Looking Back at Rich Froning’s Career (So Far)
Earlier this week, Rich Froning appeared on the Sevan Podcast to discuss his plans for the 2023 CrossFit Games and announced that he was officially retiring from the Team division.
This seems like a perfect moment to recap Froning’s career and take stock of all the Cookeville Champ has accomplished over the past 12 years.
But first: Froning made some important statements during the interview that are worth noting:
- “I’ve exhausted that point in my career—doing teams. I enjoyed it, loved every minute of it,” Froning said.
- “If I can get (my shoulder) back to good and feel like I can still compete at a level I want to I’ll definitely do the Open, do the Age Group Online Qualifiers, and then Semifinals for Masters,” he continued.
- “Then, if I feel like it’s not going to take away from the summer with the kids, and doing some fun stuff, then year to year I’ll decide if I’m going to compete or not.”
Froning also revealed that he has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury for the past two years and that recently it has gotten worse. Froning plans to spend the next several months rehabbing the shoulder and as long as surgery is not needed, he may compete in the Masters 35-39 division this year.
Career retrospective: Froning was introduced to CrossFit in 2009, and competed in the CrossFit Games for the first time in 2010. This predated the CrossFit Open, which came along in 2011, so Froning’s path to the Games his rookie year was through the open-invite ‘Bama Sectional event in Huntsville, AL. This qualified him to the Southeast Regional, where he took first place and earned a berth into the 2010 CrossFit Games.
At the CrossFit Games in 2010, 24-year-old Froning went into the final scored event with two events wins, five top-five finishes, and the overall lead. “The Final 3” was a couplet of burpee wall get-overs and 20-foot rope climbs. Froning struggled with rope climb technique (something that he has maniacally worked on ever since), and after a 12th place finish in the workout, ended up taking second place overall to Graham Holmberg.
After that year, Froning went on a tear that has continued through 2022. This is what it looked like:
- 2011 (Individual): Open, Third Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2012 (Individual): Open, First Place; Regionals, First Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2013 (Individual): Open, First Place; Regionals, First Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2014 (Individual): Open, First Place; Regionals, First Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2015 (Team): Open, Second Place (as an Individual); Regionals (Team); First Place, CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2016 (Team): Open, Second Place (as an Individual); Regionals (Team), First Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2017 (Team): Open, Eleventh Place (as an Individual); Regionals (Team), First Place; CrossFit Games, Second Place (This was Froning’s team’s only second place finish at the Games)
- 2018 (Team): Open, Tenth Place (as an Individual); Regionals (Team), First Place; CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2019 (Team): Open, Tenth Place (as an Individual); Sanctionals (Team, Asia CrossFit Championship); First Place, CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2020 (Team): Open, Nineteenth Place (as an Individual); Sanctionals (Team, Strength in Depth), First Place; CrossFit Games, Team Division Canceled
- 2021 (Team): Open, Fifth Place (as an Individual); Quarterfinals, North America (Team); First Place, Semifinals (Team, Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge); First Place, CrossFit Games, First Place
- 2022 (Team): Open, Thirteenth Place (as an Individual); Quarterfinals, North America (Team); First Place, Semifinals (Team, Syndicate Crown); First Place, CrossFit Games, First Place
Worth noting: This astounding list of stats does not include the work Froning has done as an ambassador for the sport of CrossFit, traveling and carrying the banner of the methodology. Nor does it include the work he has done as a business owner, developing CrossFit Mayhem into a juggernaut with affiliate and athlete remote programming, merchandise, coffee, bison products, and programming for events around the world.
The bottom line: It’s unknown whether fans have seen Froning on the competition floor for the last time. Ultimately, as he stated during his interview, it will depend on how his body feels and his family’s priorities in any given year. In any case though, this moment is a perfect one to sit back, review the list above, and appreciate all that Froning has accomplished thus far.
Get the Newsletter
For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.
"*" indicates required fields
