Aimee Cringle and James Sprague are the 2026 CrossFit Games champions. But their paths to get there looked quite different.

Cringle showed Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr-like dominance all weekend, and while Sprague also led pretty much the whole way, the race for the top spot on the men’s side was far more fiercely contested. 

• “It doesn’t feel real. It’s a shock to me,” said a soft-spoken and humble Cringle in an on-floor interview after her win.

Final Standings

Men	Women	Team
1) James Sprague — 1318	1) Aimee Cringle — 1394	1) CF Whip — 1055
2) Dallin Pepper — 1291	2) Emma Lawson — 1258	2) CF Mayhem — 1030
3) Jay Crouch — 1228	3) Lucy Campbell — 1229	3) CF Oslo Kriger — 940
4) Justin Medeiros — 1104	4) Alex Gazan — 1041	4) Homefront CF PRVN — 785
5) Ricky Garard — 1100	5) Maddie Sturt — 1026	5) Camp Rhino CF — 770
6) Jayson Hopper — 1059	6) Olivia Kerstetter — 992	6) CF Sodra Wattern — 760
7) Jeffrey Adler — 970	7) Arielle Loewen — 987	7) CF Asker Kriger — 730
8) Roman Khrennikov — 946	8) Paige Rodgers — 967	8) CF Kia Maia — 700
9) Guilherme Malheiros — 904	9) Elisa Fuliano — 926	9) Solidarity CF Basecamp — 630
10) Moritz Fiebig — 898	10) Danielle Brandon — 926	10) CF Reykjavík — 595

Cringle’s Journey to the Top

Over the weekend, Cringle logged five event wins, including three on Day 1.

Her first win came in the second event of the weekend, the 7,200-meter run. A couple of hours later, she added a second win in an event that couldn’t be more different: the one-rep max deadlift (425 pounds). 

• She picked up her third win that evening in the Grass Track Race, a 20-lap bike race.

Cringle’s two most impressive wins arguably came on Saturday during the 500-meter run, when she showed finishing speed on the final straightaway that no competitor could match. Shortly after that win, Cringle delivered one of the weekend’s most dominant performances in Event 14. 

IE14: Triple Pig

For time:

• 10 bar muscle-ups
• 15 GHD wall-ball shots
• 20 triple-unders
• 1 Pig flip

• 15 bar muscle-ups
• 20 GHD wall-ball shots
• 25 triple-unders
• 2 Pig flips

• 20 bar muscle-ups
• 25 GHD wall-ball shots
• 30 triple-unders
• 3 Pig flips

Her time of 10:41.36 was almost two minutes faster than that of second-place finisher Kyra Milligan.

Worth noting: In addition to her five event wins, Cringle recorded five more top-five finishes and was outside the top 10 in only two events. Her lowest finish was 17th in the one-rep max back squat event.

Heading into Sunday, Cringle had 1,190 points and a decisive 116-point lead over Emma Lawson, who was in second place. All she had to do was finish the competition, and the title was hers.

She, of course, did much more than that, starting her day with two more fourth-place finishes, first on Event 18 — a 3,600-meter row followed by a 3,600-meter ski erg — and then on Event 19, a 5-minute AMRAP consisting of four rolls to support and three backward rolls to support.

Cringle entered the final event 144 points ahead of Lawson, making it mathematically impossible for Lawson to be caught. She finished with 1,394 points, winning by a 132-point margin.

Sprague’s Path to the Title

Unlike Cringle, Sprague didn’t have a single event win on Day 1, but he strung together multiple consistent performances, including five top-six finishes out of the day’s seven events, enough to give him the overall lead at the end of the day by just one point over Dallin Pepper.

The two athletes continued to battle on Friday, and once again, consistency, not flashy performances, helped Sprague maintain the overall lead. As on Wednesday, he didn’t win a single event, but he recorded three more top-six finishes, finishing Day 2 with 752 points. The leaderboard remained tight: only 20 points separated the top three athletes.

Saturday was more of the same, but Sprague saved his best event for last, finally securing an event win in Event 17.

IE17: Jump Pull Yoke

For time:

• 20 shuttle box jumps
• seated sled pull
• 30-foot yoke carry, weight 1
• 30-foot yoke carry, weight 2
• 30-foot yoke carry, weight 3

This gave Sprague a 29-point lead over Pepper in second place, and nothing could stop him after that.

Sunday was, by and large, Sprague’s day. Looking more confident than ever, he attacked the 3,600-meter row in Event 18 at a pace no one else could match, giving him a huge lead as he began his 3,600-meter ski. He secured an event win and now held a 41-point lead over Pepper.

The following event featured an exciting showdown between Sprague and Pepper, who went rep-for-rep for five minutes on the forward and backward rolls to support on the rings. Once again, it was Sprague who managed one last rep at the buzzer to take Pepper by one rep.

With a sizable lead heading into event 20, it was Sprague’s to lose.

IE20: Fibonacci Final

5-8-13 reps for time:

• deficit handstand push-ups
• double-kettlebell deadlifts

Then an 89-foot kettlebell overhead walking lunge

Sprague came out strong, but fell behind the top athletes in the heat, including Pepper, on the set of 13 handstand push-ups. Pepper stayed ahead of Sprague through the deadlifts and walking lunges, but Sprague wasn’t far behind. Pepper finished sixth and Sprague 10th, but it wasn’t enough for Pepper to catch Sprague on the overall leaderboard.

Sprague’s margin of victory: 27 points.

The Bottom Line

For the past few years, Cringle has shown flashes of brilliance, her talent undeniable, as if a breakthrough were inevitable. 

• This weekend in San Jose, Cringle didn’t just break through the door; she kicked it down, leaving no doubt that she is the 2026 Fittest Woman in the World. 

As for Sprague, he was arguably underestimated and underrated for far too long, even after winning the Games in 2024 and returning to the podium last year. Now, with two titles, it is clear that Sprague belongs in the conversation as one of the greatest athletes this sport has ever seen.