On August 3-7, in Madison, WI, the world’s elite CrossFitters will test their strength and conditioning while going head-to-head in the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games. A recent July 21, 2022 video of Games Central — a regular YouTube production of the CrossFit Games — revealed the format for athlete cut-offs during the contest.
Before the last day of the contest on Sunday, August 7, 10 athletes will be cut — which leaves 30 contenders for the individual title of Fittest on Earth® in their corresponding competitive categories. On the Teams side — which would be especially relevant for four-time Fittest Man on Earth® (2011-2014), Rich Froning Jr.’s reigning champion squad Mayhem Freedom — 38 will start the contest while just 20 teams will enter Sunday’s final day.
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CrossFit Director of Competition Adrian Bozeman further clarified the organization’s plans for the Games regarding these future cuts. The 10-athlete cut on the Individual side and the 18-team cut on the Teams side before the final day will be the only cuts of the competition.
Tia-Clair Toomey is the reigning five-time Fittest Woman on Earth® (2017-2021). In recent months, she’s given a comprehensive insight into her nutritional routine and the training equipment she uses. The 23-year-old Justin Medeiros is the defending Fittest Man on Earth®, who improved upon a third-place result during the 2020 CrossFit Games. Team Mayhem Freedom will attempt to make it six Team titles in eight years (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021).
2022 CrossFit Games Schedule
Both the Individual and Team divisions of the competition will begin on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. There will be a rest day on Thursday, August 4, before the rest of the CrossFit Games heats up for them through that weekend. The Age Group and Adaptive competitive categories will start their portion of the contest on August 4 and power all the way through to Sunday, August 7. At the time of this writing, CrossFit has not announced the events for any of the divisions.
Of every division involved at these CrossFit Games, the Teams will be the last to put down their kettlebells. For the first time in the competition’s history, the Teams will go after the Individual athletes have finished on Sunday, August, 7. According to Bozeman, a livestream broadcast opportunity spurred the change to facilitate a bigger audience for the Individual competitors.
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Live Spectator Access
Per Bozeman, fans who attend the 2022 CrossFit Games in Madison, WI, should see a wider variety of events that CrossFit will cater to their experiences.
Spectators who are there in person to cheer on the athletes will have the chance to utilize CrossFit affiliate and educational fitness programs — such as one organized by the Denver, CO nonprofit, The Phoenix. Fans may even try out different vendors hanging around the contest’s campus and potentially get a workout where CrossFit professionals will coach them up.
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Equal Opportunity
There’s a simple reason behind the only cut of the 2022 CrossFit Games happening on Saturday, August 6 — competitive balance. Bozeman said the organization planned for this cut schedule because it will allow most of the athletes more time in the competition.
“It gives everybody a lot of opportunities to keep their name in the hat,” Bozeman said.
The 2022 CrossFit Games will occur at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI, from August 3-7. While stars like Toomey and Medeiros might be heavy favorites to take home another title, their peers like 2021 CrossFit Rookie of the Year Mal O’Brien and Guilherme Malheiros could challenge both champions in their respective divisions. Meanwhile, it’ll be a tough task to topple Team Mayhem Freedom, but anything could happen amidst the intense CrossFit chaos.
Featured image: @justinmedeiros34 on Instagram