CrossFit Games

Three Takeaways From Day 1 of the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games

July 27, 2021 by
Photo Credit: Athlete’s Eye
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After almost two years the CrossFit Games made its triumphant return to Madison, WI on Tuesday with the Adaptive, Teens and Masters Divisions kicking off the 15th year of the competition. Here are three takeaways from the opening day of the Games.

  1. If you host it they will come: Though not packed to the brim, the stands that surrounded North Park were filled with a lively crowd of fans. This is a far contrast from the 2019 Games when the Masters and Teen divisions competed in front of empty stands with no media coverage. With CrossFit changing the dates of the divisions back to its original format prior to the 2017 Games and dedicating a live feed and broadcast, the divisions were able to showcase their skills and athleticism in front of not just friends and family but the community as well. This is what these amazing athletes in these divisions deserve and finally received after two years.
  2. A young gun waiting: We’ve talked about how talented athlete Emma Lawson is and she proved that during each stage of the Games. Unfortunately, she came up short of joining fellow teens Emma Cary and Mallory O’Brien as individual competitors at the Games. But the 16-year-old Canadian showed that perhaps she could be ready to join her fellow teen alumni after her day one performance. She was five pounds short of sweeping all three events on Tuesday in the 16-17 teen girls division. She opened with wins in the 4.5 mile run in Event 1 and the bi-couplet of deadlifts and legless rope climbs in Event 2. She then ended the day with a second place finish in the one-rep max snatch with a lift of 192 pounds/87kgs.
  3. The Adaptive Division makes its debut: Some of the biggest applause and cheers were left for the much anticipated debut of the Adaptive Division. All 29 athletes spread across the six divisions were finally given the stage to show off their fitness and they didn’t disappoint. Performances like Josue Maldonado’s 525 pound/238kg deadlifts in Event 3 for the men’s Upper Extremity Division was a perfect example. It had fans on their feet inside the electric Coliseum.

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