2022 Fittest on Earth Adaptive Divisions

August 7, 2022

Grace Dawson Beatty and Kelley Laxton

Who's the Fittest on Earth and highlights from the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games.

In its second year at the CrossFit Games, the adaptive division hosted 30 athletes across three divisions — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular — to determine who is the Fittest on EarthTM. Athletes earned a spot at the Games by competing in  the worldwide CrossFit Open and placing in the top five in their division in the debut year of the Age-Group Semifinal, a virtual competition. 

In order to crown the fittest man and fittest woman in each division, athletes completed eight events over the course of three days, testing  all 10 general physical skills:

  1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance
  2. Stamina
  3. Strength 
  4. Flexibility
  5. Power
  6. Speed
  7. Coordination
  8. Agility
  9. Balance 
  10. Accuracy 

While Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular were the three divisions tested  in Madison, Wisconsin, five additional adaptive divisions were tested virtually and crowned Fittest on EarthTM during Semifinals  — Vision, Intellectual, Seated Without Hip Function, Seated With Hip Function, and Short Stature. Read more about these division winners here

Below are the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games winners and highlights from the competition in Madison. 

The Fittest on EarthTM 

Upper Extremity

Men

  1. Casey Acree — 800 pts
  2. Josue Maldonado — 520 pts
  3. Samuel Pera — 380 pts
Men Upper Extremity Podium

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Women

  1. Camille Vigneault — 485 pts
  2. Christina Mazzullo — 485 pts
  3. Anne-Laure Coutenceau — 430 pts
Women Upper Extremity Podium

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Lower Extremity 

Men

  1. Charles Pienaar — 435 pts
  2. Rogan Dean — 485 pts
  3. Ole Kristian Antonsen — 425 pts
Men Lower Extremity Podium

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Women

  1. Valerie Cohen — 650 pts
  2. Molly Moore — 550 pts
  3. Amy Bream — 420 pts
Women Lower Extremity Podium

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Neuromuscular 

Men

  1. Brett Horchar — 555 pts
  2. Benjamin Fallon — 495 pts
  3. Jeremie Perera — 400 pts
Men Neuromuscular Podium

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Women

  1. Morgan Johnson — 580 pts
  2. Lauren Taylor — 510 pts
  3. Letchen du Plessis — 410 pts
Women Neuromuscular

Photo by flsportsguy photography 

Vision

Fittest Man on Earth: David Millings — 580 pts

Fittest Woman on Earth: Erica Powell — 565 pts

Intellectual

Fittest Man on Earth: Landon Payne — 570 pts

Fittest Woman on Earth: Hailey Melakian — 575 pts

Seated Without Hip Function

Fittest Man on Earth: Kevin Ogar — 570 pts

Fittest Woman on Earth: Andrea Wilson — 600 pts

Seated With Hip Function

Fittest Man on Earth: Tom Miazga — 595 pts

Fittest Woman on Earth: Amalia Ortuño — 600 pts

Short Stature 

Fittest Man on Earth: Timothy Murray — 560 pts

Fittest Woman on Earth: Setareh Emadzadeh — 600 pts

The fittest adaptive athletes on Earth

The Fittest on Earth | Photographer: Joy Silva

2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Highlights

Day 1

In the Men’s Lower Extremity division, Event 1 started with Ole Kristian Antonsen leading  the first part of the 1,200-m run, but it was Luke Reeson who eventually passed Antonsen on the back half of the run, utilizing his long  stride to create a major lead. 

Reeson was the first to make it to the 21 shoulder-to-overheads, but Rogan Dean was able to close the gap and catch up. Unfortunately for Dean, the lead was short lived. The moment Reeson headed out for the 800-m run, he opened up a lead so far ahead  of the rest of the pack that there was no one in sight for the remainder of the workout. 

Reeson’s lead was so extensive that even when he failed to touch his name pad prior to starting his rope climb after the 800-m run, he had enough time to, jump  down, run back to touch his name plate, and  redo his rope climb — still with no one in view. 

Luke Reeson

Luke Reeson crossing the finish line after Event 1 | Photographer: Adam Bow 

Day 2

In the Women’s Lower Extremity division, Amy Bream wasn’t going to let anything get in her way to finish Event 5. On Day 1, Bream struggled to keep her prosthetic on because of the heat as the leg loses suction against her liner. Unfortunately, with the bolstering heat on Day 2, Bream encountered the same issues. During the second sprint on Event 5, Bream had to take off her prosthetic after the snatches and run the 60-m shuttle sprint with one leg. Bream was able to put her prosthetic back on for the last 60-m shuttle sprint, finishing the workout in fourth place. 

This year has proved challenging for Bream, specifically because of the heat, but still she exhibits great resiliency, placing second in three of six workouts . Bream inspired many  at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games when she refused to give up, fighting for one more push press in Event 9. She continued that trend  this year with her fight to complete each event regardless of the challenges that arose.

Amy Bream

Amy Bream during Event 5 | Photography: @flsportsguy 

Day 3

For the first time in CrossFit Games history, every athlete across all divisions competed in the exact same event. Rinse ‘N’ Repeat featured elimination-style rounds, with 50-yd swims and a max-calorie Ski Erg buy-out at the end. That meant all 430 athletes were pitted against each other. 

Two adaptive athletes proved their fitness, performing  better than some of the fittest athletes in the entire CrossFit Games field. 

Lower extremity athlete Luke Reeson bagged a total of 145 calories by the sound of the buzzer, which would have placed him in 15th on the individual men’s leaderboard. When Neuromuscular athlete Letchen du Plessis stepped up to the plate, she excelled at the swim, and became the only female Neuromuscular competitor to swim the final two intervals. She finished with 111 calories  on the Ski Erg monitor, which tied Emma McQuaid and Christine Kolenbranderfor 28th in the Individual Women’s division. 

In the final sprint to the finish line to close out the week, Casey Acree became the only athlete at the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games to  sweep the competition, securing all 800 points in the Upper Extremity division. 

“Just yesterday I was thinking about a conversation I had with my brother. Nine years ago when I started training CrossFit, I was training like an athlete for no reason and I told him that I think one day we’ll get our opportunity to compete at the CrossFit Games,” Acree said. “I said when that day came that I’d be ready. So I stayed ready and I’ve been competing for almost eight years now. Getting to be here at the CrossFit Games the last two years has been one of the most enjoyable and challenging experiences of my life. I just try to take in every moment and enjoy every single workout, in between the workouts, the whole experience, being here with my family, getting to be a role model for my son — it’s everything.”

Casey Acree

Casey Acree during Event 5 | Photographer: Johany Jutras

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