5 Performances That Surprised Us at the 2025 CrossFit Games
The 2025 CrossFit Games delivered exactly what fans expect: drama, a leaderboard that refused to settle, and perhaps most of all, surprises.
From reigning champions who stumbled to dark horses who seized the spotlight, this year’s competition reminded us that nothing is guaranteed once the Games begin.
Here are five performances that caught us off guard and kept us watching.
5 Performances That Surprised Us at the 2025 CrossFit Games
Mirjam von Rohr: Seventh Place
We weren’t quite sure what to expect from rookie Mirjam von Rohr, but we didn’t expect a top 10 finish.
- The Swiss athlete first burst onto the scene in 2024 when she won the worldwide CrossFit Open.
The pressure was on for von Rohr to live up to the hype at the Europe Semifinals, and when she finished 18th, it seemed like she might be one of those athletes who perform better online than in person.
- This year, the trend continued as von Rohr once again won the CrossFit Open and advanced to earn her invitation to the 2025 Games through the In-Affiliate Semifinals, another online competition.
Heading into the Games, von Rohr wasn’t on our list of rookies we expected to break into the top 10, so we’re the first to admit she proved us wrong.
- She delivered impressive performances at her first Games, including a win in the event “IE5: 1RM Back Squat” and four other top 10 finishes.
Von Rohr finished seventh overall and was the top rookie, male or female, of the 2025 Games, proving that she can hang with the best, both online and in person.
Jeffrey Adler: Eighth Place
If there was a favorite on the men’s side heading into the 2025 Games, it had to be Jeffrey Adler.
Remind me: Adler won the 2023 Games and then placed second at the 2023 Rogue Invitational.
- The following year, Adler won the 2024 North America East Semifinals and was on track to defend his title. However, he withdrew from the Games after Lazar Đukić’s tragic death in the first event. Two months later, Adler bounced back and won the 2024 Rogue Invitational, along with this year’s In-Affiliate Semifinals.
Considering his track record, we at least expected Adler to finish on the podium in Albany.
What happened: Adler started the weekend with a win on “IE1: Run/Row/Run” and remained in podium contention throughout. After four events, he was in third place, but then he began to drop, falling as low as ninth after the second day.
- Entering Day 3, Adler was still 45 points behind third place, but he needed a big final day to climb that many spots on the leaderboard.
Adler finished his weekend with a 13th, sixth, and eighth-place finish in the final three events, ending up eighth overall.
Olivia Kerstetter: Third Place
Heading into the 2025 Games, two-time teen champion Olivia Kerstetter was clearly a force to be reckoned with.
- And while we knew that almost nobody could challenge her in many strength-based events, we didn’t expect that the 19-year-old, in only her second Games, would break into the top three just yet.
Remind me: Kerstetter finished 16th at the Games in her rookie season in 2023 but did not qualify again in 2024.
- This year, she missed qualifying for the Games through the In-Affiliate Semifinals (15th overall). However, she managed to secure one of the two Games invites via the TFX Invitational, one of the final In-Person Qualifying Events of the season.
Kerstetter proved us wrong in Albany. She delivered a steady yet consistent performance all weekend, including seven top-10 finishes, which kept her in the hunt throughout.
Entering the final event on Sunday, Kerstetter was in fifth place and needed an outstanding performance to have a shot at moving into the top three. And that’s exactly what she did.
- Kerstetter performed like a seasoned veteran, tackling the heavy thrusters and rope climbs with confidence beyond her years. She finished her weekend with an event win and her first career individual podium finish, 16 points ahead of fourth-place finisher Danielle Brandon.
Aimee Cringle: Eighth Place
Aside from Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, the women’s podium seemed quite open this year, as many potential contenders like Laura Horvath, Gabi Migala, Alex Gazan, and Emma Lawson were not part of the lineup.
That said, the UK’s Aimee Cringle was among our top podium contenders.
Remind me: Cringle finished an impressive 13th at the Games in her rookie season last year and has continued improving.
- This included a top-10 finish at TYR Wodapalooza in January and a third-place finish against a highly competitive women’s field at the World Fitness Project’s Tour Stop I in Indianapolis, IN, in May.
At the Games, Cringle looked like the podium threat we hoped for in “IE1: Run/Row/Run.”
She stayed close to Toomey-Orr, who won, but Cringle was right behind and managed to beat 18 men along the way.
Ultimately, Cringle managed six top 10 finishes in Albany, but a 27th and a 29th on “IE10: Atlas” and “IE3: Climbing Couplet” were too much for her to overcome.
Still, we hold high hopes for Cringle at the WFP Tour Stop II in Arizona later this month and look forward to seeing her there.
Ricky Garard: Second Place
Ricky Garard’s journey in CrossFit has been anything but simple.
Remind me: The Australian made a splash in 2017 when he finished third at the CrossFit Games as a newcomer. However, he then tested positive for the banned substances testolone and endurobol, which stripped him of his medal and prize money, leading to a four-year suspension from the sport.
- Nobody expected Garard to return, but after serving his ban, he came back to competition at the 2022 Games and once again finished on the podium (second).
A year later, Garard faced more adversity: he injured his shoulder in a mountain biking accident, an injury that required surgery and caused him to sit out the 2023 Games.
- Undeterred, Garard bounced back in 2024 and qualified for the Games again. This time, he finished in seventh place.
- After that, Garard narrowly missed the podium at both the 2024 Rogue Invitational (fourth) and the 2025 TYR Wodapalooza (fourth).
So, heading into this year’s Games, at the age of 31, we wondered whether Garard’s podium days might be behind him, and we looked to men like Adler, James Sprague, Dallin Pepper, Jayson Hopper, and Austin Hatfield to claim the top three spots.
Garard at the Games: After training for the Games with Toomey-Orr and the PRVN Fitness team in Nashville, TN, Garard looked better than ever in Albany.
- He started his weekend with a third-place finish and an event win. Afterward, he stayed in podium contention all weekend in what became the tightest men’s race in history.
When the dust settled, Garard was the second Fittest Man on Earth, once again proving he is still among the best.
The Big Picture
The 2025 CrossFit Games once again demonstrated why this sport is as thrilling as it is unpredictable.
From established champions like Adler falling short of expectations to rising stars like Kerstetter and von Rohr exceeding them, the leaderboard was anything but steady or predictable.
We’ll be watching all five of these athletes as we head into the 2026 season.
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Featured Image: Scott Freymond
