Rich Froning Explains his North America East Experience
“Rich Froning got kicked out?”
“No way.”
If you were on site in Orlando, FL for the 2023 North America East Semifinals, you couldn’t help but hear the buzz bouncing off the walls of the Orange County Convention Center. The rumor was that Rich Froning was kicked out.
The following Friday, CrossFit Mayhem released a new edition of The Rich Froning Podcast, where Froning explained:
- “I was very angry, and before I said something that I was going to regret, I removed myself from the situation.”
But what actually happened?
Froning sat down on the Rich Froning Podcast with Angelo DiCicco and Rory Mckernan to discuss the incident and put the rumors to rest. Froning explained that staff at the event didn’t have a pass available for him when he tried to get into the athlete area (since he wasn’t listed as a coach or athlete). After eventually receiving a coach’s pass but not being allowed entrance to the coach’s area to spectate his teams, Froning got frustrated, left the venue, and watched the first day of events from his hotel room. When, the next day, CrossFit offered him “free run of the place,” he declined again, out of principle.
- Froning: “It’s super childish and stubborn, but I’ve never claimed to not be super childish or stubborn.”
Besides Froning’s own situation during the first week of Semifinals, the trio discussed a multitude of other topics ranging from their opinions on media coverage, how they think CrossFit could improve the sport and gain more athletes, and Mayhem athlete Alexander Caron’s forced withdrawal from the competition.
Remind me: Caron was forced to withdraw from the competition because of issues with the standards in Test 2. Having suffered a pectoral tear before the competition started, Caron did not complete a single ring muscle up in the second event and instead attempted to meet CrossFit’s standard of “continious effort” by “attempting” a rep every so often during the event. He wrote in an Instagram post explaining the situation,
- “(CrossFit) told me my “effort” during the muscle up event was not good enough for a Semifinal athlete and that I clearly had an advantage over my competitors for the rest of the weekend.”
Froning responded to this issue on the podcast by suggesting the reinstitution of a minimum work requirement instead of the more subjective continuous effort rule.
To hear more and watch the full podcast, visit CrossFit Mayhem’s YouTube channel.
Get the Newsletter
For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.
"*" indicates required fields
