CrossFit Games

The Five Biggest Records Up For Grabs This Weekend

October 21, 2020 by
Image Credit: CNN International
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When the final five men and women take the competition floor Friday morning, they will already be making history as part of a once-in-a-lifetime cohort that has managed to make it through the fire and flames of the 2020 season.

You can bet your bottom dollar though that just making it to Aromas won’t be enough, and now that we’re on the eve of stage two of the CrossFit Games, there’s a handful of historic records worth noting that are at stake along with the title of “Fittest On Earth.”

Below are the five biggest records up for grabs this weekend as the final five close out the 2020 CrossFit Games season.

#1 CrossFit Games Titles, Career And Consecutive – Men’s Division.

  • In the hunt: Mat Fraser. Fraser is on the verge of potentially breaking an all-time record that, quite frankly, everyone thought would stand for decades. Fraser is already tied with his historic predecessor Rich Froning for the most career and consecutive CrossFit Games titles with four, and it seems fitting that only four men stand in his way on the road to five. Similar to what legend Chris Spealler stated in reference to Froning’s run, we should really enjoy the greatness of Fraser while we can, because it’s more likely than not that we won’t see anything like this for a long time.
  • Take me back: The initial record was set back in 2014, when the CrossFit Games were still hosted in Carson, CA. Rich Froning went on a furious Sunday charge to win all three of the day’s events to finish his comeback and fend off who else but a young Mat Fraser. Fraser finished 2nd in his rookie season and showed glimpses of the championship pedigree that brought us to today. If you want your daily dose of goosebumps, rewatch the finale here; Sean Woodland absolutely nails the call.

#2 CrossFit Games Titles, Career And Consecutive – Women’s Division.

  • In the hunt: Tia-Clair Toomey, Katrin Davidsdottir. Toomey already holds both of these records and can only extend them further by winning a fourth consecutive title this year. Either way, Toomey’s consecutive titles record is safe, but it just so happens that Davidsdottir is one of the two women (Annie Thorisdottir is the other) sitting one title behind her that could potentially move into a tie for the career titles record if somehow Toomey doesn’t win and Davidsdottir manages to dial back the clock to 2015 or 2016.
  • Take me back: The battles between Davidsdottir and Toomey during the former champion’s two title runs in 2015 and 2016 were an absolute treat. Now that we’re a few years removed one could argue that Toomey has benefitted just as much as Davidsdottir did from being on the losing end of those two seasons. Davidsdottir obviously got the hardware and continues to be one of the sports biggest stars, but the sting of defeat two years in a row ultimately birthed the record setting version of Toomey we enjoy today and set her on the warpath that she’s currently blazing. Michael Jordan needed to lose to the pistons, and Mat Fraser needed to lose to Ben Smith just like Toomey need to lose to Davidsdottir to ultimately reach the great heights of today.

#3 Career Event Wins – All Divisions

  • In the hunt: Mat Fraser, Tia-Clair Toomey. Regardless of the outcome in a few days, both Fraser and Toomey will likely have the record for their respective divisions in this category as well. But just like they do every day in training, they are in competition with one another – although they probably don’t care about the record – for the most career event wins at the Games. Fraser is currently in first with 19 wins, Rich Froning sits in second with 16 wins, and Toomey is one behind Froning with 15 wins. It would be an impressive feat for Toomey to pick up four event wins on Fraser this weekend to match him, but even if she doesn’t, time is on her side being that she is three years younger.
  • Take me back: The original Queen and King of CrossFit, Annie Thorisdottir and Rich Froning, are the next highest athletes respectively in their divisions. Annie sits two behind Toomey with 13 total across her career. The bulk of their work was done during the early days of their career but both were at their peak on the final day of competition in 2014 when Froning won all three events on Sunday, and Thorisdottir won two and finished 2nd in the other. The only thing standing between her and a clean sweep of the day was a 1.1 second differential between her Jenn Jones on Thick ‘N Quick.

#4 Youngest Podium Athlete – Women’s Division And All Divisions

  • In the hunt: Haley Adams. The last two seasons have been nothing short of incredible for Haley Adams and now a year after cracking the top 10 at the Games in her first year in the adult division, she could make history as the youngest athlete ever to podium at the CrossFit Games. The current mark is held by Annie Thorisdottir who earned her first podium finish back in 2010 at 20-years-old. No one has made the leap from teenage division to the individual division quite like Haley Adams has, especially in the modern era of the women’s division that is arguably the deepest it’s ever been, so it’s really a sign of things to come for Adams that she could still come back next year and tie the mark if she falls short in 2020.
  • Take me back: Way back in 2009, a 19-year-old Icelandic athlete by the name of Annie Thorisdottir showed up to the Ranch in Aromas and blew everyone away with her raw capacity and ability to march through workouts with a smile on her face. Ring muscle-ups ultimately squashed her podium hopes (but made for an epic highlight), but one year later, she stepped on to the floor of the Home Depot Center and went toe-to-toe with eventual champion Kristan Clever to earn her first of five CrossFit Games medals and set the mark as the youngest podium finisher ever.

#5 Youngest Podium Athlete – Men’s Division

  • In the hunt: Justin Medeiros. What a competition season it has been for Medeiros. He earned his ticket to the Games way back in November of 2019 at the Filthy 150 and we had to wait roughly 10 months to see what the 21-year-old youngster with the best hair could do on the big stage. His 3rd place finish in stage one guaranteed him three things: Rookie of the year honors, a chance at tying Ben Smith for the youngest podium finisher ever on the men’s side, and he won’t he able to fly under the radar in the sport any longer.
  • Take me back: In 2009, Ben Smith showed up to the Ranch in Aromas and was promptly cut after just four events (fun fact: Pat Sherwood beat him that year). In 2010 the then 20-year-old Smith who was making waves as a young phenom who trained in his parent’s garage in front of a refrigerator, started to find his stride at the Games and finished 8th overall in the first year in Carson. By 2011, Smith was a household name, and after winning the Mid-Atlantic Regional, he went on to become the youngest male podium finisher ever that year by finishing behind fellow legends Rich Froning, and Josh Bridges at the Home Depot Center.

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