The 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup competition kicked off on Thursday morning at Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. Thirty-eight teams will battle it out all weekend long, and by Sunday, we’ll know which affiliate team is the Fittest on Earth.
Event 1
For time:
FF 500-m swim
FF 1,000-m kayak
MM 500-m swim
MM 1,000-m kayak
Time cap: 90 min.
Teams took to the water for Event 1 in an opening challenge similar to that of the individual competition.
The female pairs went first. Blue City Athletics athlete Taylor Stride took an early lead in the swim and was the first to get to her kayak. As Stride got started on the 1,000-m paddle, CrossFit Mayhem athlete Andrea Nisler was not far behind, eventually taking the lead to be the first female athlete to finish her portion of the event.
CrossFit Mayhem athletes Rich Froning and Chase Hill looked comfortable and confident in the water on both the swim and the paddle, and were the first male pair to cross the finish line for the event win.
The four-time Affiliate Cup champion team is led by Froning, a four-time individual CrossFit Games champion. But the rest of Mayhem’s team is made up of all new members in 2021. Still, the team seems to be the favorite to win it all. The team finished more than a minute ahead of second place.
Team Event 1 Standings
- CrossFit Mayhem - 43:49.35
- CrossFit Pro1 - 45:25.21
- CrossFit Surbiton - 45:42.68
Events 2/3
For time:
168-ft. Bob push
25 synchro bar muscle-ups (pairs) | cheese-curd hold, 100 | 70 lb.
336-ft. Bob push
50 synchro bar muscle-ups (pairs) | cheese-curd hold, 100 | 70 lb.
Time cap: 12 min.
Then, at the 12-min. mark:
4 rounds of:
42 synchro toes-to-bars (pairs) | cheese-curd hold, 100 | 70 lb.
42-ft. Bob drag
Time cap: 12 min.
There were 100 points on the table for the winners of Events 2 and 3 each, which were performed back-to-back with a 2-minute rest in between.
The return of the Bob meant it was time for teams to take the field at the Alliant Energy Center. The Rogue implement, which first debuted as a six-person apparatus in 2012, challenges athletes to work together and use brute force to move the now four-person, 667-lb. Bob across the grass.
The cheese-curd hold added a little Wisconsin flare — and muscle burn — to the events, and when the buzzer rang on Event 3, no team had finished under the 12-minute cap.
CrossFit Mayhem won the two-event combo, earning 200 points and tightening its grip on the Leaderboard’s top spot.
Team Event 2 Standings
- CrossFit Mayhem - 11:09.49
- Omnia CrossFit - 11:10.45
- CrossFit Urban Energy - 11:12.51
Team Event 3 Standings
- CrossFit Mayhem - CAP+1
- CrossFit Genas - CAP+1
- CrossFit Pro1 - CAP+1
Event 4
For time:
F/M pair 1
7 rounds of:
5 synchro wall walks
5 synchro thrusters, 135 | 185 lb.
F/M pair 2
5 rounds of:
7 synchro wall walks
7 synchro thrusters
Time cap: 27 min.
Synchronized movements almost always make an appearance in the Affiliate Cup competition, but this year teams took on a new challenge: synchro wall walks. Paired with synchro thrusters, athletes were required to be at the bottom of their wall walks and the top of their thrusters at the same time.
The top teams of the day took the floor in Heat 4: CrossFit Mayhem, CrossFit Pro1, and CrossFit Genas. The race of the heat was between Mayhem and Pro1 as the two traded the lead throughout.
Nearing the end of the event, it looked as though Pro1 might just edge out Mayhem on the final set of thrusters, as they reached the barbell first and began performing their final reps. But despite looking shaky on the same movement earlier in the event, Nisler and Froning surprised the crowd by going unbroken on the final set and hopping over the finish line to take the win and sweep Day 1 of team competition. The team is the first to ever win the first four events at the CrossFit Games.
Team Event 4 Standings
- CrossFit Mayhem - 25:37.73
- CrossFit Pro1 - 25:45.31
- Backcountry CrossFit - CAP+3
The race for the Affiliate Cup continues tomorrow. Learn how to watch here.