Unlike the women’s field at the 2022 Rogue Invitational, every athlete invited from the men’s side — along with the top five qualifiers through the “Q” (Rogue’s online qualifying competition) — has accepted their invitation to compete this year.
The result is a prestigious field of past winners and up-and-comers that will battle it out at the Invitational from October 28-30 at Dell Diamond stadium in Round Rock, TX. And we’re breaking it all down below.
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[Related: 10 Iconic Moments From the 2022 CrossFit Games]
2022 Rogue Invitational Men’s CrossFit Roster
- Jeffrey Adler
- Lazar Đukić
- Jack Farlow
- Jorge Fernandez
- Ricky Garard
- Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson
- Jayson Hopper
- Roman Khrennikov
- Jonne Koski
- Samuel Kwant
- Henrik Haapalainen*
- Nick Mathew
- Justin Medeiros
- Noah Ohlsen
- Saxon Panchik
- Tim Paulson
- Cole Sager
- Chandler Smith
- Scott Tetlow
- Pat Vellner
*Haapalainen was announced as a new addition on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. According to the official Rogue Invitational roster, he is replacing Brazilian Guilherme Malheiros.
The Cream of the Crop
Two-time defending Fittest Man on Earth® and 2021 Rogue Invitational champion Justin Medeiros returns to defend his title. And he’s headlining a list of exceptional talent that features the top five finishers from both the 2021 and 2020 Rogue Invitationals:
| 2021 Finish | Athlete |
| 1 | Justin Medeiros |
| 2 | Patrick Vellner |
| 3 | Jeffrey Adler |
| 4 | Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson |
| 5 | Guilherme Malheiros |
| 2020 Finish | Athlete |
| 1 | Patrick Vellner |
| 2 | Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson |
| 3 | Noah Ohlsen |
| 4 | Chandler Smith |
| 5 | Saxon Panchik |
No Youth Movement for the Men?
While we saw 40% of the women’s field check in at 25 years old or younger, it’s only 20% for the men. Here are the four athletes in that range:
- Jayson Hopper — 24 years old
- Justin Medieros — 23 years old
- Guilherme Malheiros — 22 years old
- Jack Farlow — 20 years old
The average age of the women’s field at Rogue is 26.5; for the men, it’s 27.25. So while there are not as many up-and-comers in terms of age in the men’s field, the overall disparity isn’t quite as large as it appears.
Rogue Rookies
Despite the men’s field not being quite as young as the women’s, there are still quite a few rookies involved. Here are the seven Rogue rookies for 2022, along with their path to qualification:
- Jack Farlow — 4th place in the “Q”
- Jorge Fernandez — 2nd place in the “Q”
- Nick Mathew — 14th place at the 2022 Games
- Ricky Garard— 3rd place at the 2022 Games
- Roman Khrennikov — 2nd place at the 2022 Games
- Scott Tetlow — 3rd place in the “Q”
- Tim Paulson — 5th place in the “Q”
Each of the last two Invitationals has seen one male Rogue rookie on the podium: Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson took second in 2020 and Jeffrey Adler took third in 2021. With two podium finishers (Garard and Khrennikov) from the 2022 CrossFit Games amongst the rookie class this year, it seems plausible that this trend could continue.
Better at Rogue Than the Games
As with the women, there are a few select athletes in this field who have found more success at Rogue than at the Games:
- Pat Vellner — Best at Rogue, 1st in 2020; Best at the Games, 2nd in 2018 and 2021
- Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson — Best at Rogue, 2nd in 2020; Best at the Games, 3rd in 2015 and 2019
- Jeffrey Adler — Best at Rogue, 3rd in 2021; Best at the Games, 5th in 2020 and 2022
- Guilherme Malheiros — Best at Rogue, 5th in 2021; Best at the Games, 7th in 2021
- Chandler Smith — Best at Rogue, 4th in 2020 (also 5th 2019); Best at the Games, 6th in 2020
- Cole Sager — Best at Rogue, 3rd in 2019; Best at the Games, 5th in 2016
Better at the Games Than at Rogue
On the contrary, there are also athletes in this field who have been unable to find the same success at Rogue as they have at the CrossFit Games:
- Noah Ohlsen — Best at Rogue, 3rd in 2020; Best at the Games, 2nd in 2019
- Samuel Kwant — Best at Rogue, 13th in 2021; Best at the Games, 2nd in 2020
- Jonne Koski — Best at Rogue, 12th in 2020; Best at the Games, 6th in 2021
- Lazar Djukic — Best at Rogue, 12th in 2021; Best at the Games, 8th in 2022
Consistent Output
As with Amanda Barnhart for the women, there are two key contenders in the men’s division who have shown equal capacity in terms of top-end finishes at the Games and at Rogue:
- Saxon Panchik — Best at Rogue, 5th in 2020; Best at the Games, 5th in 2021
- Jayson Hopper — Best at Rogue, 7th in 2021; Best at the Games, 7th in 2022
Wrapping Up
There’s little more we could have hoped for in terms of an off-season competition: The champ is here, and there are at least a half dozen guys with a fighter’s chance in the ring. There are nearly as many athletes in this field who have underperformed relative to the Games as there are who have over performed.
There are a handful of athletes who will be looking to justify their finishes at the 2022 CrossFit Games (Khrennikov, Garard, Kwant, Hopper), and a handful who will be looking for redemption from an underwhelming performance this past summer (Vellner, Guðmundsson, Malheiros, Panchik, Ohlsen, Sager, Koski). Throw in the rest of the Rogue rookies and we have a full slate of competitors eager to put on a show at the premier off-season showcase event.
Featured Image: @rogueinvitational on Instagram