SPORT

Watch four athletes test Event 7 of the 2020 Games, the Snatch Speed Triple. Adrian Bozman explains why the speed ladder is a unique test, and the importance of proper loading for these style of events to be successful.

Watch Saxon Panchik and Brandon Luckett test Event 6 of the 2020 Games, Toes-to-Bar/Lunge. Adrian Bozman speaks to the creation and evolution of the event.

The first CrossFit Games in 2007 included an open invitation to anyone who wanted to participate, and 70 athletes showed up. In 2008 registration sold out quickly, leading to the development of the Regionals system in 2009. By 2010 a third tier of qualification was needed, and 37 local Sectional events took place around the world. As CrossFit’s popularity continued to grow, it was clear even more Sectionals would be needed, or new system would need to be created. Enter the CrossFit Open in 2011. The virtual format not only cast a larger net to scour the world for the fittest but became and remains an annual rallying point for the entire CrossFit community, from the grassroots level to the global. Each year new stars are found, new PRs are set, and the CrossFit world unites around our shared goals — fitness and fun.

Watch Kristi Eramo and Andrea Nisler test Event 2 of the 2020 Games, the Corn Sack Sprint. Adrian Bozman breaks down the event, provides insight into how the event was created, and touches on the history of similar hill sprint events at the Ranch.

The hardest test in CrossFit Games history begins in nine days. Ten athletes — five women and five men — will face an unknown number of challenges as they seek to prove themselves as the Fittest on Earth.

Don't miss a moment of the CrossFit Games finals. The finals of the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games will take place Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 25, in Northern California. The competition can be watched across a range of broadcast and digital channels, including a live, two-hour broadcast on CBS Television Network on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m.-noon PT. Every event of the final stage will stream live across Pluto TV, games.crossfit.com, and CrossFit’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

Recently, well-known female athletes in the CrossFit community have openly expressed their struggles with the postpartum phase of the birth experience. Even the strongest athletes may find their new life in a postpartum body can pose unique challenges to their mental fortitude. Keep reading for some real, raw, and relatable inspiration from some of our favorite moms to see on the competition field.

Rich Froning dominated the 2010 CrossFit Games … mostly. With top placings in nearly every event through the first two days, he held the lead going into the final events. Then came the rope climbs, which Froning was unable complete, causing the title of Fittest on Earth to slip through his grasp. Fast-forward a year to 2011’s first event in the Tennis Stadium in Carson, California. A giant rope climbing rig stood in Froning's path once again. Froning went on to win the event, showing that champions not only work on improving their weaknesses but turn them into strengths.

Thirty women. Thirty men. Sixteen countries. For the first time ever, the CrossFit Games began in CrossFit affiliates across the globe. Thank you to the host affiliates, CrossFit Training judges, fans, staff, and supporting communities around the world who came together to make this weekend possible.

Fran didn't become one of CrossFit's most notorious workouts by chance. It earned its reputation because the long distance the barbell must be pushed coupled with an equally potent body-weight pull demands extremely high power output. While the reps and complementary requirements of Fran are calibrated to a magical sweet spot that allows athletes to move at high speeds, other combinations with a light barbell and pull-up bar can produce a similar effect. Dave Castro created two new examples in 2018 with Bicouplet 1 and Bicouplet 2, swapping the thruster for snatches and increasing the difficulty of the pull with chest-to-bar pull-ups and bar muscle-ups.

Quintessential CrossFit workouts include short bouts with a combination of weightlifting and gymnastics movements, not long, single-modality endurance tests. However, the ability to perform well over long time domains is an essential part of a person's fitness. Hence, slogs like a half-marathon row can make for wonderful tests when determining the Fittest on Earth. When this event was programmed for the 2013 Games, it was divided into two parts: a 2K sprint immediately followed by the remaining 19,097 meters. The event tested sprint ability, endurance, and recovery, all in one beautiful display of prolonged agony.

The CrossFit Games events are designed to winnow athlete pools until the fittest can be found. Over a span of four years, from 2011-2015, Rich Froning demonstrated his dominance in the homestretch of competition, mustering untapped energy stores when others were depleted. In 2012, he made a remarkable final push starting Saturday night during the Chipper. The event was a premiere for the down-and-back-style chipper at the Games and included several unique features, like a fat bar for thrusters and the requirement to complete a burpee between muscle-up reps. Froning handily completed the event in 7:06, while Julie Foucher put up the fastest women's time of 7:43.

One of CrossFit's standards of fitness is based on the hopper model, which implies fitness requires an ability to perform well at any task randomly drawn from a hopper. The first event of the first CrossFit Games followed this model. Exercises were drawn from a real hopper to create a workout consisting of a 1,000-m row buy-in followed by a 5-round couplet of pull-ups and heavy — for the day — push jerks. Brett Marshall proved the effectiveness of his butterfly-style kipping pull-up, winning the event with a time of 13:07. When the event was repeated at the 2013 Games, the progress of the sport was dramatically displayed, with nearly every athlete besting the winning times from 2007.

Watch coverage of the third block of events of the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games. Athletes around the world faced Nasty Nancy and Handstand Hold.

Watch coverage of the fourth and final block of events of the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games. Athletes around the world faced Awful Annie.

Watch coverage of the second block of events from the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games. Athletes around the world faced Damn Diane and a 1,000-M Row.

Watch coverage of the first block of events from the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games. Athletes around the world faced Friendly Fran and a 1RM Front Squat.

Watch coverage from the CrossFit studio in California, guiding fans through an action-packed weekend of competition. The CrossFit Games begin Friday, Sept. 18. The coverage will keep you informed as scores roll in and standings are released on the CrossFit Games Leaderboard.

CrossFit CEO Eric Roza gets acquainted with Friendly Fran, the first event of the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games.

In 2017 over 385,000 people participated in the CrossFit Open, which ended with Workout 17.5, a 10-round couplet of thrusters and double-unders. Fast-forward four months to Saturday night at the Games and the remaining 74 athletes took on 17.5 again — this time at a heavier weight. With a separate barbell for each round, the competition floor was littered with a record number of bars and bumper plates. Australia's Kara Saunders and Tia-Clair Toomey battled rep-for-rep in the event and for the remainder of the weekend in one of the closest competitions in Games history.