The unimaginable happened at the 2024 CrossFit Games. And it still doesn’t seem real.
Whether or not you believe the Games should have been canceled after the tragic loss of Lazar Ðukić (and there are good arguments either way), they were not.
We have the utmost respect for the athletes who chose to withdraw, those who tried to continue and couldn’t, and those who competed through Sunday.
- This tragedy deeply affected every athlete, and they honored Lazar in their own way.
The Games continued. There were moments of joy amidst grief, delivered through admirable fitness displays by phenomenal people on the competition floor.
Let’s have a look at some of the moments that made us smile:
Alexis Raptis Sells Out Early, Still Wins Her 1600-Meter Run Heat
Alexis Raptis passed former track star Brooke Wells, then rounded the corner and kicked it into fifth gear. She sprinted to the finish line in first place.
There was only one problem. She had one more lap to go. And the crowd let her know.
- After essentially emptying the tank on lap three and coming to a complete stop, Raptis gutted out another 400 meters to stay inches ahead of Wells in a photo finish.
Justin Medeiros’ PR Squat Clean to Win the Clean Ladder
His name was announced before the start of the event with a listed clean PR of 364 pounds.
- This was exactly one pound less than the weight loaded on the final barbell.
He was not the first to the 365-pound final bar, but Medeiros calmly approached it.
He pulled high and caught it in a deep squat, bounced twice out of the bottom, and fought it all the way up to the crowd’s cheers.
- Medeiros once again showed his pacing proficiency and ability to perform under pressure, while collecting his second career event win.
Ricky and Tia Rule the Track (and Field)
Ricky Garard was the only athlete to run a sub-five-minute mile.
He finished his first lap in 1:05, putting him on pace for a 4:20 finish. Although he did not hold that blistering pace, he cruised across the finish line all alone in 4:55.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr won the mile with a time of 5:30 in a tight race with rookie Aimee Cringle and Haley Adams.
- Both Garard and Toomey-Orr backed up their wins on the track with matching wins on the field in the sandbag sprint, putting on a show for the packed stands at Farrington Field.
Every Time Haley Adams’ Name Was Called
Adams has solidified herself as a fan favorite. When her name was announced, the cheers from the crowd were decibels louder.
- The biggest roars inside Dickies Arena on Friday were when she passed her competitors during “Midline Climb.”
Seeing Adams back on the competition floor joyed many people during a harrowing time.
Rookie Kyra Milligan Pushes Tia in the Clean Ladder
Another impressive rookie performance came in the final round of the clean ladder.
Kyra Milligan stood up the final 250-pound barbell a split second before Toomey-Orr. But Tia was a few feet ahead because of the staggered barbells and hustled across the line to take the win by hundreds of a second.
James Sprague Edges Out Austin Hatfield in Chad
After over 40 minutes of work, it looked like Hatfield would snag the event win in “Chad” with about 20 reps left. He used a quick technique, basically hopping down the stacked boxes.
- Sprague stepped up his cadence in the last 15 reps, brushing his trail foot on the box to meet the standard. He surpassed Hatfield to take the victory by 11 seconds. The eventual champion sat momentarily on his box with his face in his hands, clearly emotional, before celebrating with his raucous cheering section.
- The two were out front by themselves. The next athlete to finish was Roman Khrennikov, more than two minutes later.
Hopper and Pepper Put the Pedal Down
After winning “Firestorm,” Jayson Hopper provided some levity with his signature banter toward friend and competitor Dallin Pepper.
- “Ask Dallin who is the king of the Echo Bike,” Hopper implored Mike Arceneault in the post-event interview while the three sat on the burpee barrier on the competition floor.
- “Don’t worry, I still got like five on him,” Pepper replied. But Hopper got in the last word this time: “You’re only as good as your last race.”
The battle of the bike continues…
Rookie Austin Hatfield Wins Final 2421 and 1815
Hatfield continued the streak of rookies finishing in the top 10, narrowly edging out Saxon Panchik by two points. On Sunday, 200 points were up for grabs in the finals.
- This is the second year in a row that the highest-placing rookie was a male in the tenth spot. Jelle Hoste was the rookie to do it in 2023.
Raw Iron Mayhem Thunder Wins and Becomes the First Team From Oceania to Podium; Torian Mayhem Was 2nd
The super team, which consisted of Kara Saunders, James Newberry, Emily De Rooy, and Khan Porter, won gracefully and emotionally.
Like so many of the athletes, they made the difficult decision to continue, honoring Lazar with their performance and words.
- “We are thinking of him and having him in our hearts for every single second of everything that we do this weekend,” Saunders said in a heartfelt post-event interview.
CrossFit Torian Mayhem jumped from third to second in the final event to solidify the silver. The top two teams hail from Oceania for the first time.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, Third Mom in Four Years to Stand on the Podium
Having just won her historic seventh Crossfit Games title, Toomey-Orr held her daughter, Willow, as reporter Mike Arsenault asked her what it meant to win the Games as a mom this year.
- “This is definitely the best one yet,” the champ replied.
In taking first in 2024, Toomey-Orr joins Arielle Loewen and Annie Thorisdottir as the third mom in four years to stand on the podium.
Featured image credit Dallas Hamm.
