Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Justin Medeiros Win 2022 CrossFit Games

IF YOU ONLY LOOK at the leaderboard of the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games at the end of the five-day competition, and you might assume the functional fitness fest was a snooze.

After all, the 2021 Fittest Man and Woman On Earth, Justin Medeiros and Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, repeated to became the 2022 Fitness Man and Woman On Earth. But between August 3 and August 7 days as athletes swam, sprinted, hauled, and hulked, the CrossFit faithful watching in the stands in Madison and around the world at home experienced a roller coaster of a contest. Indeed, the 2022 CrossFit Games leaderboard was in flux up until the thirteenth and event, especially on the women’s side. Even though most everyone (including MH) predicted Toomey-Orr would walk away with an unprecedented sixth Games win and gave Medeiros a good shot at taking home the gold again, no one expected their paths victory would be so circuitous.

Justin Medeiros didn’t start off the competition on top. At the start of Days Two and Day Three, Australian Ricky Garard was the top dog in the eye-catching red leader jersey. But during Day 3 of the competition, Medeiros out-performed Garrard, as well as Roman Khrennikov, Lazar Dukic, and Patrick Vellner, who had been riding Medeiros’ heels all competition. But once Medeiros was awarded the leader jersey, he never gave it back. Medeiros is now one of just six individual athletes to win the CrossFit Games more than once, joining CrossFit legends Rich Froning, Mat Fraser, Annie Thorisdottir, Katrin Davidsdottir, and Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr.

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr had a rough start to the weekend—or at least, uncharacteristically rough for her. Rather than dominating from the start, as she has in the past, the winningest woman in CrossFit history finished Day One in eighth place. She placed 23rd in the third event, one of only four finishes she’s had outside of the top 10 during her eight-year tenure at the games. In true GOAT fashion, however, she finished off Day Two in third place, Day Three in first, and held onto the lead throughout the remainder of the competition. She is now the winningest individual athlete in CrossFit history for any division, eclipsing former training partner Mat Fraser.

How the Men Finished at the 2022 CrossFit Games

Russian athlete Roman Khrennikov came in second place after accepting his first in-person Games invitation after four years of trying to receive a visa to enter the country to compete. The silver-medalist proved he was one of the sport’s most-improved athletes, proving that he’s as strong an athlete as anyone else in the field.

After a four-year suspension following a positive drug test, Australian Ricky Garard took bronze in his return to competition (and his second overall Games appearance). In case you missed it: Garard tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substances in 2017, and was subsequently stripped of his third place finish in that year’s Games. Garard was accepted back into the competitive fold after the 2021 season, undergoing drug testing at least once in the interim.

Outside of the top three, the front-end of the leaderboard was dominant by Games veterans. Multiple-year Games competitors Samuel Kwant, Jeffery Adler, Patrick Vellner, and Jayson Hopper all appeared in the top seven spots. Given how well-rounded each of these legends has proven themselves to be, these results are not surprising.

Going into next season, however, there are a number of young competitors who have proven themselves worthy of attention. These include the explosive Guilhermes Malheiros (10th place) and Saxon Panchick (11th place).

How the Women Finished at the 2022 CrossFit Games

The 2022 CrossFit games saw Toomey-Orr become the winningest individual athlete of any division—but it was also the stage for a youth movement. Mal O’Brien, the 18-year-old wunderkind coached by legendary men’s competitor Mat Fraser, took second place, overthrowing established Games veterans like Laura Horvath, Kara Saunders, and Brooke Wells. O’Brien’s success came with her consistency. She only finished outside of the top 20 once in Madison, during the Sandbag Ladder where she was unable to lift more than 200. She is the youngest athlete to ever podium at the Games.

Laura Horvath was third, and came to the podium through a difficult path. The 25-year-old Hungarian and 2021 runner-up started the final day in ninth place overall, after a series of disappointing showings during the upper body pushing events (Shuttle To Overhead and Echo Press) that took place during the first few days. Thankfully, she started Day Five with two first-place wins, which boosted her all the way up to third place, a finish she was able to hold onto after coming in third during the final event.

O’Brien may be the only teen to podium, but she was not the only teen to put on a show. Seventeen-year-old Emma Lawson became the youngest athlete to ever wear the leader jersey when she donned red-and-white on Day Two. Awarded Rookie of the Year, Lawson proved that if she can work on her overall and odd object strength, she’s going to be quite a force to reckon with in the future.

Danielle Brandon and Haley Adams, the fourth and ninth place finishers, respectively, also had very up-and-down weekends. As expected, Adams excelled during grunt work and endurance WODs, but was forced to play damage control during the multiple heavy weight workouts that littered the last two days of competition. Meanwhile, Brandon had finishes that ranged from first (on the Skill Speed Medley) to 28th (on the Echo Press). Bluntly, the randomness of her finishes suggest it isn’t her skill or strength that’s the issue, but her ability to strategize and stay in command of her demeanor.

The most impressive performance of the weekend, however, belongs to Brooke Wells. Wells suffered a severe elbow injury in the middle of the 2021 CrossFit Games during a heavy barbell snatch, which forced her to withdraw from the competition and undergo Tommy John Surgery. She finished this year’s competition in fifth place finish, a tie with her previous top performance from 2020.

The Events of the 2022 CrossFit Games

The 2022 CrossFit Games delivered on the promise the sport made in the early aughts: The events would challenge participants’ fitness in every conceivable way.

During his first year as the head of the CrossFit Games, Adrian Bozman introduced more new movements in a single event than fans ever saw under Dave Castro’s reign. The most controversial were the inclusion of single-unders and double-under crossovers which appeared during Event 3 alongside strict peg-board climbs. Perhaps most difficult, however, were the high-level gymnastics additions, like parallel bar traverses and dips, block handstand pushups, and parallette handstand walks. The Teams event also saw toboggan rows, handstand holds, and a number of odd object carries that hadn’t been attempted in the past.

For aspiring CrossFit competitors, the inclusion of these new movements, machines, and weights means there’s now even more exercise variations you need to master if you want a shot at winning the top prize. For the everyday athlete, however, it simply means they might be seeing more toys in their local box sometime soon.

What to Expect from CrossFit in the Future

Going into this year, the question on everyone’s mind was whether or not now six-time gold medalist Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr would retire after the season. According to longtime CrossFit reporter Sean Woodland, who was providing commentary for the event’s broadcast, Toomey-Orr’s husband and coach Shane Orr and her media team both confirmed to him that she did plan on retiring, and gave him permission to break the news. As of the time of publication, however, Toomey-Orr has not yet posted an announcement on social media or via other channels, and she said in a post-Games press conference that she plans to take some time to discuss her future in the sport with her family.

If she calls it a career, Toomey-Orr may not be the only vet we see retire after this year. On both the men’s and women’s side, there are a number of fan-favorites we may not see on the individual floor again. Included in this mix is Kara Saunders, who shared a post-Games photo captioned simply: “Thanks for putting up with me for 10 years.” The jury is also out on whether or not we’ll see Arielle Loewen or Kristi Eramo-O’Connell take the stage again. On the men’s front, fans worry this is the last time Brent Fikowski and Patrick Vellner will compete.

No matter who takes the floor, or even who is in charge of the workouts, you can count on the 2023 CrossFit Games to be ripe with talent, tall tasks, and an immeasurable amount of tenacity.