CrossFit Games

“Comeback Kid” Does it Again as Will Moorad Overcomes 76 Point Deficit on Final Day of Syndicate Crown

May 22, 2022 by
Photo Credit: CrossFit LLC
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Three-time CrossFit Games athlete Will Moorad overcame a nearly insurmountable 76 point difference on the final day at the Syndicate Crown semifinal to grab the fifth and final spot to the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games. 

What happened: Moorad entered the day in 10th overall, 76 points out of a fifth-place qualifying spot. 

  • His fifth-place finish on event 5 helped move him up to 8th, bringing him within 59 points, but still a long shot to qualify. 
  • Making up 59 points is the difference between 1st and 17th, and he’d need to not only win, but for several athletes ahead of him to finish way down the leaderboard. 

What happened next:

  • James Sprague took 24th place in the event, moving him from a qualifying 3rd to 6th. 
  • Matt Poulin took 22nd place and dropped from 6th to 9th. 
  • Rafael Sancen took 23rd place, dropping him from 7th to 12th.
  • Moorad’s 100-point event win brought him to 403 total points, edging out Sprague by 1 point for 5th place overall.

The big picture: His surprise finish should come as no surprise to those familiar with Moorad’s personal and professional career. 

  • We dubbed him the “comeback kid” in 2019 after qualifying for the second time after a four year absence at the Games. 
  • After his first appearance in 2014, he failed to qualify in 2015 by two spots due to a broken rib, and in 2016 he missed it by one spot (and just five points and 3 seconds) on the final workout. 
  • He was misdiagnosed with an autoimmune disorder in 2017 after suffering kidney failure competing at Wodapalooza, halting his competitive career. 
  • Lab work a year later revealed a misdiagnosis and he returned to competing in 2018. 
  • More bad news struck last year when his wife Cassandra was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cassandra’s March pathology reportedly cleared her of cancer cells after several months of treatment. 

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