her right elbow mid-rep during a 190-pound snatch attempt in 2021, but that hasn’t stopped her from crushing 2022.
Wells finished fifth worldwide during the 2022 Open and took home fourth at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. Her surgery doesn’t seem to be toning down her excellence, so it’ll be interesting to see what she can pull off during the Games.
Individual — Men
The Men’s side is loaded with both experience and fresh talent that are poised to give an excellent showdown in Madison.
Nasser Alruwayeh
After transitioning from CrossFit to wrestling with the WWE, Kuwaiti athlete Nasser Alruwayeh is back into CrossFit in a big way. He was scouted by the WWE in 2017 and spent 2018 and 2019 with WWE NXT. Now that he’s worked his way back into CrossFit, Alruwayeh is looking strong.
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He ranked ninth in Asia during the 2022 Open, took 25th in Asia in the Quarterfinals, and climbed to second place in the Far East Throwdown Semifinal. He dramatically improved his performance from 2021, when he placed 23rd at the CrossFit Asia Invitational.
Kealan Henry
Kealan Henry is making his way to the CrossFit Games for the first time after winning the 2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal. He ranked third in Africa during the 2022 Quarterfinals and first in Africa in the Open.
Henry was 24th in the world in the 2022 Open, and ranked no worse than 10th during the Semifinals events. As CrossFit Tijger Valley Unit, the only team from the continent invited to the 2022 Games, were disqualified due to drug testing, Henry will represent the continent at the Games along with Michelle Merand in Women’s Individual, Kaiden Steyn in Teen, and Letchen Du Plessis in Women’s Neuromuscular.
Roman Khrennikov
Roman Khrennikov came into the 2022 season determined not only to qualify for the Games but to be able to compete. In both 2018 and 2019, the Russian athlete was denied a visa to the United States to compete in the Games despite qualifying in both years. He competed in 2020, where he came in 13th overall.
In 2022, Khrennikov ranked fifth in Asia during the Open, first in Asia during the Quarterfinals, and secured his spot at the Games by winning the 2022 Far East Throwdown. He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his social media account. Khrennikov also won the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship.
Samuel Kwant
Sam Kwant will be making his fifth appearance at the CrossFit Games after securing fourth place at the 2022 Granite Games Semifinal. In 2020, Kwant was the second Fittest Man on Earth®, bested only by Mat Fraser.
Kwant is returning to the Games for the first time since his runner-up performance. He will be wearing soon-to-be-released PUMA FUSE 2.0 cross-trainers and wrote a workout — to be coached by fellow elite CrossFitter Chandler Smith — to be hosted on Saturday, Aug. 6 for the Trisomy 18 Foundation, his charity of choice, and Southern Area Hospice Care, three-time Games veteran Emma McQuaid’s charity of choice.
Guilherme Malheiros
Rising star Guilherme Malheiros finished second in the Boys’ 16-17 Division in 2017 and hasn’t stopped climbing since. Though he came in 48th at the 2019 CrossFit Games — his first as an Individual — he pulled off a seventh place finish in 2021. That year, he pulled off three event wins, going toe-to-toe in that department with Pat Vellner.
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This year, Malheiros ranked 90th worldwide in the Open, first in South America for the Quarterfinals, and won CrossFit Copa Sur outright. During the Semifinal, he managed to best the Barbell Complex record — set only a week earlier by Anthony Davis at the Granite Games — with a gigantic 357-pound lift of three cleans, two front squats, and one shoulder-to-overhead.
Justin Medeiros
Justin Medeiros and his mullet need no introduction. At 22 years old, he became the Fittest Man on Earth® in 2021. Should he repeat this year, he’ll be the first Men’s Individual athlete to take back-to-back titles since now-retired Mat Fraser.
During the 2022 season, Medeiros has looked in shape to do just that. He ranked third worldwide during the Open, took first in North America during the Quarterfinals, and dominated the Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Though he only won a single event there, his overall consistency was enough to keep him on top — and he’s hoping that well-roundedness will pay off again in Madison.
Patrick Vellner
The 2021 second Fittest Man on Earth®, Pat Vellner, is looking to continue a solid 2022 season. He won Wodapalooza again in 2022 after taking home the crown the previous two years — a three-peat.
He arguably might have been able to edge Medeiros out of the top spot in 2021 at the Games (if his swimming had been better). If Vellner can iron out his swimming game, he may well be looking at a podium finish.
Teams
Though the Semifinals made CrossFit Mayhem Freedom look like it could easily run away with the Games, the Teams Division still promises to be exciting.
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom is prepared to continue its domination of the Teams division at the 2022 Games.
Led by four-time Fittest Man on Earth®, Rich Froning, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom won all six events at the 2022 Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Andrea Nisler and Taylor Williamson, two of the best women’s Team competitors, were a huge part of that victory. The fourth leg of the team is Samuel Cournoyer, an excellent individual competitor who took home an impressive third place at Wodapalooza.
CrossFit Reykjavík
Annie Thorisdottir, CrossFit legend and two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® (2011-2012), is bringing team CrossFit Reykjavík back to the Games for the first time since 2017.
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Alongside experienced Teams, athletes Lauren Fisher, Tola Morakinyo, and Khan Porter, Thorisdottir, and co. won the Snatch Ladder in the Semifinals, totaling 955.5 pounds between them. They also came in an impressive second during the Thruster + Legless Semifinals workout, making them strong contenders for the title in Madison.
Adaptive Divisions
CrossFit has several officially-sanctioned Adaptive Divisions, including Vision, Intellectual, Seated With Hip Function, Seated Without Hip Function, and Short Stature. These Divisions have their Fittest on Earth®, crowned during the Semifinals.
Three Adaptive Divisions are represented at the Games — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular. As with Individual and Age Group Divisions, each Division is broken down into Women’s and Men’s competitions*.
*CrossFit welcomes trans athletes to compete with other members of their gender, but doesn’t have divisions to specifically accommodate nonbinary athletes.
Upper Extremity — Women
Women’s Upper Extremity is seeing more than one star make a return trip to Madison.
Sabrina Daniela Lopez
Sabrina Daniela Lopez pulled 300 pounds in last year’s Games, securing her an event win in the deadlift. She brought home first place overall and earned herself the title of Fittest on Earth® in Women’s Upper Extremity as a rookie. Lopez also competed in the Women’s Individual division in the Open each year from 2015 to 2020.
Camille Vigneault
Camille Vigneault is traveling to Madison with tremendous pulling strength. She deadlifted 395 pounds in the final workout of the 2022 Semifinals, during which she took home the win for three of six events.
Upper Extremity — Men
This division has largely been synonymous with one name — Casey Acree — but he’s not the only one to watch.
Casey Acree
Casey Acree’s dominance of the Upper Extremity Men’s division is continuing in 2022 after an incredible performance during the 2021 Games. There, Acree took home first in six out of seven events and was crowned the Fittest on Earth® in Men’s Upper Extremity. Acree also won the 2022 CrossFit Open worldwide and the 2022 Adaptive Semifinals.
Josue Maldonado
Josue Maldonado is returning to the Games for the second time, after winning second overall in 2021. He deadlifted 525 pounds during the 2021 Games, earning him a spot at the top of the only event Acree didn’t win.
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He pulled 495 in the 2022 Semifinals for another event win, where he took home second overall.
Lower Extremity — Women
This Division boasts everyone from returning Games athletes to a Paralympian.
Valerie Cohen
After crushing the competition during the 2021 Games, Cohen is poised for another incredible performance in 2022. She won four of six events in the 2022 Semifinals and dominated the Open.
Natalie Rovirosa
At 40 years old, Rovirosa will make her second trip to Madison as a CrossFit Games athlete. In 2021, she brought home second place in Women’s Lower Extremity. Rovirosa is also a Paralympian. She earned sixth place in Discus in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Lower Extremity — Men
From Games rookies to Games vets, Men’s Lower Extremity is poised to be a solid competition.
Charles Pienaar
While all eyes will undoubtedly — and deservedly — be on returning champ Ole Kristian Antonsen, Pienaar managed to win the 2022 Semifinals without winning a single event. He’ll be heading to the Games for the first time.
Elliot Young
Elliot Young won the max snatch event in the 2021 Games — where he hit a 205-pound lift — marking his strength as a huge asset to his Games performance this year. He took home second in the 2022 Semifinals and is eyeing the podium in Madison.
Neuromuscular — Women
With only one Games veteran among the competitors, Women’s Neuromuscular is poised for a new champ.
Letchen Du Plessis
The South African athlete secured second place in the 2021 Games, winning the one-rep max clean and 300-meter swim.
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This well-roundedness is likely to serve her well in Madison, as is her experience — she’s the only athlete in her division returning to this year’s Games.
Alyssa Kobela
The Games rookie won the 2022 Semifinals, earning herself two event wins and never finishing outside the top-three. She also secured second worldwide in Women’s Neuromuscular in 2022, marking a good start to her rookie year as a Games athlete.
Neuromuscular — Men
Like the women’s side, Men’s Neuromuscular also only has one returning Games vet, leaving the field open to changes and fresh excitement.
Brett Horchar
Horchar is the only returning athlete from 2021 in his division — it’s fitting, perhaps, that he’s also the reigning champ. He won the Games last year with a dominant six-event win. He also ranked number one in the world during both 2021 and 2022 in the Open.
Jeremie Perera
France’s Jeremie Perera is poised to disrupt the United States’ previous podium dominance in this division. He came in third in the 2022 Semifinals after ranking ninth worldwide and third in Europe. This will be his first Games appearance.
Age Group Divisions
Each age group — Teen and Masters — have individual divisions broken down into specific age brackets. Those Divisions are as follows:
14-15 — Girls
These athletes are young but are training with the best of the best.
Rylee Beebe
This will be Rylee Beebe’s second trip to the Games, where she finished 15th as a 14-year-old last year, during which she recorded all top-10 finishes. She’s been training in elite company during her freshman year of high school, where she’s joined CrossFit greats Chandler Smith and Amanda Barnhart in training in New England.
Lucy McGonigle
As a 14-year-old in 2021, Lucy McGonigle took second place at the Games. In 2022, she won the Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals to sweep her way into Madison.
14-15 — Boys
This division hosts the younger Subiono brother along with a lot of collective competition experience on the field.
Ka’eo Subiono
Most eyes will deservedly be on 15-year-old RJ Mestre, who dominated the 2022 Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals. But fellow 15-year-old Ka’eo Subiono also promises to be a force to be reckoned with.
Subiono debuted in the Games last year when he was 14, finishing in ninth. This year at the Semifinals, he clocked in five top-10 finishes for a second-place finish. He also ranked third worldwide in the Open.
Leonardo Torres
Torres is an experienced Olympic weightlifter, giving him the competition experience that will serve him well under the high-pressure atmosphere in Madison. He also boasts a 220-pound snatch, which would have earned him a second place finish during the 2021 Games.
16-17 — Girls
The older Teen Division isn’t lacking in excitement — or elite training experience.
Olivia Kerstetter
Sitting atop the current Girls’ 16-17 leaderboard heading out of the Semifinals, Olivia Kerstetter never finished worse than fourth in any 2022 Semifinals event. She outright won three of those workouts, and she was 2021 Girls’ 14-15 Division champ. Kerstetter polished off her Semifinals victory this year with a 242-pound lift in the max clean & jerk event.
Trista Smith
Before opting to compete in with her age group, Trista Smith qualified for the Individual Semifinals with an 86th-place finish in the 2022 Open and a 110th-place Quarterfinals finish. She trains in Vancouver with the likes of Fittest Man on Earth® Justin Medeiros and Ellie Turner. In the 2022 Semifinals, Smith placed no worse than 10th in each event.
16-17 — Boys
The Boys’ 16-17 Division hosts the elder Subiono brother and offers a young athlete a chance to join some very prestigious company.
Ty Jenkins
If 16-year-old Jenkins takes home the crown this year, he’ll be joining elite company in being one of the only two-teen division champions. Chloe Smith, Kealo Stephano, Dallin Pepper, and Angelo Dicicco have accomplished this feat before him. Jenkins came in second place in the 2022 Semifinals after winning the Boys’ 14-15 Division in 2021.
Elijah Subiono
Ka’eo isn’t the only Subiono brother in the Games this year. Elijah took home sixth in last year’s Games and sixth in the 2022 Semifinals. He hoisted 306 pounds during the max clean & jerk event in the Semifinals, earning himself second place.
35-39 — Women
The Women’s 35-39 Division will see the return of a much-beloved Games athlete.
Chyna Cho
Cho last appeared in the Games in 2019, where she was a key player in CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s victory in the Teams Division.
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She was also a Games mainstay on the Individual side from 2014 to 2018. She secured herself sixth place overall in 2015.
Maryam Zanbagh
The 38-year-old firefighter took third place in the 2022 Semifinals and took home two event wins. This will be her first Games appearance, though she did rank third at the 2022 Occupational Games.
35-39 — Men
From Games vet to Games rook, this division is offering it all.
Sam Dancer
Sam Dancer’s 2022 season has been absolutely dominant. He won the Open and secured first place finishes in both the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals. Dancer secured himself a spot in the top five in five out of six Semifinals workouts after outright winning the opening workout of the weekend.
Bryan Wong
Bryan Wong placed third in the 2022 Semifinals, finally securing his place at the Games after participating in the Open as an Individual every year since 2015. This will be Wong’s first time at the Games, and first time competing in any Age Group Division.
40-44 — Women
More than one of these athletes were invited to compete in the Women’s Individual Division.
Jimena Delamer
Jimena Delamer will be competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time after spending a couple of seasons in the 35-39 Division.
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While she placed eighth in the South America Quarterfinals and earned an invite to the Semifinals, she declined and took the opportunity to place fifth at the Age Group Semifinals.
Rebecca Voigt Miller
With the exception of the 2020 season, when the division was canceled due to COVID, Voigt Miller has been a force at every Games since 2012. Though she was invited to the 2022 Granite Games Semifinals, she declined to so she could participate in the Masters’ Division for the fourth time.
40-44 — Men
The Men’s 40-44 will see some seasoned Masters competitors and some new blood at the Games.
Michael Laverriere
Michael Laverriere earned first place in the 2022 Semifinals and second in the 2022 Online Qualifier. He is competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time. However, this isn’t Laverriere’s first time at the Games. He participated in the Men’s 35-39 Division in 2018 and 2019. The latter year, he ranked fifth overall.
Samer Zaarour
Hailing from Lebanon, Samer Zaarour is looking to bring home the title of Fittest on Earth® to his country for the first time. He came in second in the 2022 Semifinals. He ranked 24th overall in the 2022 Online Qualifier and was 30th worldwide in the Open.
45-49 — Women
This division will see opportunities for redemption and repeat podium finishes.
Jessica Manfro
Jessica Manfro just missed the podium at 2021’s Games with a ranking of fourth place. She’ll be looking to secure that spot this year. She placed third in this year’s Semifinals after a 13th place position in the Online Qualifier.
Karen McCadam
McCadam made her first appearance in the 45-49 Division last year, but she’s no stranger to the Games. This will be her seventh year at the Games, and she’ll be aiming to make the podium for the third time. She also competed as an individual at the Regionals level for five years.
45-49 — Men
Dominant performances throughout the 2022 season are melding with years of Games experience here.
Mike Kern
No stranger to the big event, Mike Kern will be making his fifth appearance at the Games. He’s finished in the top 10 three times, placing second in his division in both 2016 and 2021.
Vlad Liashkevich
Vlad Liashkevich is making his Games debut after a dominant performance in the 2022 season. He won both the 2022 Quarterfinals and Semifinals. During the Semifinals, he placed in the top-six in all six events.
50-54 — Women
Seasoned Games athletes will be taking the field, but only some have experience in this division.
Cheryl Brost
Cheryl Brost took seventh place in the 2011 CrossFit Games as an individual and was the Fittest on Earth® in the 45-49 Division in both 2016 and 2017. This will be the fourth division she’s competed in.
Carrie Sandoval
Carrie Sandoval finished third in this division in 2021, and is the top competitor to return in 2022. She’s...
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Any athlete who’s made it to the Games is worth following. Their prowess on the competition floor has been proven repeatedly by the time they secure their ticket to Madison. Certain athletes are a must-watch — Tia-Clair Toomey and Justin Medeiros, fresh off their 2021 Games wins, are obvious picks. Toomey is looking for her sixth such crown. But plenty more athletes will be fighting for glory in Madison.
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Names like Mal O’Brien and Chyna Cho may be a bit more commonplace in CrossFit circles, and they’re bound to put on incredible shows at the 2022 Games. You’ll also want to tune into rising stars and consistent but less well-known players across multiple divisions — like Victoria Campos, Samer Zaarour, Letchen Du Plessis, and Casey Acree. Read on to find out which other athletes to watch out for at the 2022 CrossFit Games.
2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Athletes to Watch
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Individual — Women
Though there are some obvious choices for who to watch here (Tia-Clair Toomey, anyone?), make sure you keep your eyes on the rest of the field. You never know what could happen.
Danielle Brandon
This year’s Games will see Danielle Brandon fully integrated with the competition once again. In 2021, Brandon tested negative for COVID throughout the Games, but had been in contact with Kara Saunders and/or Bethany Shadburne — both of whom later tested positive for COVID and had to withdraw from the competition. Though Brandon tested negative herself, she competed using socially distanced lanes and workout areas throughout the 2021 Games.
She wasn’t deterred by the difficulties in 2021, when she placed 11th in a heavily-competitive field. Brandon will be back on the close-contact competition floor this year after winning the 2022 Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. This will be her fourth Games appearance. She’s never finished worse than 15th at the Games.
Victoria Campos
Victoria Campos will make the trip to Madison to compete in the Games for the first time. The Brazilian athlete won the 2022 CrossFit Copa Sur Semifinal, never finishing lower than ninth. In four of six events, she ranked in the top four with three third place finishes.
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While even elite CrossFitters struggle when they find themselves in swimming events in Madison, Campos gets plenty of practice in the water — she coached surfing when she was living in Hong Kong and went surfing on the side during her trip to Brazil for the Semifinals.
Seungyeon Choi
Taking her second trip to the Games, Seungyeon Choi is fresh off of a victory at the 2022 Far East Throwdown Semifinal. She finally clinched the top spot after finishing second in the 2021 Semifinals and Quarterfinals.
In 2021, Choi became the first athlete from South Korea to qualify for the Games. Her competition in Madison came tumbling to a painful close, though, when she sprained her ankle during the seventh event of the weekend. Though she limped across the finish line, the crowd buoyed around her to cheer her on. The 2022 Games will give a recovered Choi a second opportunity to gain applause and make waves in Madison.
Mal O’Brien
After finishing seventh at the 2021 CrossFit Games, the then-Rookie of the Year Mal O’Brien is set to pull off another impressive performance in Madison. She ranked first worldwide in the 2022 Open, including beating out Toomey in Workout 22.1 and finishing in a close second to the reigning champ in Workouts 22.2 and 22.3. After coming in second at the 2021 Granite Games Semifinal, O’Brien came back to take the overall victory at the Granite Games in 2022.
O’Brien has spent this year training with five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser, and it’s been showing in her performances. She’s widely considered a podium-contender in Madison despite being so new to the Games on the individual side.
Alexis Raptis
This year marks Alexis Raptis’ rookie season at the Games as an individual — she took second place in 2016 in the Girls’ 16-17 and fourth place in the same division in 2015. As an individual, Raptis is off to a promising start in 2022. She took home second in the Syndicate Crown Semifinal after finishing second in North America for the Quarterfinals and seventh worldwide in the Open.
Raptis’ climb has been rapid, making those jumps after finishing 95th worldwide in 2021’s Open and 41st in the 2021 North American Quarterfinal. She outperformed legend Tia-Clair Toomey in Open 22.1 and beat both Toomey and O’Brien in the first Quarterfinals event.
Kara Saunders
Despite earning her ticket to Madison, Kara Saunders had to sit out the 2021 CrossFit Games. She withdrew after day one of the Individual competition, citing a difficult time recovering from COVID — which she tested positive for in transit to the Games — even though she tested negative in time to be allowed to compete.
Saunders is back in 2022 for her 10th CrossFit Games. She’s been a consistent fixture at the Games since 2012, taking home second in 2017 and fourth in 2018. Saunders is fresh off of a second-place finish at the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal.
Tia-Clair Toomey
Anyone and everyone watching the Games will have no choice but to keep their eyes on five-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey. After dominating the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal and winning the Quarterfinals, Toomey is poised to continue her massive winning streak at the Games.
Toomey is poised to take home a sixth Fittest on Earth® title, which would make her the winningest Individual athlete in CrossFit history. And it wouldn’t just be her sixth overall title but her sixth title in a row.
Brooke Wells
Brooke Wells is riding high during the 2022 season. It’s one of her best seasons despite her injury at the 2021 Games that forced her to have Tommy John surgery. She dislocated her right elbow mid-rep during a 190-pound snatch attempt in 2021, but that hasn’t stopped her from crushing 2022.
Wells finished fifth worldwide during the 2022 Open and took home fourth at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. Her surgery doesn’t seem to be toning down her excellence, so it’ll be interesting to see what she can pull off during the Games.
Individual — Men
The Men’s side is loaded with both experience and fresh talent that are poised to give an excellent showdown in Madison.
Nasser Alruwayeh
After transitioning from CrossFit to wrestling with the WWE, Kuwaiti athlete Nasser Alruwayeh is back into CrossFit in a big way. He was scouted by the WWE in 2017 and spent 2018 and 2019 with WWE NXT. Now that he’s worked his way back into CrossFit, Alruwayeh is looking strong.
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He ranked ninth in Asia during the 2022 Open, took 25th in Asia in the Quarterfinals, and climbed to second place in the Far East Throwdown Semifinal. He dramatically improved his performance from 2021, when he placed 23rd at the CrossFit Asia Invitational.
Kealan Henry
Kealan Henry is making his way to the CrossFit Games for the first time after winning the 2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal. He ranked third in Africa during the 2022 Quarterfinals and first in Africa in the Open.
Henry was 24th in the world in the 2022 Open, and ranked no worse than 10th during the Semifinals events. As CrossFit Tijger Valley Unit, the only team from the continent invited to the 2022 Games, were disqualified due to drug testing, Henry will represent the continent at the Games along with Michelle Merand in Women’s Individual, Kaiden Steyn in Teen, and Letchen Du Plessis in Women’s Neuromuscular.
Roman Khrennikov
Roman Khrennikov came into the 2022 season determined not only to qualify for the Games but to be able to compete. In both 2018 and 2019, the Russian athlete was denied a visa to the United States to compete in the Games despite qualifying in both years. He competed in 2020, where he came in 13th overall.
In 2022, Khrennikov ranked fifth in Asia during the Open, first in Asia during the Quarterfinals, and secured his spot at the Games by winning the 2022 Far East Throwdown. He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his social media account. Khrennikov also won the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship.
Samuel Kwant
Sam Kwant will be making his fifth appearance at the CrossFit Games after securing fourth place at the 2022 Granite Games Semifinal. In 2020, Kwant was the second Fittest Man on Earth®, bested only by Mat Fraser.
Kwant is returning to the Games for the first time since his runner-up performance. He will be wearing soon-to-be-released PUMA FUSE 2.0 cross-trainers and wrote a workout — to be coached by fellow elite CrossFitter Chandler Smith — to be hosted on Saturday, Aug. 6 for the Trisomy 18 Foundation, his charity of choice, and Southern Area Hospice Care, three-time Games veteran Emma McQuaid’s charity of choice.
Guilherme Malheiros
Rising star Guilherme Malheiros finished second in the Boys’ 16-17 Division in 2017 and hasn’t stopped climbing since. Though he came in 48th at the 2019 CrossFit Games — his first as an Individual — he pulled off a seventh place finish in 2021. That year, he pulled off three event wins, going toe-to-toe in that department with Pat Vellner.
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This year, Malheiros ranked 90th worldwide in the Open, first in South America for the Quarterfinals, and won CrossFit Copa Sur outright. During the Semifinal, he managed to best the Barbell Complex record — set only a week earlier by Anthony Davis at the Granite Games — with a gigantic 357-pound lift of three cleans, two front squats, and one shoulder-to-overhead.
Justin Medeiros
Justin Medeiros and his mullet need no introduction. At 22 years old, he became the Fittest Man on Earth® in 2021. Should he repeat this year, he’ll be the first Men’s Individual athlete to take back-to-back titles since now-retired Mat Fraser.
During the 2022 season, Medeiros has looked in shape to do just that. He ranked third worldwide during the Open, took first in North America during the Quarterfinals, and dominated the Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Though he only won a single event there, his overall consistency was enough to keep him on top — and he’s hoping that well-roundedness will pay off again in Madison.
Patrick Vellner
The 2021 second Fittest Man on Earth®, Pat Vellner, is looking to continue a solid 2022 season. He won Wodapalooza again in 2022 after taking home the crown the previous two years — a three-peat.
He arguably might have been able to edge Medeiros out of the top spot in 2021 at the Games (if his swimming had been better). If Vellner can iron out his swimming game, he may well be looking at a podium finish.
Teams
Though the Semifinals made CrossFit Mayhem Freedom look like it could easily run away with the Games, the Teams Division still promises to be exciting.
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom is prepared to continue its domination of the Teams division at the 2022 Games.
Led by four-time Fittest Man on Earth®, Rich Froning, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom won all six events at the 2022 Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Andrea Nisler and Taylor Williamson, two of the best women’s Team competitors, were a huge part of that victory. The fourth leg of the team is Samuel Cournoyer, an excellent individual competitor who took home an impressive third place at Wodapalooza.
CrossFit Reykjavík
Annie Thorisdottir, CrossFit legend and two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® (2011-2012), is bringing team CrossFit Reykjavík back to the Games for the first time since 2017.
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Alongside experienced Teams, athletes Lauren Fisher, Tola Morakinyo, and Khan Porter, Thorisdottir, and co. won the Snatch Ladder in the Semifinals, totaling 955.5 pounds between them. They also came in an impressive second during the Thruster + Legless Semifinals workout, making them strong contenders for the title in Madison.
Adaptive Divisions
CrossFit has several officially-sanctioned Adaptive Divisions, including Vision, Intellectual, Seated With Hip Function, Seated Without Hip Function, and Short Stature. These Divisions have their Fittest on Earth®, crowned during the Semifinals.
Three Adaptive Divisions are represented at the Games — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular. As with Individual and Age Group Divisions, each Division is broken down into Women’s and Men’s competitions*.
*CrossFit welcomes trans athletes to compete with other members of their gender, but doesn’t have divisions to specifically accommodate nonbinary athletes.
Upper Extremity — Women
Women’s Upper Extremity is seeing more than one star make a return trip to Madison.
Sabrina Daniela Lopez
Sabrina Daniela Lopez pulled 300 pounds in last year’s Games, securing her an event win in the deadlift. She brought home first place overall and earned herself the title of Fittest on Earth® in Women’s Upper Extremity as a rookie. Lopez also competed in the Women’s Individual division in the Open each year from 2015 to 2020.
Camille Vigneault
Camille Vigneault is traveling to Madison with tremendous pulling strength. She deadlifted 395 pounds in the final workout of the 2022 Semifinals, during which she took home the win for three of six events.
Upper Extremity — Men
This division has largely been synonymous with one name — Casey Acree — but he’s not the only one to watch.
Casey Acree
Casey Acree’s dominance of the Upper Extremity Men’s division is continuing in 2022 after an incredible performance during the 2021 Games. There, Acree took home first in six out of seven events and was crowned the Fittest on Earth® in Men’s Upper Extremity. Acree also won the 2022 CrossFit Open worldwide and the 2022 Adaptive Semifinals.
Josue Maldonado
Josue Maldonado is returning to the Games for the second time, after winning second overall in 2021. He deadlifted 525 pounds during the 2021 Games, earning him a spot at the top of the only event Acree didn’t win.
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He pulled 495 in the 2022 Semifinals for another event win, where he took home second overall.
Lower Extremity — Women
This Division boasts everyone from returning Games athletes to a Paralympian.
Valerie Cohen
After crushing the competition during the 2021 Games, Cohen is poised for another incredible performance in 2022. She won four of six events in the 2022 Semifinals and dominated the Open.
Natalie Rovirosa
At 40 years old, Rovirosa will make her second trip to Madison as a CrossFit Games athlete. In 2021, she brought home second place in Women’s Lower Extremity. Rovirosa is also a Paralympian. She earned sixth place in Discus in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Lower Extremity — Men
From Games rookies to Games vets, Men’s Lower Extremity is poised to be a solid competition.
Charles Pienaar
While all eyes will undoubtedly — and deservedly — be on returning champ Ole Kristian Antonsen, Pienaar managed to win the 2022 Semifinals without winning a single event. He’ll be heading to the Games for the first time.
Elliot Young
Elliot Young won the max snatch event in the 2021 Games — where he hit a 205-pound lift — marking his strength as a huge asset to his Games performance this year. He took home second in the 2022 Semifinals and is eyeing the podium in Madison.
Neuromuscular — Women
With only one Games veteran among the competitors, Women’s Neuromuscular is poised for a new champ.
Letchen Du Plessis
The South African athlete secured second place in the 2021 Games, winning the one-rep max clean and 300-meter swim.
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This well-roundedness is likely to serve her well in Madison, as is her experience — she’s the only athlete in her division returning to this year’s Games.
Alyssa Kobela
The Games rookie won the 2022 Semifinals, earning herself two event wins and never finishing outside the top-three. She also secured second worldwide in Women’s Neuromuscular in 2022, marking a good start to her rookie year as a Games athlete.
Neuromuscular — Men
Like the women’s side, Men’s Neuromuscular also only has one returning Games vet, leaving the field open to changes and fresh excitement.
Brett Horchar
Horchar is the only returning athlete from 2021 in his division — it’s fitting, perhaps, that he’s also the reigning champ. He won the Games last year with a dominant six-event win. He also ranked number one in the world during both 2021 and 2022 in the Open.
Jeremie Perera
France’s Jeremie Perera is poised to disrupt the United States’ previous podium dominance in this division. He came in third in the 2022 Semifinals after ranking ninth worldwide and third in Europe. This will be his first Games appearance.
Age Group Divisions
Each age group — Teen and Masters — have individual divisions broken down into specific age brackets. Those Divisions are as follows:
14-15 — Girls
These athletes are young but are training with the best of the best.
Rylee Beebe
This will be Rylee Beebe’s second trip to the Games, where she finished 15th as a 14-year-old last year, during which she recorded all top-10 finishes. She’s been training in elite company during her freshman year of high school, where she’s joined CrossFit greats Chandler Smith and Amanda Barnhart in training in New England.
Lucy McGonigle
As a 14-year-old in 2021, Lucy McGonigle took second place at the Games. In 2022, she won the Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals to sweep her way into Madison.
14-15 — Boys
This division hosts the younger Subiono brother along with a lot of collective competition experience on the field.
Ka’eo Subiono
Most eyes will deservedly be on 15-year-old RJ Mestre, who dominated the 2022 Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals. But fellow 15-year-old Ka’eo Subiono also promises to be a force to be reckoned with.
Subiono debuted in the Games last year when he was 14, finishing in ninth. This year at the Semifinals, he clocked in five top-10 finishes for a second-place finish. He also ranked third worldwide in the Open.
Leonardo Torres
Torres is an experienced Olympic weightlifter, giving him the competition experience that will serve him well under the high-pressure atmosphere in Madison. He also boasts a 220-pound snatch, which would have earned him a second place finish during the 2021 Games.
16-17 — Girls
The older Teen Division isn’t lacking in excitement — or elite training experience.
Olivia Kerstetter
Sitting atop the current Girls’ 16-17 leaderboard heading out of the Semifinals, Olivia Kerstetter never finished worse than fourth in any 2022 Semifinals event. She outright won three of those workouts, and she was 2021 Girls’ 14-15 Division champ. Kerstetter polished off her Semifinals victory this year with a 242-pound lift in the max clean & jerk event.
Trista Smith
Before opting to compete in with her age group, Trista Smith qualified for the Individual Semifinals with an 86th-place finish in the 2022 Open and a 110th-place Quarterfinals finish. She trains in Vancouver with the likes of Fittest Man on Earth® Justin Medeiros and Ellie Turner. In the 2022 Semifinals, Smith placed no worse than 10th in each event.
16-17 — Boys
The Boys’ 16-17 Division hosts the elder Subiono brother and offers a young athlete a chance to join some very prestigious company.
Ty Jenkins
If 16-year-old Jenkins takes home the crown this year, he’ll be joining elite company in being one of the only two-teen division champions. Chloe Smith, Kealo Stephano, Dallin Pepper, and Angelo Dicicco have accomplished this feat before him. Jenkins came in second place in the 2022 Semifinals after winning the Boys’ 14-15 Division in 2021.
Elijah Subiono
Ka’eo isn’t the only Subiono brother in the Games this year. Elijah took home sixth in last year’s Games and sixth in the 2022 Semifinals. He hoisted 306 pounds during the max clean & jerk event in the Semifinals, earning himself second place.
35-39 — Women
The Women’s 35-39 Division will see the return of a much-beloved Games athlete.
Chyna Cho
Cho last appeared in the Games in 2019, where she was a key player in CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s victory in the Teams Division.
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She was also a Games mainstay on the Individual side from 2014 to 2018. She secured herself sixth place overall in 2015.
Maryam Zanbagh
The 38-year-old firefighter took third place in the 2022 Semifinals and took home two event wins. This will be her first Games appearance, though she did rank third at the 2022 Occupational Games.
35-39 — Men
From Games vet to Games rook, this division is offering it all.
Sam Dancer
Sam Dancer’s 2022 season has been absolutely dominant. He won the Open and secured first place finishes in both the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals. Dancer secured himself a spot in the top five in five out of six Semifinals workouts after outright winning the opening workout of the weekend.
Bryan Wong
Bryan Wong placed third in the 2022 Semifinals, finally securing his place at the Games after participating in the Open as an Individual every year since 2015. This will be Wong’s first time at the Games, and first time competing in any Age Group Division.
40-44 — Women
More than one of these athletes were invited to compete in the Women’s Individual Division.
Jimena Delamer
Jimena Delamer will be competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time after spending a couple of seasons in the 35-39 Division.
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While she placed eighth in the South America Quarterfinals and earned an invite to the Semifinals, she declined and took the opportunity to place fifth at the Age Group Semifinals.
Rebecca Voigt Miller
With the exception of the 2020 season, when the division was canceled due to COVID, Voigt Miller has been a force at every Games since 2012. Though she was invited to the 2022 Granite Games Semifinals, she declined to so she could participate in the Masters’ Division for the fourth time.
40-44 — Men
The Men’s 40-44 will see some seasoned Masters competitors and some new blood at the Games.
Michael Laverriere
Michael Laverriere earned first place in the 2022 Semifinals and second in the 2022 Online Qualifier. He is competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time. However, this isn’t Laverriere’s first time at the Games. He participated in the Men’s 35-39 Division in 2018 and 2019. The latter year, he ranked fifth overall.
Samer Zaarour
Hailing from Lebanon, Samer Zaarour is looking to bring home the title of Fittest on Earth® to his country for the first time. He came in second in the 2022 Semifinals. He ranked 24th overall in the 2022 Online Qualifier and was 30th worldwide in the Open.
45-49 — Women
This division will see opportunities for redemption and repeat podium finishes.
Jessica Manfro
Jessica Manfro just missed the podium at 2021’s Games with a ranking of fourth place. She’ll be looking to secure that spot this year. She placed third in this year’s Semifinals after a 13th place position in the Online Qualifier.
Karen McCadam
McCadam made her first appearance in the 45-49 Division last year, but she’s no stranger to the Games. This will be her seventh year at the Games, and she’ll be aiming to make the podium for the third time. She also competed as an individual at the Regionals level for five years.
45-49 — Men
Dominant performances throughout the 2022 season are melding with years of Games experience here.
Mike Kern
No stranger to the big event, Mike Kern will be making his fifth appearance at the Games. He’s finished in the top 10 three times, placing second in his division in both 2016 and 2021.
Vlad Liashkevich
Vlad Liashkevich is making his Games debut after a dominant performance in the 2022 season. He won both the 2022 Quarterfinals and Semifinals. During the Semifinals, he placed in the top-six in all six events.
50-54 — Women
Seasoned Games athletes will be taking the field, but only some have experience in this division.
Cheryl Brost
Cheryl Brost took seventh place in the 2011 CrossFit Games as an individual and was the Fittest on Earth® in the 45-49 Division in both 2016 and 2017. This will be the fourth division she’s competed in.
Carrie Sandoval
Carrie Sandoval finished third in this division in 2021, and is the top competitor to return in 2022. She’s no stranger to the Games, having taken four trips to the big event.
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She’s only finished worse than the top 10 once, with a 14th place finish in the Women’s 45-49 Division in 2018.
50-54 — Men
These men might not be new to the Games, but they’re new to this age group.
Chris Exarhos
Chris Exarhos isn’t new to the Games, but this will be his first time competing in the 50-54 Division. He’s competed in four Games and he demonstrated that experience in the 2022 Semifinals, where he won the max clean & jerk event by hoisting 252 pounds.
Clint Paddock
A Games veteran, Clint Paddock has competed in the 45-49 Division three times at the Games. He came in fourth in 2017 in that division and took home fifth in 2019. This is his first time competing in the 50-54 Division.
55-59 — Women
There’s a lot of accumulated Games experience between these athletes.
Joanne McCullough
This year will mark Joanne McCullough’s second Games appearance — she placed sixth in her division in 2021, her rookie year. During the Semifinals, the British athlete took home three event wins. She hefted 169 pounds during the max clean & jerk event.
Laurie Meschishnick
Laurie Meschishnick took home first place at the Games for the second time in 2021. This year, she placed fifth in both the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. This will be her eighth overall Games appearance, where she’s been more or less a mainstay since 2012.
55-59 — Men
One athlete is is seeing his first trip back to the Games since before COVID.
Bill Cileo
Bill Cileo has put up a consistent and high-ranking performance throughout the 2022 season. The American took home second place in the Open and in the Semifinals, where he also scored two event victories. He came in third in the 2022 Quarterfinals.
Leonardo Wernersbach Lima
This year marks Leonardo Wernersbach Lima’s third trip to the Games, though it will be his first time competing in the 55-59 Division. He took home a victory in the 2022 Semifinals. The Brazilian has not been at the Games since before the COVID pandemic, when he placed fifth in the 50-54 Division in 2019.
60-64 — Women
History is waiting to be made in this division.
Shelly Chapple
Shelly Chapple might be a Games rookie, but she didn’t look like it in the 2022 Semifinals. She didn’t place worse than eighth in any of the six workouts, and she crushed a 170-pound lift to take home a victory in the max clean & jerk event.
Mary Beth Prodromides
This year, Mary Beth Prodromides is looking to make Games history.
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She’s been crowned Fittest on Earth® in two divisions already, with a victory in 50-54 in 2014 and two wins in 55-59 in 2016 and 2018. If she were to take home a win in 60-64, she would have been the Fittest across three divisions.
60-64 — Men
Experience at the Games is a-plenty here.
Shannon Aiken
Shannon Aiken has yet to compete in the 60-64 Division, but he’s used to crushing it at the Games. In 2017, he took home the crown in the 55-59 Division and came in second in the division the following year. This year, he earned himself second place in the Semifinals.
Will Powell
No stranger to making Games history, Will Powell is looking to secure his fifth overall title in the Games. He’s won titles in three different divisions over the span of his appearances at eight Games.
65+ — Women
This division hosts the oldest woman to qualify for the Games.
Patty Bauer
As a Games rookie in 2021, Patty Bauer took home an impressive victory in her division, winning by a clear 90-point margin. She finished fourth at the 2022 Semifinals and won the 65+ max clean & jerk event with a 130-pound lift.
Joke Dikhoff
72-year-old Joke Dikhoff is the oldest woman to qualify for the Games.
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She’s coming back to the Games for the first time since 2015, but she’s doing it in style — after placing sixth in the Semifinals, she showed off a legless rope climb in training.
65+ — Men
The Men’s 65+ Division is hosting the return of the Fittest Man on Earth® in this division.
Michael Bridges
Michel Bridges took home wins in multiple 2022 Semifinals events, where he came in fourth place overall. He won the max clean & jerk event with a 217-pound heft that bested the second place finisher by a full 25 pounds.
Ken Ogden
Ken Ogden is the oldest man to be competing at this year’s Games. The 67-year-old came in fourth in the Quarterfinals this year and took home ninth in the Semifinals. He was crowned Fittest on Earth® in the Men’s 65+ Division in 2021. This will be his third overall Games appearance.
How to Watch the 2022 CrossFit Games
If you can’t make it to Madison, WI, you can watch the Games through YouTube, the CrossFit Games app, Facebook, Twitch, and Pluto TV. The only exception is the final time slot (see below), which will air exclusively on CBS.
Here is the full streaming schedule. The times listed are in CST, but viewers can find the Games schedule in their local time through the CrossFit Games app.
Wednesday, Aug. 3 — 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. CST
Thursday, Aug. 4 — 9 a.m. – 6:15 p.m. CST
Friday, Aug. 5 — 9 a.m. – 7:15 p.m. CST
Saturday, Aug. 6 — 8 a.m. – 8:20 p.m. CST
Sunday, Aug. 7 — 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CST
Sunday, Aug. 7 — 12 – 2 p.m. CST on CBS Television Network
The Individuals and Teams Divisions will kick off the Games on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and take a break on Thursday, Aug. 4, when the Adaptive and Age Group Divisions will start their competitions. Adaptive and Age Group will both wrap up on Saturday, Aug. 6.
CrossFit Games Cuts, Explained
It’s common for the field of athletes to narrow as the Games progress, especially in the Individual divisions. The 2022 CrossFit Games cut schedule is simple and one of the more forgiving cut schedules in recent years.
Individuals
The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games will begin with 40 individual athletes in the Men’s and Women’s divisions. On the final day of the competition, 10 athletes will be cut — only 30 will remain contenders to be crowned Fittest on Earth® in their respective divisions.
Teams
For the Teams, 36 will begin the competition, but only 20 will finish the Games on the final day. The cuts were announced two weeks ahead of the August 3-7, 2022, competition on Games Central, an official production of the CrossFit Games.
Featured Images (left to right): @crossfitgames and @guimalheiros162 on Instagram
The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games are about ready to start. From Aug. 3-7, athletes from Adaptive, Age Group, Team, and Individual divisions will descend on Madison, WI to battle it out for their respective titles of Fittest on Earth®. The field is stacked with incredible competitors worldwide — so how do you know who to look out for?
Any athlete who’s made it to the Games is worth following. Their prowess on the competition floor has been proven repeatedly by the time they secure their ticket to Madison. Certain athletes are a must-watch — Tia-Clair Toomey and Justin Medeiros, fresh off their 2021 Games wins, are obvious picks. Toomey is looking for her sixth such crown. But plenty more athletes will be fighting for glory in Madison.
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Names like Mal O’Brien and Chyna Cho may be a bit more commonplace in CrossFit circles, and they’re bound to put on incredible shows at the 2022 Games. You’ll also want to tune into rising stars and consistent but less well-known players across multiple divisions — like Victoria Campos, Samer Zaarour, Letchen Du Plessis, and Casey Acree. Read on to find out which other athletes to watch out for at the 2022 CrossFit Games.
2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Athletes to Watch
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Individual — Women
Though there are some obvious choices for who to watch here (Tia-Clair Toomey, anyone?), make sure you keep your eyes on the rest of the field. You never know what could happen.
Danielle Brandon
This year’s Games will see Danielle Brandon fully integrated with the competition once again. In 2021, Brandon tested negative for COVID throughout the Games, but had been in contact with Kara Saunders and/or Bethany Shadburne — both of whom later tested positive for COVID and had to withdraw from the competition. Though Brandon tested negative herself, she competed using socially distanced lanes and workout areas throughout the 2021 Games.
She wasn’t deterred by the difficulties in 2021, when she placed 11th in a heavily-competitive field. Brandon will be back on the close-contact competition floor this year after winning the 2022 Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. This will be her fourth Games appearance. She’s never finished worse than 15th at the Games.
Victoria Campos
Victoria Campos will make the trip to Madison to compete in the Games for the first time. The Brazilian athlete won the 2022 CrossFit Copa Sur Semifinal, never finishing lower than ninth. In four of six events, she ranked in the top four with three third place finishes.
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While even elite CrossFitters struggle when they find themselves in swimming events in Madison, Campos gets plenty of practice in the water — she coached surfing when she was living in Hong Kong and went surfing on the side during her trip to Brazil for the Semifinals.
Seungyeon Choi
Taking her second trip to the Games, Seungyeon Choi is fresh off of a victory at the 2022 Far East Throwdown Semifinal. She finally clinched the top spot after finishing second in the 2021 Semifinals and Quarterfinals.
In 2021, Choi became the first athlete from South Korea to qualify for the Games. Her competition in Madison came tumbling to a painful close, though, when she sprained her ankle during the seventh event of the weekend. Though she limped across the finish line, the crowd buoyed around her to cheer her on. The 2022 Games will give a recovered Choi a second opportunity to gain applause and make waves in Madison.
Mal O’Brien
After finishing seventh at the 2021 CrossFit Games, the then-Rookie of the Year Mal O’Brien is set to pull off another impressive performance in Madison. She ranked first worldwide in the 2022 Open, including beating out Toomey in Workout 22.1 and finishing in a close second to the reigning champ in Workouts 22.2 and 22.3. After coming in second at the 2021 Granite Games Semifinal, O’Brien came back to take the overall victory at the Granite Games in 2022.
O’Brien has spent this year training with five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser, and it’s been showing in her performances. She’s widely considered a podium-contender in Madison despite being so new to the Games on the individual side.
Alexis Raptis
This year marks Alexis Raptis’ rookie season at the Games as an individual — she took second place in 2016 in the Girls’ 16-17 and fourth place in the same division in 2015. As an individual, Raptis is off to a promising start in 2022. She took home second in the Syndicate Crown Semifinal after finishing second in North America for the Quarterfinals and seventh worldwide in the Open.
Raptis’ climb has been rapid, making those jumps after finishing 95th worldwide in 2021’s Open and 41st in the 2021 North American Quarterfinal. She outperformed legend Tia-Clair Toomey in Open 22.1 and beat both Toomey and O’Brien in the first Quarterfinals event.
Kara Saunders
Despite earning her ticket to Madison, Kara Saunders had to sit out the 2021 CrossFit Games. She withdrew after day one of the Individual competition, citing a difficult time recovering from COVID — which she tested positive for in transit to the Games — even though she tested negative in time to be allowed to compete.
Saunders is back in 2022 for her 10th CrossFit Games. She’s been a consistent fixture at the Games since 2012, taking home second in 2017 and fourth in 2018. Saunders is fresh off of a second-place finish at the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal.
Tia-Clair Toomey
Anyone and everyone watching the Games will have no choice but to keep their eyes on five-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey. After dominating the 2022 Torian Pro Semifinal and winning the Quarterfinals, Toomey is poised to continue her massive winning streak at the Games.
Toomey is poised to take home a sixth Fittest on Earth® title, which would make her the winningest Individual athlete in CrossFit history. And it wouldn’t just be her sixth overall title but her sixth title in a row.
Brooke Wells
Brooke Wells is riding high during the 2022 season. It’s one of her best seasons despite her injury at the 2021 Games that forced her to have Tommy John surgery. She dislocated her right elbow mid-rep during a 190-pound snatch attempt in 2021, but that hasn’t stopped her from crushing 2022.
Wells finished fifth worldwide during the 2022 Open and took home fourth at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Semifinal. Her surgery doesn’t seem to be toning down her excellence, so it’ll be interesting to see what she can pull off during the Games.
Individual — Men
The Men’s side is loaded with both experience and fresh talent that are poised to give an excellent showdown in Madison.
Nasser Alruwayeh
After transitioning from CrossFit to wrestling with the WWE, Kuwaiti athlete Nasser Alruwayeh is back into CrossFit in a big way. He was scouted by the WWE in 2017 and spent 2018 and 2019 with WWE NXT. Now that he’s worked his way back into CrossFit, Alruwayeh is looking strong.
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He ranked ninth in Asia during the 2022 Open, took 25th in Asia in the Quarterfinals, and climbed to second place in the Far East Throwdown Semifinal. He dramatically improved his performance from 2021, when he placed 23rd at the CrossFit Asia Invitational.
Kealan Henry
Kealan Henry is making his way to the CrossFit Games for the first time after winning the 2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal. He ranked third in Africa during the 2022 Quarterfinals and first in Africa in the Open.
Henry was 24th in the world in the 2022 Open, and ranked no worse than 10th during the Semifinals events. As CrossFit Tijger Valley Unit, the only team from the continent invited to the 2022 Games, were disqualified due to drug testing, Henry will represent the continent at the Games along with Michelle Merand in Women’s Individual, Kaiden Steyn in Teen, and Letchen Du Plessis in Women’s Neuromuscular.
Roman Khrennikov
Roman Khrennikov came into the 2022 season determined not only to qualify for the Games but to be able to compete. In both 2018 and 2019, the Russian athlete was denied a visa to the United States to compete in the Games despite qualifying in both years. He competed in 2020, where he came in 13th overall.
In 2022, Khrennikov ranked fifth in Asia during the Open, first in Asia during the Quarterfinals, and secured his spot at the Games by winning the 2022 Far East Throwdown. He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his social media account. Khrennikov also won the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship.
Samuel Kwant
Sam Kwant will be making his fifth appearance at the CrossFit Games after securing fourth place at the 2022 Granite Games Semifinal. In 2020, Kwant was the second Fittest Man on Earth®, bested only by Mat Fraser.
Kwant is returning to the Games for the first time since his runner-up performance. He will be wearing soon-to-be-released PUMA FUSE 2.0 cross-trainers and wrote a workout — to be coached by fellow elite CrossFitter Chandler Smith — to be hosted on Saturday, Aug. 6 for the Trisomy 18 Foundation, his charity of choice, and Southern Area Hospice Care, three-time Games veteran Emma McQuaid’s charity of choice.
Guilherme Malheiros
Rising star Guilherme Malheiros finished second in the Boys’ 16-17 Division in 2017 and hasn’t stopped climbing since. Though he came in 48th at the 2019 CrossFit Games — his first as an Individual — he pulled off a seventh place finish in 2021. That year, he pulled off three event wins, going toe-to-toe in that department with Pat Vellner.
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This year, Malheiros ranked 90th worldwide in the Open, first in South America for the Quarterfinals, and won CrossFit Copa Sur outright. During the Semifinal, he managed to best the Barbell Complex record — set only a week earlier by Anthony Davis at the Granite Games — with a gigantic 357-pound lift of three cleans, two front squats, and one shoulder-to-overhead.
Justin Medeiros
Justin Medeiros and his mullet need no introduction. At 22 years old, he became the Fittest Man on Earth® in 2021. Should he repeat this year, he’ll be the first Men’s Individual athlete to take back-to-back titles since now-retired Mat Fraser.
During the 2022 season, Medeiros has looked in shape to do just that. He ranked third worldwide during the Open, took first in North America during the Quarterfinals, and dominated the Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Though he only won a single event there, his overall consistency was enough to keep him on top — and he’s hoping that well-roundedness will pay off again in Madison.
Patrick Vellner
The 2021 second Fittest Man on Earth®, Pat Vellner, is looking to continue a solid 2022 season. He won Wodapalooza again in 2022 after taking home the crown the previous two years — a three-peat.
He arguably might have been able to edge Medeiros out of the top spot in 2021 at the Games (if his swimming had been better). If Vellner can iron out his swimming game, he may well be looking at a podium finish.
Teams
Though the Semifinals made CrossFit Mayhem Freedom look like it could easily run away with the Games, the Teams Division still promises to be exciting.
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom is prepared to continue its domination of the Teams division at the 2022 Games.
Led by four-time Fittest Man on Earth®, Rich Froning, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom won all six events at the 2022 Syndicate Crown Semifinal. Andrea Nisler and Taylor Williamson, two of the best women’s Team competitors, were a huge part of that victory. The fourth leg of the team is Samuel Cournoyer, an excellent individual competitor who took home an impressive third place at Wodapalooza.
CrossFit Reykjavík
Annie Thorisdottir, CrossFit legend and two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® (2011-2012), is bringing team CrossFit Reykjavík back to the Games for the first time since 2017.
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Alongside experienced Teams, athletes Lauren Fisher, Tola Morakinyo, and Khan Porter, Thorisdottir, and co. won the Snatch Ladder in the Semifinals, totaling 955.5 pounds between them. They also came in an impressive second during the Thruster + Legless Semifinals workout, making them strong contenders for the title in Madison.
Adaptive Divisions
CrossFit has several officially-sanctioned Adaptive Divisions, including Vision, Intellectual, Seated With Hip Function, Seated Without Hip Function, and Short Stature. These Divisions have their Fittest on Earth®, crowned during the Semifinals.
Three Adaptive Divisions are represented at the Games — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular. As with Individual and Age Group Divisions, each Division is broken down into Women’s and Men’s competitions*.
*CrossFit welcomes trans athletes to compete with other members of their gender, but doesn’t have divisions to specifically accommodate nonbinary athletes.
Upper Extremity — Women
Women’s Upper Extremity is seeing more than one star make a return trip to Madison.
Sabrina Daniela Lopez
Sabrina Daniela Lopez pulled 300 pounds in last year’s Games, securing her an event win in the deadlift. She brought home first place overall and earned herself the title of Fittest on Earth® in Women’s Upper Extremity as a rookie. Lopez also competed in the Women’s Individual division in the Open each year from 2015 to 2020.
Camille Vigneault
Camille Vigneault is traveling to Madison with tremendous pulling strength. She deadlifted 395 pounds in the final workout of the 2022 Semifinals, during which she took home the win for three of six events.
Upper Extremity — Men
This division has largely been synonymous with one name — Casey Acree — but he’s not the only one to watch.
Casey Acree
Casey Acree’s dominance of the Upper Extremity Men’s division is continuing in 2022 after an incredible performance during the 2021 Games. There, Acree took home first in six out of seven events and was crowned the Fittest on Earth® in Men’s Upper Extremity. Acree also won the 2022 CrossFit Open worldwide and the 2022 Adaptive Semifinals.
Josue Maldonado
Josue Maldonado is returning to the Games for the second time, after winning second overall in 2021. He deadlifted 525 pounds during the 2021 Games, earning him a spot at the top of the only event Acree didn’t win.
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He pulled 495 in the 2022 Semifinals for another event win, where he took home second overall.
Lower Extremity — Women
This Division boasts everyone from returning Games athletes to a Paralympian.
Valerie Cohen
After crushing the competition during the 2021 Games, Cohen is poised for another incredible performance in 2022. She won four of six events in the 2022 Semifinals and dominated the Open.
Natalie Rovirosa
At 40 years old, Rovirosa will make her second trip to Madison as a CrossFit Games athlete. In 2021, she brought home second place in Women’s Lower Extremity. Rovirosa is also a Paralympian. She earned sixth place in Discus in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Lower Extremity — Men
From Games rookies to Games vets, Men’s Lower Extremity is poised to be a solid competition.
Charles Pienaar
While all eyes will undoubtedly — and deservedly — be on returning champ Ole Kristian Antonsen, Pienaar managed to win the 2022 Semifinals without winning a single event. He’ll be heading to the Games for the first time.
Elliot Young
Elliot Young won the max snatch event in the 2021 Games — where he hit a 205-pound lift — marking his strength as a huge asset to his Games performance this year. He took home second in the 2022 Semifinals and is eyeing the podium in Madison.
Neuromuscular — Women
With only one Games veteran among the competitors, Women’s Neuromuscular is poised for a new champ.
Letchen Du Plessis
The South African athlete secured second place in the 2021 Games, winning the one-rep max clean and 300-meter swim.
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This well-roundedness is likely to serve her well in Madison, as is her experience — she’s the only athlete in her division returning to this year’s Games.
Alyssa Kobela
The Games rookie won the 2022 Semifinals, earning herself two event wins and never finishing outside the top-three. She also secured second worldwide in Women’s Neuromuscular in 2022, marking a good start to her rookie year as a Games athlete.
Neuromuscular — Men
Like the women’s side, Men’s Neuromuscular also only has one returning Games vet, leaving the field open to changes and fresh excitement.
Brett Horchar
Horchar is the only returning athlete from 2021 in his division — it’s fitting, perhaps, that he’s also the reigning champ. He won the Games last year with a dominant six-event win. He also ranked number one in the world during both 2021 and 2022 in the Open.
Jeremie Perera
France’s Jeremie Perera is poised to disrupt the United States’ previous podium dominance in this division. He came in third in the 2022 Semifinals after ranking ninth worldwide and third in Europe. This will be his first Games appearance.
Age Group Divisions
Each age group — Teen and Masters — have individual divisions broken down into specific age brackets. Those Divisions are as follows:
14-15 — Girls
These athletes are young but are training with the best of the best.
Rylee Beebe
This will be Rylee Beebe’s second trip to the Games, where she finished 15th as a 14-year-old last year, during which she recorded all top-10 finishes. She’s been training in elite company during her freshman year of high school, where she’s joined CrossFit greats Chandler Smith and Amanda Barnhart in training in New England.
Lucy McGonigle
As a 14-year-old in 2021, Lucy McGonigle took second place at the Games. In 2022, she won the Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals to sweep her way into Madison.
14-15 — Boys
This division hosts the younger Subiono brother along with a lot of collective competition experience on the field.
Ka’eo Subiono
Most eyes will deservedly be on 15-year-old RJ Mestre, who dominated the 2022 Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals. But fellow 15-year-old Ka’eo Subiono also promises to be a force to be reckoned with.
Subiono debuted in the Games last year when he was 14, finishing in ninth. This year at the Semifinals, he clocked in five top-10 finishes for a second-place finish. He also ranked third worldwide in the Open.
Leonardo Torres
Torres is an experienced Olympic weightlifter, giving him the competition experience that will serve him well under the high-pressure atmosphere in Madison. He also boasts a 220-pound snatch, which would have earned him a second place finish during the 2021 Games.
16-17 — Girls
The older Teen Division isn’t lacking in excitement — or elite training experience.
Olivia Kerstetter
Sitting atop the current Girls’ 16-17 leaderboard heading out of the Semifinals, Olivia Kerstetter never finished worse than fourth in any 2022 Semifinals event. She outright won three of those workouts, and she was 2021 Girls’ 14-15 Division champ. Kerstetter polished off her Semifinals victory this year with a 242-pound lift in the max clean & jerk event.
Trista Smith
Before opting to compete in with her age group, Trista Smith qualified for the Individual Semifinals with an 86th-place finish in the 2022 Open and a 110th-place Quarterfinals finish. She trains in Vancouver with the likes of Fittest Man on Earth® Justin Medeiros and Ellie Turner. In the 2022 Semifinals, Smith placed no worse than 10th in each event.
16-17 — Boys
The Boys’ 16-17 Division hosts the elder Subiono brother and offers a young athlete a chance to join some very prestigious company.
Ty Jenkins
If 16-year-old Jenkins takes home the crown this year, he’ll be joining elite company in being one of the only two-teen division champions. Chloe Smith, Kealo Stephano, Dallin Pepper, and Angelo Dicicco have accomplished this feat before him. Jenkins came in second place in the 2022 Semifinals after winning the Boys’ 14-15 Division in 2021.
Elijah Subiono
Ka’eo isn’t the only Subiono brother in the Games this year. Elijah took home sixth in last year’s Games and sixth in the 2022 Semifinals. He hoisted 306 pounds during the max clean & jerk event in the Semifinals, earning himself second place.
35-39 — Women
The Women’s 35-39 Division will see the return of a much-beloved Games athlete.
Chyna Cho
Cho last appeared in the Games in 2019, where she was a key player in CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s victory in the Teams Division.
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She was also a Games mainstay on the Individual side from 2014 to 2018. She secured herself sixth place overall in 2015.
Maryam Zanbagh
The 38-year-old firefighter took third place in the 2022 Semifinals and took home two event wins. This will be her first Games appearance, though she did rank third at the 2022 Occupational Games.
35-39 — Men
From Games vet to Games rook, this division is offering it all.
Sam Dancer
Sam Dancer’s 2022 season has been absolutely dominant. He won the Open and secured first place finishes in both the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals. Dancer secured himself a spot in the top five in five out of six Semifinals workouts after outright winning the opening workout of the weekend.
Bryan Wong
Bryan Wong placed third in the 2022 Semifinals, finally securing his place at the Games after participating in the Open as an Individual every year since 2015. This will be Wong’s first time at the Games, and first time competing in any Age Group Division.
40-44 — Women
More than one of these athletes were invited to compete in the Women’s Individual Division.
Jimena Delamer
Jimena Delamer will be competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time after spending a couple of seasons in the 35-39 Division.
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While she placed eighth in the South America Quarterfinals and earned an invite to the Semifinals, she declined and took the opportunity to place fifth at the Age Group Semifinals.
Rebecca Voigt Miller
With the exception of the 2020 season, when the division was canceled due to COVID, Voigt Miller has been a force at every Games since 2012. Though she was invited to the 2022 Granite Games Semifinals, she declined to so she could participate in the Masters’ Division for the fourth time.
40-44 — Men
The Men’s 40-44 will see some seasoned Masters competitors and some new blood at the Games.
Michael Laverriere
Michael Laverriere earned first place in the 2022 Semifinals and second in the 2022 Online Qualifier. He is competing in the 40-44 Division for the first time. However, this isn’t Laverriere’s first time at the Games. He participated in the Men’s 35-39 Division in 2018 and 2019. The latter year, he ranked fifth overall.
Samer Zaarour
Hailing from Lebanon, Samer Zaarour is looking to bring home the title of Fittest on Earth® to his country for the first time. He came in second in the 2022 Semifinals. He ranked 24th overall in the 2022 Online Qualifier and was 30th worldwide in the Open.
45-49 — Women
This division will see opportunities for redemption and repeat podium finishes.
Jessica Manfro
Jessica Manfro just missed the podium at 2021’s Games with a ranking of fourth place. She’ll be looking to secure that spot this year. She placed third in this year’s Semifinals after a 13th place position in the Online Qualifier.
Karen McCadam
McCadam made her first appearance in the 45-49 Division last year, but she’s no stranger to the Games. This will be her seventh year at the Games, and she’ll be aiming to make the podium for the third time. She also competed as an individual at the Regionals level for five years.
45-49 — Men
Dominant performances throughout the 2022 season are melding with years of Games experience here.
Mike Kern
No stranger to the big event, Mike Kern will be making his fifth appearance at the Games. He’s finished in the top 10 three times, placing second in his division in both 2016 and 2021.
Vlad Liashkevich
Vlad Liashkevich is making his Games debut after a dominant performance in the 2022 season. He won both the 2022 Quarterfinals and Semifinals. During the Semifinals, he placed in the top-six in all six events.
50-54 — Women
Seasoned Games athletes will be taking the field, but only some have experience in this division.
Cheryl Brost
Cheryl Brost took seventh place in the 2011 CrossFit Games as an individual and was the Fittest on Earth® in the 45-49 Division in both 2016 and 2017. This will be the fourth division she’s competed in.
Carrie Sandoval
Carrie Sandoval finished third in this division in 2021, and is the top competitor to return in 2022. She’s...
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