Age group athletes will take on the Age Group Online Qualifier (AGOQ) this Thursday to Monday, May 6-9). There are three notable changes for the age groups this season.
First, the 65+ age group division formed, and then by extension, 60+ became 60-64. This was the first expansion of age group divisions since the 35-39 division was created for the 2017 Games season. More details on this can be found here.
The next change expanded the number of athletes eligible to compete in the AGOQ for most age group divisions. In the past, the top 200 athletes in each age group division from the Open were invited to compete in the AGOQ. Now, the top 10% in each age group division (based on athletes who submitted scores for 21.1) were invited. This change has drastically increased the number of athletes eligible to compete in the AGOQ from 3,200 last season to 13,630 this season. The younger masters divisions now have eligible athletes in the thousands. Conversely, the 60-64, 65+, and all four teenage divisions have fewer than 200 eligible athletes.
The last change was the return of the traditional 20 Games qualifiers for each age group division. After the 2018 Games, the age group division fields were reduced to just 10 athletes. There never has been more opportunity for age group athletes to compete later into the season than there is now.
The 2021 Games will see the return of the age group division athletes after they missed out in 2020. Last season, the AGOQ was held in mid-March, just as lockdowns were becoming commonplace. The participation rates for the 2020 AGOQ were down due to some of the local restrictions closing affiliates and gyms. Later in the season, CrossFit had to make the unfortunate call to cancel the age group division (and team) competition at the Games, just like all other sports around the world that had to alter their seasons. Thus, the 2021 Games will be especially meaningful for age group division athletes who now will get to scratch that Games itch and compete against all the best from around the world. Of the 2020 age group division Games qualifiers, 101 of the 120 masters and 19 of the 40 teenagers have qualified for the 2021 AGOQ.
Masters Age Divisions by the Numbers
The table below breaks out the Games experience of this year’s qualifiers in each master division. The same statistics from 2020 appear in parentheses for comparison.
Note in the table above, although the number of eligible participants significantly increased, the number of top past Games masters athletes changed only slightly. Conversely, the number of past Games individuals and team members went up significantly due to the greater numbers of eligible athletes in the younger master divisions, where a lot of former Games athletes still participate in the Open, even if not necessarily competitively.
Significant Athlete Storylines
There are many individual age group division athlete storylines to follow this season. The most significant are in the older masters age group divisions.
- Lynne Knapman will be attempting to compete in her 11th consecutive Games (and qualify for her 12th, since she qualified for the 2020 CrossFit Games). She is the only masters athlete to compete in every CrossFit Games masters competition.
- Susan Clarke will try to be the first masters athlete to win five championships. She has won her age group division all four times she competed.
- Will Powell and Ron Ortiz will both try to become the first masters athlete to win a championship in three different age group divisions.
- A number of past masters champions and podium finishers will try to become the first 65+ masters champion at the 2021 CrossFit Games.
CrossFit Games Career Masters Category Leaders (2021 AGOQ-Qualified)
Appearances: Lynne Knapman 10* (1st), Ron Ortiz 8* (2nd tie), David Hippensteel 7* (4th tie), Laurie Meschishnick 7* (4th tie), Will Powell 7* (4th tie), Mary Schwing 7 (4th tie). *indicates qualified for the 2020 CrossFit Games (2020 not added to total)
Championships: Susan Clarke 4 (1st tie), Will Powell 3 (4th tie), David Hippensteel 3 (4th tie), Scott Olson 3 (4th tie)
Podiums: Susan Clarke 4 (2nd tie), Will Powell 4 (2nd tie), Scott Olson 4 (2nd tie), Ron Ortiz 4 (2nd tie), Laurie Meschishnick 4 (2nd tie), Mary Schwing 4 (2nd tie)
Event Wins: Susan Clarke 18 (1st), Will Powell 12 (4th tie), Ron Ortiz 11 (6th tie), Cheryl Brost 11 (6th tie), Patty Failla 10 (8th tie), Scott Olson 10 (8th tie), David Hippensteel 8 (11th tie), Laurie Meschishnick 8 (11th tie)
Past Fittest on EarthTM Qualified for the AGOQ: Samantha Briggs (2013), Graham Holmberg (2010), Kristan Clever (2010), Tanya Wagner (2009)
Past Championship Team Members Qualified for the AGOQ: Adrian Conway (2017, 2013, 2012), James Hobart (2016, 2015, 2011), Mandi Janowitz (2017), Nuno Costa (2014), Sonia Cormier (2011), Mel Ockerby (2011), Adam Neiffer (2010), Nathan Loren (2010)
Landed on the Masters and Individual and/or Team Podiums: Kyle Kasperbauer (All 3), Samantha Briggs, Rebecca Voigt Miller, Nathan Loren
All-Time Masters AGOQ Event Wins: Susan Clarke 9 (1st), Patty Failla 7 (2nd tie), David Hippensteel 7 (2nd tie), Giulio Silvino 7 (2nd tie), Will Powell 5 (6th tie), Bill Grundler 5 (6th tie), Karen McCadam 5 (6th tie), Laurie Meschishnick 4 (12th tie), Ron Ortiz 4 (12th tie), Nicholas Urankar 4 (12th tie)
All-Time Masters Open Workout Wins: Samantha Briggs 12 (1st), David Hippensteel 10 (3rd), Susan Clarke 9 (4th tie), Scott Olson 9 (4th tie), Bill Grundler 9 (4th tie), Lidia Beer 8 (7th), Chris Podesto 7 (8th tie), Patty Failla 6 (13th)
Open Versus AGOQ Places
The 2019 and 2020 AGOQ results show the top placers in the Open still ended up in most of the 10 Games qualifying spots. However, some top performers and even podium athletes did not excel in the Open and merely did well enough to make the top 200 in their Open age group division and thereby qualify for the AGOQ. With the Open placement removed as one-fifth of the AGOQ score starting with the 2019 Games season, it is harder to predict who the fittest athletes are coming into the AGOQ. Therefore, there likely will be some athletes not highlighted in this AGOQ preview who will end up qualifying for the Games.
Masters Division Breakdowns
The younger athletes in masters divisions typically have an advantage. The average age for each masters division competitor is 1.4 years into the division. First-year athletes in a masters division are denoted with an asterisk. For more details on this, refer to the article linked here on the significance of relative age within an age group division.
Note there will be some master athletes (and some teenagers) who do not compete in the AGOQ and instead focus only on competing in the Semifinals as either an individual or team member. There are 28 masters and four teenage division girls who qualified for the Semifinals as individuals. Apologies for not mentioning more age group division athletes — with the expanded age group division fields, it is hard to feature everyone. The notable lists below highlight athletes with recent top performances and/or top past career performances.
WOMEN 65+
MEN 65+
“70+ Age Division”
The oldest athlete to qualify for the AGOQ is Dan Contreras at the age of 74. For the women, Ina Koolhaas Revers is the oldest at 73 years old. She was also the oldest woman last year to qualify for the AGOQ.
Six women and seven men who qualified for the 65+ AGOQ will be 70 years old or older for the Games cutoff age this season. The advent of the 65+ age group division gives a lot of competitive 60-something athletes a chance to compete again at the Games. A couple more years from now, we may be revisiting the discussions that led to the creation of the 65+ age group division — this time for the 70+ age group.
Teenagers Age Divisions by the Numbers
The table below breaks out the past Games history of the qualifiers in each teenager division along with showing the same statistics from 2020 in parentheses for comparison.
The reason for the drop off in past Games teenagers above is due to them missing the 2020 Games. With just four potential Games in the teenager age group divisions, missing one year across the board for all of the teenagers really affects the numbers. The teenagers that qualify in the 14-15 divisions will all be Games rookies this season.
CrossFit Games Career Teenager Category Leaders – AGOQ Qualified
Appearances (all tied for 23rd): Olivia Sulek 2*, Amato Mazzocca 2*, Paulina Haro 2*, Mallory O’Brien 2 *indicates qualified for the 2020 CrossFit Games (2020 not added to total)
Championships (all tied for 6th): Olivia Sulek 1, Emma Cary 1, David Bradley 1
Podiums (all tied for 11th): Olivia Sulek 1, Emma Cary 1, David Bradley 1, Amato Mazzocca 1, Emma Lawson 1
Event Wins: Emma Cary 4 (9th tie), Olivia Sulek 2 (15th tie), David Bradley 2 (15th tie), Amato Mazzocca 2 (15th tie)
All-Time Teenage AGOQ Event Wins: Emma Cary 7 (1st), Amato Mazzocca 4 (4th tie), Olivia Sulek 3 (6th tie), Emma Lawson 2 (11th tie)
All-Time Teenage Open Workout Wins: Emma Cary 7 (2nd), Emma Lawson 4 (4th tie), Mallory O’Brien 3 (7th tie), Rökkvi Guðnason 3 (7th tie), Olivia Sulek 2 (12th tie), David Bradley 2 (12th tie)
Teenage Division Breakdowns
Opposite the masters, the younger athletes in the teenage divisions typically have a disadvantage. The average age for each teenage division leans toward the older ages. First-year athletes in an age group division are denoted with an asterisk.
