Just a month ago, hundreds of thousands of athletes joined the CrossFit Open — some to enjoy a fun event with their fitness community and some to compete for a chance to advance to the next stage of the 2022 CrossFit Games season.
After three workouts spread over three weeks, one man and one woman rose to top the leaderboard in each division. Here’s a look at the division champs.
Individual
Both individual Open winners packed up and moved their lives to train with other top athletes in the sport this year. Now, we can see how a change in training teams can have a big payoff in competition performance.
Women: Mallory O'Brien
At 18 years old, Mallory O'Brien is the youngest winner in the history of the Open. The 2021 seventh-place Games finisher also set the record for the best Open performance based on average finish across all three workouts.
Never straying from the top two, O'Brien sandwiched a second-place 22.2 finish with outright victories in 22.1 and 22.3.
This year, O'Brien moved to Vermont to join Mat Fraser's HWPO training team. Currently leading the women’s division after the first stage of the season, she may be on track to plant herself on the podium at the finals by the end of 2022.
Men: Saxon Panchik
Close your eyes and point to the men’s leaderboard at any stage of CrossFit competition and odds are good you’ll hit a Panchik near the top — and indeed, Saxon Panchik claimed the top spot just two weeks after his appearance in the live announcement of Open Workout 22.2. The top performance is in keeping with the trend he set last year at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games, where he took home a career-best finish of fifth.
Panchik joined the PRVN team this season and relocated to Nashville, where he has been training alongside five-time CrossFit Games champion Tia-Clair Toomey and seven-time Games athlete Brooke Wells at CrossFit East Nashville.
Teens
14-15:
Girls: Lucy McGonigle
Lucy McGonigle took a clean sweep of all three Open workouts. The performance follows second-place finishes in the Open and the Games in the same division last year, proving the 15-year-old is ready to push to the top in 2022.
Boys: RJ Mestre
Last year, RJ Mestre was the highest-ranked 14-year-old after taking fifth in the 14-15 division at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games. He went on to place second at the 2022 Wodapalooza Fitness Festival, a CrossFit-licensed event, in the Teens 13-15 division.
Now 15, Mestre has started the 2022 season stronger than ever with two Open wins and one second-place finish for the top spot overall.
Photo by Ellery Photos
16-17:
Girls: Emma Lawson
The fittest 16-year-old of 2021 is back. After a breakthrough year last season, the teen is looking toward the individual division. Will she join Mal O’Brien, Emma Cary, Haley Adams, and the other teens bumping up a to the individual division?
Lawson was invited to the second live announcement of the 2022 Open, performing 22.2 alongside four-time Games athlete Laura Horváth.
The now-17-year-old won 22.1 in her division, taking third in 22.2 and second in 22.3.
Boys: Elijah Subiono
Hawaiian teen Elijah Subiono finished the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games in sixth in the Boys 16-17 division and has now jumped to first place at the start of the 2022 season.
Subiono finished 22.1 in second, 22.2 in first, and 22.3 in second, securing the overall win.
Masters
35-39:
Women: Laurie Clément
Laurie Clément made her masters debut with an Open victory. After finishing 22.1 in second, she took a sweep of the final two workouts and took home the win for the Women's 35-39 division.
Men: Sam Dancer
This is Sam Dancer's first year as a master as well, and like Clément, he opened with a victory. The three-time Games athlete (one individual, two team) is on the right track to return to the CrossFit Games this year.
40-44:
Women: Giulia Roggio
Italy's Giulia Roggio had a great season last year, taking 15th at the CrossFit Games in the 40-44 division. Now she's ready to take it to the next level. Roggio finished 22.1 in first, 22.2 in second, and closed out the Open with a bang, taking first in 22.3 and the top spot of the Women's 40-44 leaderboard.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Men: Alexandre Jolivet
Europe has made its claim on the 40-44 division. Four-time Games masters athlete Alexandre Jolivet from France proved that consistency is key. Finishing each event within only two places of each other (seventh in 22.1 and fifth in 22.2 and 22.3) was enough to secure the first-place position on the men's leaderboard.
45-49:
Women: Michelle Suozzi
Two-time Games athlete (Women 40-44) Michelle Suozzi started the 2022 Open in 10th. But after a second-place finish in 22.2 and win in 22.3, she closed the Open in the top overall spot.
The victory marked Suozzi's first career Open win, with a second-best placement of 13th in 2020.
Men: Angel Cardenas
Angel Cardenas has been participating in the Open since 2013, with his best Open finish sitting at 29th in 2018 — until this year. Cardenas finished 22.1 in third, 22.2 in 16th, and ended with a bang, taking home a win for 22.3 and the top spot on the Men's 45-49 leaderboard.
50-54:
Women: Cheryl Brost
Cheryl Brost has Games experience across three divisions: individual, Women’s 40-44, and Women’s 45-49. In her 50-54 division debut, the eight-time Games athlete has now added a fourth Open win to her resume.
Men: Steve Hartle
Steve Hartle has also experienced three divisions of CrossFit Games competition: team, Men’s 45-49, and Men’s 50-54. However, marks the first Open win of his career after a near-miss in 2020 with a second-place finish in the 50-54 division.
55-59:
Women: Josée Sarda
Canada's Josée Sarda has returned to competition after a four-year sanction and finished her first competition of the season at the top of the leaderboard. After finishing third in 22.1, she took a clean sweep of the final two workouts.
Men: Liemerson Caporalli
Liemerson Carporalli has been competing in the masters division since 2015, finishing the 2021 Age-Group Online Qualifier in 51st in the Men's 50-54 division. Now entering the 55-59 division, Caporalli is starting strong with an Open victory.
60-64:
Women: Donna Eramo
Fitness runs in the Eramo family. Mother of Games veteran Kristi Eramo O'Connell, Donna competed at the CrossFit Games from 2016-2018, each time in the Women's 55-59 division. During the 2022 Open, she won 22.2 in her division and took seventh in 22.1 and second in 22.3.
Men: Fernando Haselof
Fernando Haselof, the four-time Fittest Man in Brazil, added a fifth year to his record alongside his first Open win. Never dropping below the top five, he finished strong with a win in 22.3.
65 +:
Women: Patricia Failla
Seven-time Games athlete Patricia Failla has added her third Open win to her resume. She won the 60+ division at the 2017 CrossFit Games and was the second-fittest in 2018.
Men: John Mariotti
John Mariotti is a three-time Games masters athlete. This marks Mariotti's first Open win, with a second-best finish in 2017 when he took second in the Men's 60+ division.
Adaptive
Upper Extremity:
Women: Anne-Laure Coutenceau
The 2021 third-fittest woman of the Upper Extremity division is back and ready for more. Anne-Laure Coutenceau has won her first Open with two Open workout wins and one fifth-place finish.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Men: Casey Acree
Defending Upper Extremity champion Casey Acree took a full sweep of the 2022 Open. This is his second-straight Open win.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Lower Extremity:
Women: Valerie Cohen
Another reigning champion is sitting atop the leaderboard after the close of the 2022 Open. Valerie Cohen is a former college gymnast, but after a tear of her Achilles tendon, a post-op infection left her unable to walk. Cohen continues to make strides in athletics, and she has started her 2022 season strong.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Men: Ole Kristian Antonsen
Ole Kristian Antonsen is the reigning champion of the Men's Lower Extremity division and is on the right path to make that two consecutive titles. Antonsen finished the 2021 Open in first and now adds a second victory after his spectacular performance in the 2022 Open.
Photo by flsportsguy photography
Neuromuscular:
Women: Morgan Johnson
Morgan Johnson has had Tourrette’s syndrome for almost 15 years of her life, but continues to excel as a CrossFit athlete. She competed in the individual and team Quarterfinals last year and has joined the Neuromuscular division for the 2022 season. Johnson finished 22.1 in third, and 22.2 and 22.3 in second, securing the win for the Women’s Neuromuscular division.
Men: Brett Horchar
"I have holes in my brain, but success doesn't come without a little pain. (Multiple sclerosis) has nothing on me." — Brett Horchar
The Fittest Man in the Neuromuscular division is ready to snatch another title. After winning the 2021 Open and the Games in his division, Horchar topped the division again in the 2022 Open, never finishing an event below second place and securing first in 22.1 and 22.3.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Vision:
Women: Kimberley Dekeyrel
After winning the Open last year, Kimberley Dekeyrel has added another Open victory to her resume. She never fell below third, winning both 22.1 and 22.3.
Men: Marc Gil Manzanares
Marc Gil Manzanares from Spain has won his second-straight Open. He took fifth in 22.1 and won both Open Workouts 22.2 and 22.3.
Seated With Hip Function:
Women: Amalia Ortuño
Costa Rica's Amalia Ortuño is a two-time WheelWOD World Champion and a two-time Wodapalooza victor. She took first place in last year's Open and this year adds another first-place finish to her collection.
Men: Tom Miazga
Tom Miazga has several incredible achievements to his name: four-time WheelWOD champion, 2008 Beijing Paralympian, 2021 Open winner, and now 2022 Open winner in the Seated With Hip Function division.
Seated Without Hip Function:
Women: Andrea Wilson
Andrea Wilson is 2021’s fittest woman of the Seated Without Hip Function division. She won both Open Workouts 22.1 and 22.3 and finished 22.2 in second place.
Men: Simon Farre
France's Simon Farre has won his second CrossFit Open. He was the second-place finisher at Wodapalooza in 2022 and the Marseille Throwdown champion in the adaptive seated division.
Short Stature:
Women: Setareh Emadzadeh
Canada's Setarah Emadzadeh competed in her first CrossFit Open this year and took home the win after three weeks of competition. She trains out of CrossFit West Vancouver.
Men: Timothy Murray
Timothy Murray also signed up for his first CrossFit Open and won his first Open in the same year. He is already preparing for Semifinals and is ready to take on the next stage of competition.
Intellectual:
Women: Georgia Vasconcelos
Georgia Vasconcelos from Bosnia and Herzegovina completed the CrossFit Open workouts at Terminal 1 CrossFit in Brazil. This was her first CrossFit Open.
Men: Lance King
Lance King trains at Adventure Awaits CrossFit in Schofield, Wisconsin. This was his first CrossFit Open, and he is leaving with a first-place finish. King never dropped below second place on any of the three workouts.
Watch more on the winners of the 2022 CrossFit Open in the latest Games Central episode.
Read more about the 2022 Open record-breakers in "Game Changers: Who Made History in the 2022 Open."
All the winners and other top finishers from the Open have been invited to compete in the online Quarterfinals, the next step on the road to the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games.
The Individual Quarterfinal starts Thursday, March 24! Learn more about the second stage of the CrossFit Games season here.