3 Standout Performances From the 2025 TYR Cup
It’s hard to be disappointed as a fan when you get to watch head-to-head battles between the fittest athletes in the world. And that’s exactly what we got at the TYR Cup last weekend, as two teams — Team North America and Team World — competed for the title, prize money, and a whole lot of bragging rights.
In Case You Missed It
The TYR Cup athletes on display last weekend in SoCal included:
Team North America
- Danielle Brandon
- Emma Lawson
- Alexis Raptis
- Olivia Kerstetter
- Pat Vellner
- Jayson Hopper
- Dallin Pepper
- Justin Medeiros
Team World
- Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr
- Grace Walton
- Emma Tall
- Aimee Cringle
- Jay Crouch
- Ricky Garard
- Roman Khrennikov
- Gui Malheiros
After 20 tests over the course of three days, Team North America beat Team World for the title for the second consecutive year. Here are some of our favorite performances.
Olivia Kerstetter Takes Down the G.O.A.T.
Fresh off her third-place finish at the 2025 CrossFit Games, 19-year-old Olivia Kerstetter had the chance to go head-to-head against eight-time Games champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr on Saturday night. Here’s the workout they faced off in:
For time:
- 3 rope climbs
- 6 alternating dumbbell snatch at 70 pounds
- 4 alternating dumbbell snatch at 75 pounds
- 2 alternating dumbbell snatch at 80 pounds
We expected Kerstetter to dominate the dumbbell snatches, but thought she might have to come from behind after the rope climbs.
- That was not the case, as the teenager looked like a complete veteran from the start. She finished her rope climbs a few seconds ahead of Toomey-Orr and never looked back.
Kerstetter hammered the dumbbell snatches with controlled aggression, edging out the G.O.A.T. and earning her team a valuable point.
Dallin Pepper on the Run, Burpees, Echo Bike
The TYR Cup featured a repeat workout from last year’s inaugural competition:
Every 5 minutes on the 5-minute mark:
- 500-meter Assault Run
- 50 bar-facing burpees
- 50 Echo Bike calories
Last year in this workout, Pepper went head-to-head and beat the now-retired Brent Fikowski, who called the workout “one of the most painful workouts I have ever done.”
- Pepper didn’t shy away from the pain last weekend, taking on the test for the second time, this time against Brazil’s Gui Malheiros.
Malheiros edged Pepper out on the 500-meter Assault Run, but Pepper soon stormed back, winning on both the bar-facing burpees and the Echo Bike.
- His times: 1:28 on the 50 bar-facing burpees, and 56 seconds on the 50-calorie Echo Bike.
Danielle Brandon to Clinch the Win
The final event of the competition was designed to be a three-part workout, consisting of a three-minute AMRAP, followed by a six-minute AMRAP, and concluding with a chipper for time.
How it went down:
During the first three-minute AMRAP, team captains Danielle Brandon and Pat Vellner completed their 80 heavy double-unders before Team World’s Toomey-Orr and Ricky Garard. They then proceeded to do 60 unbroken wall balls, while Team World broke theirs up, giving Team North America the win.
The second six-minute AMRAP looked similar. Brandon and Vellner took an early lead, finishing their 60 wall balls significantly ahead of Team World. Then came the 40 box jump overs, where Brandon really stepped up.
- Clearly gassed, Vellner kept threatening to take breaks, while Brandon pushed him forward. He obliged, and Brandon and Vellner maintained their lead through the 20 bar muscle-ups, claiming a second win.
Ultimately, the back-to-back wins meant Team North America had clinched the title, so there was no need for either team to do the third part of the workout.
In a post-event interview, Vellner explained how Brandon pushed him.
- “I looked at Danielle on the one-minute rest [after the first AMRAP], and I just said, ‘Hey, we can lean back on the next one and charge the third interval and try to win, and she just said, ‘Let’s beat them now. I’m going unbroken,” he said.
He added: “She tried to take me along for the ride…That was Danielle’s win for sure.”
The Big Picture
From buzzer-beating finishes to displays of pure grit, TYR Wodapalooza SoCal was filled with unforgettable moments.
In the end, it was standout performances from rising stars and seasoned veterans alike that secured Team North America’s second straight title.
Featured image: Scott Freymond
