Mat Fraser to Program Madrid Championship
Mat Fraser programming his first ever competition headlines a revamped Madrid Championship, a Loud And Live event. The European event had to move to Ciudad Real for its inaugural run due to COVID-19. The 2022 season will see the competition return to the Caja Magica tennis facility in Madrid with more athletes, more money, and programming from Fraser and the HWPO team.
“This event is the largest in Europe with the largest purse prize,” said Fraser in a social media post, who retired in 2020 after five straight CrossFit Games titles but has been active in the community since hanging up his shoes. “We will be programming the whole event from the qualifiers to the in-person event in Madrid.”
The details: The Madrid Championship will shake out over two rounds with plans for 2,400 total athletes (500 teams) performing in front of an estimated 22,000 fans. The first round will be the online qualifiers that run May 1-15. The second will be the in-person competition that takes place September 9-11.
- There will be three workouts released during the online qualifiers. The organizers will announce 22.1 on May 1, 22.2 on May 5, and 22.3 on May 10. Fraser and HWPO will program both these workouts and those during the in-person competition.
- The Madrid Championship will have a €170,000 prize purse, split between the various team and individual divisions. The individual athletes will have the biggest payouts with first taking €30,000, second taking €15,000, and third taking €6,000.
Caja Magica has served as the site of multiple competitions. The list includes the CrossFit Invitational in 2015 and the Meridian Regionals in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Now it will host the return of the Madrid Championship, which further shows how the sport is flourishing in Europe.
Championship programming: Fraser, the five-time CrossFit Games champ, kept his programming secret during his record-setting career. Once he retired, he began providing a glimpse into his training before ultimately releasing the HWPO training program. Now he is taking over the Madrid Championship.
- Rich Froning Jr., who has a combined nine CrossFit Games titles as an individual and team athlete, also has experience in this realm. He programmed the team events at the 2019 Dubai CrossFit Championship.
Alfonso Chamorro, event manager: “Built by the Spanish community, we are intent that in 2022 the Madrid Championship will become the largest functional fitness ‘reunion’ in Europe. We plan to host over 2,400 athletes, 1,000 volunteers, over 100 brands, and award the largest prize purse in European event history. This is all in an effort to provide an incredible experience for the community: volunteers, spectators, gyms, and partner brands alike.”
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