2023 TYR Wodapalooza: Age Group and Adaptive Divisions Preview
Miami’s CrossFit showcase, the TYR Wodapalooza, is set to kick off the 2023 season with a bang, and we’ve got loads of preview coverage coming for you next week, but let’s not forget the age group and adaptive divisions. Here’s a preview to get you started and set for the Jan. 12-15 competition.
Teenagers:
The name of the game this year in the teenage division is a new wave. Mallory O’Brien, Emma Cary, Olivia Kerstetter, and other notable standouts have stolen the teenage spotlight for years, but with their tenure in the division over, a new age of young athletes is stepping up. Wodapalooza will be the first glimpse into what could be the next era of elite CrossFitters.
- Out of 40 available spots, 14 (not including invitations) are taken by CrossFit Games athletes. These top-level athletes will have a chance to continue their streak of success into 2023, but there is much room for younger and less experienced athletes to make their breakout performances.
Names to Watch
- Claire Truax will be hard to miss in the 16-18 Girls division as she tries to secure the top spot in her final teenage competition. At just 18-years-old, Truax already has elite individual experience competing at MACC in the spring. The competition took place the same weekend as her high school graduation, and she placed 11th overall.
- Miley and Delaney Wade, sisters from Knoxville, Tennessee, have made a splash in their respective divisions over the past year and will now come together on the competition floor for the first time. Miley, who will compete in the 13-15 division, handily won the 14-15 Girls division at the Pit Teen Throwdown in September. Delaney, who will compete in the 16-18 division, became one of the first athletes to compete at the CrossFit Games with Type 1 Diabetes in 2021 and landed on the podium last year at Wodapalooza.
- As the lone Games athlete in the 13-15 Boys field, Yezo Cunha may have a fast track to a podium spot. He placed ninth at the Games this summer with his highest finish in Rinse n’ Repeat. However, Wodapalooza veterans Kulani Subiono and Kalen Gutierrez were just above the cut line to qualify for the Games and will give Cunha a run for his money in Miami.
Masters:
The 35-39 and 40-44 divisions have the highest number of qualifying spots from the Online Qualifier, with 20 spots per division, but only three 2022 CrossFit Games athletes earned a ticket to Wodapalooza. This means that a significant amount of athletes taking the floor in Miami are either looking for redemption or their breakout moment. The same sentiment carries over to the older divisions.
Names to Watch:
- Four athletes – Gerardo Schiatti, Christian Galy, Giannina Titus, and Nancy Bodet – will be the oldest athletes to compete in Miami at 62-years-old. Bodet has competed in the Open every year since 2013, a veteran in the sport.
- Up-and-comer James Sprague may be the next big name to come in the elite divisions, but the talent didn’t start with him. His father, Patrick Sprague, will compete in the 55-59 division. With three CrossFit Games appearances and a star-studded support system, Sprague will be a force on the competition floor.
- 40-44 athlete Jenn Ryan is known for her smile, positive attitude, and silver medal from the 2022 CrossFit Games. A veteran CrossFitter with five Games appearances across three divisions and 11 Opens to her name, Ryan is a top contender for the gold in Miami.
Adaptive:
Despite having the smallest amount of qualifying spots in the entire competition with just five tickets to Miami per division, the adaptive divisions are stacked with world-class talent. Four divisions – Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, Neuromuscular, and Seated – will be featured at Wodapalooza with famous, well-known names among their ranks.
Names to Watch:
- Derek Weida boasts over 50,000 subscribers on YouTube, 500,000 followers on Instagram, and a 385 lb back squat. The Standing Lower Extremity division athlete has quite the following and was just six spots away from a Games qualifying spot in 2022, but will look to make a splash on the leaderboards in Miami.
- As the first male to ever make a clean sweep at the CrossFit Games, all eyes will be on Casey Acree at Wodapalooza this year. Acree, who competes in the Standing Upper Extremity division, is an instant shoo-in for the top spot, and the division will likely be a race for second place behind him.
Two athletes from CrossFit MYO in San Jose, California, Kimberley Dekeyrel and Katie Weymouth, will take the competition floor together in the Standing Lower Extremity division. As training partners, they’ll have an advantage going into the competition having spent many a WOD together.
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