Before the 2018 season started, I wrote my annual article covering the top 10 athletes and storylines I’d be watching this year.
I selected a mixture of dark horses, up-and-comers, teams and competitive battles that I felt would prove relevant at some point during the season.
With the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games now in the rearview, I’m circling back to revisit those storylines and examine how the season ultimately played out.
MEREDITH ROOT
Offseason changes, including a move to Canada West, led me to believe Meredith Root was ready to break through out of the newly combined West Regional.
Root won the Open in Canada West and kicked off Regionals with a third-place finish in Triple 3. A tough 20th place in Linda knocked her down to seventh place overall to close the first day.
Three straight top-10 finishes would move her up into the fifth and final qualifying spot heading into the Event 6 finale. She finished the event in 22nd, and for a moment it appeared her CrossFit Games hopes were dashed as she slid down to sixth place overall.
But the disqualification of an athlete ahead of her due to a failed drug test meant that Root rightfully received her invitation to Madison.
At the Games, Root’s best event finishes came in Crit (17th), 30 Muscle-Ups (13th) and Madison Triplus (15th).
She finished her rookie year at the Games in 30th overall.
All things considered, it was a tremendous effort on her part, and something to build on for 2019.
CENTRAL MEN
The 2018 Central Men’s competition was shaping up to be one of the most stacked Regional fields ever thanks in large part to the addition of reigning Fittest Man on Earth Mat Fraser.
A host of other Games athletes, including Jacob Heppner who had returned from injury, only added to the hype that the Central was going to be a barn burner.
Unfortunately, a handful of unexpected developments changed the landscape of the competition.
Heppner, Elijah Muhammad, Dakota Rager, and 2017’s top Open performer, Anthony Davis, failed to qualify. Rumors about Josh Bridges, and Christian Lucero moving in turned out to be untrue.
In the end it was still an exciting competition, highlighted by Fraser’s five consecutive event wins, and two Panchik brothers, Scott and Saxon, battling back to qualify in the final event.
Still, it wasn’t quite what I anticipated, but the return of Heppner, Rager, Muhammad and Davis will definitely get my hopes up for 2019.
ELLIOT SIMMONDS
Former CrossFit Games team competitor Elliot Simmonds was one of my picks to qualify as a rookie out of the Meridian. If he succeeded, he would join his fiancée, Jamie Greene, at the Games as an individual.
The season started a tad slower for Simmonds than in past years. His Open finish of eighth in Africa Middle East and 369th worldwide represented his worst finishes in the Open since 2015.
But for an athlete of his caliber with sights set on the Games, the Open is merely a stepping stone.
Regionals began the same way they did a year prior for Simmonds, with an event win to start and then a fifth-place finish on Day 1.
He started Day 2 in first place overall, and unlike 2017, he’d never fall outside of a qualifying spot the rest of the weekend. In fact, he never dipped below second place overall. He’d finish the weekend in second and qualify for his first CrossFit Games as an individual.
In Madison, 24-year-old Simmonds shined when the programming went “outside the box.” He had three top-10 finishes. They were in Battleground, presented by the U.S. Marine Corps; Madison Triplus; and Two-Stroke Pull—all of which featured implements rarely seen in a traditional affiliate.
Simmonds finished the weekend in 26th, and on top of being one of the coolest people I met during the week, he set a solid foundation for himself in his rookie year.
COLLEEN FOTSCH
After finishing the 2017 season at the Games on NorCal CrossFit’s team, Colleen Fotsch was an athlete I felt was ready to make the leap back to the individual side at the South Regional.
Fotsch had her best Open finish to date this year, finishing 71st worldwide, and third in the South West behind Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Tennil Beuerlein.
Her Regional weekend got off to a slow start thanks to a 23rd-place finish in the first event, Triple 3. She bounced back strong with a sixth-place finish in Linda and closed out Day 1 in ninth place overall, 34 points back from the top five.
Day 2 brought another bump in the road as Fostch finished Event 3 in 24th place, her worst finish of the weekend. She entered the final event of the day outside the top 10 and in need of some strong finishes.
Fostch won the next two events and moved into sixth place overall.
Just 6 points and one placing separated her from a rookie trip to the CrossFit Games with one event remaining.
She finished the final event in sixth, which wouldn’t be enough to earn her a qualifying spot, and her weekend ended with a seventh-place finish overall.
She may have come up just short of making it to the Games, but two event wins, a seventh-place finish at Regionals and a tremendous rally back from 23rd place should provide plenty of training fuel for next year.
Look out for her in 2019.
MAYHEM’S DOUBLE TROUBLE
Changes to the team competition, namely the reduction of competing athletes on the floor from six to four, led me to believe that Rich Froning and his CrossFit Mayhem crew would double up on their chances at the Games.
Mayhem fielded two teams, aptly named CrossFit Mayhem Freedom and CrossFit Mayhem Independence because #Merica.
Mayhem Freedom consisted of Froning, Matt Hewett, Lindy Barber, and Tasia Percevecz. Mayhem Independence’s roster included Darren Hunsucker, Ted Starkweather, Elly Kabboord, and Kristin Miller.
At Regionals Mayhem Freedom won four of the six events, never finished an event in lower than second and ended every day of competition squarely in first place.
After a ninth-place finish in the first event, Mayhem Independence rattled off four consecutive top-five finishes and closed out the weekend in fourth overall.
As I suspected, two teams from CrossFit Mayhem would be making the trip to Madison, and American patriotism was at a fever pitch.
At the Games, Mayhem Freedom led wire to wire, winning the first event en route to a dominating third Affiliate Cup title. Impressively, though, Mayhem Independence wasn’t far behind.
Two event wins and five more top-10 finishes across the week put Mayhem Independence in fourth place overall, one spot shy of the podium.
It was the most impressive season I’ve seen from a single affiliate, placing two teams in the top four at the Games and nearly putting two on the podium.
ALEX VIGNEAULT
An injury cut Alex Vigneault’s 2017 season short before Regionals, and after a strong 2016, all signs pointed toward a strong return in 2018.
The Vigneault hype train was going full steam by the time Regionals came around. Vigneault finished the Open in second worldwide, behind only two-time reigning Fittest Man on Earth Mat Fraser.
Vigneault entered the East Regional as the top overall seed, and everyone was anticipating a heated battle with the third-fittest man from 2017, Pat Vellner, for the top spot.
Triple 3 started strong for Vigneault. He was the first athlete in his heat off the 3-k row and held his lead through the 300 double-unders and into the 3-mile run on the Assault AirRunner.
That’s when the wheels came off, not just for the event but for the entire weekend. His pace slowed considerably on the run and he finished the event in 25th despite leading through the first two movements.
From there things didn’t get much better. His remaining event finishes for the first two days were 17th, 13th and 31st. He had just one finish inside the top 10 all weekend and finished in 25th place overall.
It was a disappointing result for Vigneault, and later it would be revealed he was battling a sinus infection all week. It was an unfortunate time to be sick, but he battled through to the finish.
His comeback to the Games will have to wait another year.
STEPHANO VS. ADAMS
This year presented the third and final showdown in the teenage divisions for Haley Adams and Kaela Stephano.
Adams and Stephano finished first and second overall in both the Teenage Girls 14-15 and 16-17 Divisions the past two seasons.
This year Stephano bested Adams in the Open despite the latter winning four of the six scored workouts worldwide.
Adams narrowly edged Stephano out for the top spot in the Online Qualifier, winning by just 1 point, and between them they would win every single workout.
In the previous two seasons, the title at the Games was determined on the final event in dramatic fashion.
This year it was a much different story.
Adams won seven straight events to kick off the competition and ended up with nine wins in 11 events. In the other two events she finished second to Stephano, but her place atop the leaderboard was never in question.
It was the most dominant performance in the history of the age group divisions, which include teenagers and masters, and it earned Adams her first gold medal at the CrossFit Games.
ALEXANDRE CARON
Alexandre Caron was my dark horse pick out of Canada East, and he did not disappoint.
At 22 years young, Caron announced his presence during the Open by taking an impressive sixth place worldwide.
The East Regional got off to a rocky start as he finished the first event of the weekend in 27th. But he came back strong with a third-place finish to close Day 1.
By the end of Day 2, he was in the top five for good, and he finished the day and the competition on Day 3 in fourth place and earned a trip to the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games as a rookie.
Caron carried his momentum over to Madison and his very first event as a CrossFit Games athlete resulted in a fifth-place finish in Crit.
Disaster struck during the third event of Day 1, the CrossFit Total, as Caron sustained an injury during one of his lifts. Despite that, he finished the event in 10th and sat in sixth place overall after three events.
Unfortunately, the injury was too serious to continue, and he was forced to withdraw in the middle of Day 1 after a strong start to the competition.
It was a heartbreaking way to end the season, especially considering how well he was doing. It does make me excited for next year, though.
Caron is young, he’s already broken through to the Games, and he knows he belongs.
MASTERS HOT STREAKS
Coming into the season there were a ton of historical stats and streaks on the line in the masters divisions. In my first article I listed them out, and I’ve done so again with an update on how they fared:
Lynne Knapman, the “Iron Woman”—Knapman continued her run as the only masters athlete to have competed in every single CrossFit Games masters competition. She finished fourth in her ninth year at the Games.
Shawn Ramirez—Ramirez came up just short in his quest to win five consecutive CrossFit Games titles and sweep the Mens 40-44 Division. He finished second overall to perennial individual competitor Neal Maddox.
Susan Clarke—Clarke has earned three titles in three appearances (2014, 2015 and 2017). She had the potential for four titles in four appearances but did not compete in 2018.
Helen Harding—The two-time reigning CrossFit Games champion in the Women’s 40-44 Division ended her bid to win three straight titles when she declined her invite to the Games for family reasons. She finished third in the Online Qualifier.
Cheryl Brost—Brost unfortunately wasn’t able to defend her back-to-back titles in the Women’s 45-49 Division. She injured her shoulder playing soccer and had to decline her invite to the CrossFit Games.
David Hippensteel—Hippensteel kept the streak alive and won his third consecutive CrossFit Games title in the Men’s 60+ Division. He also continued his streak of having the best hair in the game (see below).
JUSTIN MEDEIROS
Justin Medeiros finished the 2017 California Regional in 15th overall as an 18-year-old. It was an impressive performance from an athlete in his first year outside the teenage divisions.
A potential spot at the Games still felt like it could be a year or two away, but his performance warranted some attention this season.
He did just enough to get himself back to Regionals, finishing the 2018 Open in 26th place in the newly formed (read: harder) West Coast Region.
Still, his 217th-place finish worldwide represented a 167-place improvement over 2017.
At the West Regional he finished in 14th overall, a one-place improvement over 2017, but that one place is significant upon further inspection.
This year the West Regional was a combination of both the California and West Regionals from 2017. The talent pool was much deeper and the competition much more difficult than the year prior.
Additionally, counting the qualifiers from this year, nine of the athletes in front of Medeiros on the leaderboard had qualified for the CrossFit Games as an individual before.
If the Regionals were still split, he would have placed fifth at the California Regional. Obviously that is hypothetical, but it shows how much he’s improved relative to last year.
He’s still just 19 years old, and he’s already got two strong finishes at Regionals under his belt.
The future could be very bright for Medeiros.
