“The best way out is always through.”- Robert Frost
CROSSFIT GAMES
CrossFit Photographers Share Their Favorite Images from the 2022 Games
Photography documents a moment in time; a photo encapsulates the emotion, environment, and energy of its subject into one single unmoving image that will live forever. Each of the images below were captured during a Midwest August week at the 2022 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, displaying the congregation of the Fittest Athletes on Earth from countless perspectives.
The images seen here were submitted by photographers and creators with as much passion and dedication to their craft as the athletes being displayed. Take your time, enjoy, and as always, show these photographers some love with a follow, share, or hire through the Instagram profiles linked next to each image.
In case you missed it: Preslie Hirsch hosted the first of what will be many Coffee Break Conversations, with Jason Khalipa (for Rx subscribers).
Also, in case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to CrossFit Games broadcast mastermind Mike Roth about what it takes to put on the CrossFit Games. Apparently 32 cameras, two drones, a camera in a car, and a camera in a boat.
Rogue rolling: More athletes have confirmed for the 2022 Rogue Invitational, including Danielle Brandon, Arielle Loewen and Nick Mathew. Also the workouts for the online qualifiers have dropped as well.
Excellent insights: Everyone’s favorite Australian Khan Porter was on Coffee, Pods & Wods about the thought that “lacking confidence is like racing with the brakes pulled”.
Tia update: Not only is she going team for the Down Under Championship, six-time CrossFit Games winner Tia-Clair Toomey will also be in the UK Sept. 25 for the Arnold Sports Festival.
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Do We Need Both Quarterfinals and Semifinals?
In taking a look back at the 2022 CrossFit season as a whole, an intriguing trend emerged: it appeared that the Quarterfinals may have been a fairly high predictor for eventual Games qualification spots.
Having noticed this, we decided to dig deeper.
By continent, how many Quarterfinalists would have made the Games relative to each continent’s eventual Semifinal qualifiers?
Despite the fact that several of the top athletes in the sport have realized following the 2021 season that they do not need to taper or peak for Quarterfinals (but they do in some cases for Semifinals), almost 70% of the eventual individual Games athletes would have qualified after Quarterfinals anyway.
That’s a pretty significant number, but when you look more closely, there are several more notable nuances as well.
CrossFit Empowers Medical Team Member and Firefighter Owen Valuch to Beat Cancer
Owen Valuch has a handful of notable identities: CrossFit Games Medical staff since 2012 (currently Medical Team Manager), firefighter captain, paramedic for 27 years, athlete and former affiliate owner, just to name a few. One that he never anticipated adding to the list? Cancer survivor.
In early 2021, Valuch sustained a back injury doing deadlifts. In conversations about the pain with friends in the medical community, he ultimately ended up getting imaging done that led to the discovery of an aggressive disease.
“They found that my entire right side of my pelvis was being eaten away by bone cancer…it turned out to be Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a very rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s called PLB or primary lymphoma of the bone,” Valuch said. “And leading up to that, I had absolutely no idea. I had absolutely no clue that cancer is even something to consider.”
BREAKING: Jason Dunlop Resigns from CrossFit to Take Lead Role with Orangetheory Fitness
CrossFit’s Global President, Jason Dunlop, is out after a little over a year, adding to a flurry of moves at the top for the embattled company’s leadership core. No replacement has yet been announced as the move was made public via Dunlop’s LinkedIn profile.
One big thing: Dunlop is the fourth C-suite or Director level executive to transition out of their position with the company in the past several months, signaling a significant amount of uncertainty among CrossFit LLC’s top leadership for the future of the company.
On May 16, Jeremy Landis, CrossFit’s Chief Technology Officer announced that he was stepping down from his position after a 17-month tenure.
Then, Alison Andreozzi was named as the “interim head of CrossFit,” Dave Castro was rehired by the company as a “key affiliate advisor,” and Eric Roza stepped down as CEO.
During the CrossFit Games week, on August 2, Don Faul, a Marine Vet and leader in fitness tech, was named the new CEO of CrossFit. Faul, is a combat veteran and former platoon commander, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has held key roles at a number of technology companies including Pinterest, Meta and Google. Most recently he was CEO of Athos, a smart apparel company that offers technology that tracks data on muscle activity.
What they’re saying: According to Dunlop’s public LinkedIn account, he is now the “International President of Orangetheory Fitness” as of an hour ago.
From his post: “Honored to have joined the extraordinary Orangetheory team as International President.”
“The welcome I have received from this highly talented, passionate, inspiring team has been a joy and I am in awe of their commitment, drive and motivation to propel the Orangetheory brand forward across the globe. I’m excited to work with this incredible team and to continue unlocking the global potential of OTF. I am equally excited to be based out of the stunning HQ in Boca Raton, Florida.”
Remind me: Dunlop was previously an executive at NIKE and was responsible for the company’s direct to consumer (D2C) business across 41 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), directing store growth and digital expansion.
Dunlop was named Global President of CrossFit LLC on July 6, 2021, by then CEO Eric Roza.
At the time of his hire, Roza stated: “I’m thrilled to welcome Jason as my partner in leading CrossFit towards our goal of transforming 100 million lives. Jason’s expertise leading the hypergrowth of some of the world’s leading brands across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will be a powerful driver for achieving CrossFit’s mission.”
The bottom line: Outside of a hostile takeover, few billion-dollar companies experience this much turnover at the highest levels in such a short time. When does it make sense to ask if CrossFit has a plan going forward? Is it in a rebuilding phase? That’s what many believed when Roza took over the helm in 2020. Or is the organization lacking direction and leadership at a critical moment in time?
PROFILE
CrossFit Games Veteran Amanda Barnhart Leaves CompTrain
Perennial CrossFit Games top-ten athlete Amanda Barnhart announced in an Instagram post on Friday morning that she was leaving CompTrain and moving back to Ohio.
“After two really great years with CompTrain in Massachusetts, my husband (Wesley Barnhart) and I have decided to move back to Ohio to be closer to our family,” said Barnhart in her post.
Why it matters: Barnhart’s departure from CompTrain marks the fourth instance in the last three Games offseasons that a high-profile athlete has left the New England-based training camp.
Katrin Davidsdottirleft CompTrain and Massachusetts to move back to Iceland and train with Jami Tikkanen and his Training Program camp last November.
Samuel Kwant, the 2020 second “Fittest Man on Earth,” announced on his Instagram in March that he moved back to Washington and left CompTrain after spending the 2021 season in Massachusetts training.
Palley announced in July that he was joining the HWPO team as a coach. Palley coached Kwant during this past season and at the Games where Kwant placed fourth.
The cupboard is not bare though for CompTrain head coach and founder Ben Bergeron and his coaching staff, he still has Games athletes Cole Sager and Sydney Michalyshen as well as Chandler Smith.
The bottom line: The 30-year old Barnhart placed 14th at the Games this season, her worst finish since placing 15th in 2018 as a rookie. Her departure is not uncommon for athletes who simply need a change of scenery and coaching philosophy to keep progressing in the sport.
Her departure, as outlined in her IG post, appears to be more about the need to be back in Ohio and around family, just like it was for Davidsdottir and Kwant. The result of that move for those two athletes had varying results in 2022. How it will affect Barnhart will be dependent on who she chooses to be coached and programmed by for the 2023 season.
PROFILE
CrossFit Games Veteran Amanda Barnhart Leaves CompTrain
Morning Chalk Up merchandise is back for another two-week, limited edition run.
These tanks and tees will only be available only until next Friday, September 2 at 6:00 PM PT. Oh and we’re also shipping worldwide to most countries.
You might not know this, but each one of these shirts goes directly to support the team covering this global support and community. Plus they’re uber soft, like teddy bear soft.
Sitting behind a desk staring at a computer all day can cause anyone to develop poor posture, especially after COVID times where all we did was sit in our houses. If your posture is suffering, doing exercises to correct it can keep you sitting upright in your desk chair.
When you leave your toes in narrow shoes for too long, they become stiff and lose their function. Unlike your fingers that constantly have free movement, your toes get shoved into tight shoes that don't allow them to move like they were intended to.
Rope climb day is definitely challenging from an athlete perspective, but also from a coaching perspective too. Practicing locking your feet onto the rope while hanging feet off of the ground is a tall ask. That is why this drill is super helpful to getting rope climb beginners up to the top.
Avoid the grocery store and have ButcherBox deliver premium, high quality meat straight to your door. You can have deliveries sent on a schedule and cadence that works for you and pause anytime. Sign up now and get two pounds of organic chicken breasts free in every order for the first year of your membership.
Milk alternatives? So hot right now. And this creamy homemade cashew milk adds some delicious flavor from cinnamon and Medjool dates. Super easy to make and wonderful in coffee, baking recipes, smoothies and more.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
ICYMI: Games athlete Alex Gazan from Rhino CrossFit and Underdogs Athletics added 35 pounds (16kg) to her back squat PR last month.
Lalo Torres from CrossFit Invictus in San Diego, CA is putting in work and putting up big Olympic lifts.
13-year-old Evelyn Brady from Jamerson CrossFit in Lynchburg, VA back squats 200 pounds/91kg for two reps for a 10 pound PR.
Congratulations to Harmony from Core City CrossFit in Detroit, MI on overcoming her fear and crushing these box jumps.
Barbells for Boobs is giving limited-edition Eleiko Sport training plates and black change plates to 50 Teams that raise $10,000 or more for the organization.
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