10 Big Stories to Follow Heading Into the 2024 CrossFit Games
Does it feel like yesterday that we were grinding through the CrossFit Open? Does it also feel like we’ve been waiting forever for the CrossFit Games?
- Well, the wait is over, and the Games are here!
For the athletes, there is nothing left to do but compete. For the fans, there is nothing left to do but be entertained.
We will be highlighting 10 big things from each day this weekend, including storylines to follow, incredible performances, leaderboard battles, records threatened, and surprises no one saw coming.
Let’s start with 10 big things going into the first day of competition in Fort Worth, TX.
Reminder: Stay tuned to our 2024 CrossFit Games leaderboard for live results and event recaps.
1. This is the first time since the CrossFit Open began in 2011 that both the men’s and women’s winners won’t compete at the Games.
Mirjam Von Rohr and Jonne Koski, both from Europe, won the CrossFit Games Open but failed to qualify for the 2024 Games.
- The 22-year-old Von Rohr surprised many with her performances in the Open and Quarterfinals, but she finished 18th at the European Semifinal.
- Jonne Koski is the reigning fittest European man after a sixth-place finish at the 2023 Games. This year, he finished 13th at Semifinals, three spots out of qualifying.
Worth noting: This would’ve been Koski’s 10th Games appearance, and he would, no doubt, have been a favorite to win Event 1: Run Swim event on opening day.
2. Dave Castro is back programming for the individuals after a two-year hiatus.
Adrian Bozman took the reins for the 2022 Games and most of the 2023 Games season, although Castro returned just prior to the Games.
As competition director, Bozman gave the individual tests his own flair. They included new high-skill gymnastics movements and an emphasis on execution under pressure.
- Castro, like an evil genius, tends to lean more toward gruntwork and grind-it-out workouts. Both programmers (and their teams) are pros at what they do, and both have found the Fittest on Earth. Castro will undoubtedly do the same in 2024.
Worth noting: Bozman is programming the Team events this year.
3. There will be no “Dottirs” at the CrossFit Games for the first time since 2008.
Between Annie, Katrin, Thuri, and Sara, the Icelandic super athletes have a combined 37 CrossFit Games appearances, 12 podiums, and four championships.
- There will be one “son” carrying the torch for Iceland – Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson enters his 11th straight CrossFit Games, and will likely become the Men’s all-time leader in points by the end of the weekend.
4. Tia is back. Will it be like she never left?
The most dominant CrossFit athlete in history makes her return after taking last year off from competition to have her baby, Willow.
[Related: How to Watch the 2024 CrossFit Games]
- After back-to-back second-place finishes in her first two years, Toomey-Orr wore the crown for six straight years, from 2017 to 2022.
She won the 2024 North America East Semifinal with five event wins out of six total events.
5. This is the first year that the Teen, Masters, and Adaptive divisions will not compete with the elite individuals since the categories were created.
- The Pit Teen Throwdown will take place August 27-30 in Michigan.
- WheelWod will host the Adaptive Games from September 19 to 22 in San Antonio, TX.
- The Masters Games by Legends will take place from August 29 to September 1 in Birmingham, AL.
Fun fact: At age 41, Andreia Pinheiro is the oldest athlete to compete in the Individual division.
- She also qualified for the Masters Games this year and took second place in the 40-44 division last year in Madison.
6. There are 22 rookies competing this year.
Twenty-three rookies qualified, but Ivan Kukartsev will not compete outside the Asia region due to visa issues.
- In the Carson era (2010-2016), there were an average of 39 rookies per year.
- In the Madison era (2017-2023), there were an average of 23 rookies per year.
This excludes 2019, which we’ll call the “experimental year,” when a whopping 193 rookies participated in the Games due to each country receiving a bid for its national champion.
7. It’s the first year in Fort Worth, TX, and the vast majority of events will be indoors.
In Aromas and Carson, we got used to seeing all the events outside. In Madison, half of the events were outside.
- In Fort Worth, Dave Castro has promised that all but two events will be indoors due to heat concerns.
Time will tell how this will affect the leaderboard and the fan experience.
8. A new training camp award will be given this year.
The training camp with the best cumulative finish (for the three highest-placing athletes from the camp) will receive some sort of award (details are fuzzy).
It will be given personally and unceremoniously behind the scenes by Castro himself.
- While this is a new idea, it could give athletes and coaches something extra to strive for and give fans another storyline to follow.
9. This will be the fifth time we’ve seen swimming as part of the first event.
The first event in 2024 will be a three-and-a-half-mile run and a half-mile swim.
[Related: 2024 CrossFit Games Individual and Team Rosters]
- Brent Fikowski looks like the favorite for the men, having won the opening Run Swim Run event in 2017. Although, James Sprague or Jelle Hoste might have something to say about that.
- Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr has won an opening swim event twice and is still the favorite for the women. Fellow Aussie and rookie Grace Walton is an elite swimmer and could make waves as well.
10. At least one rookie has finished in the top 10 every year at the CrossFit Games.
Last year, only Jelle Hoste competed for the men, and he squeaked in, finishing in 10th place.
- With an incredibly stacked field at the top, will this be the first year we don’t see it happen?
More 2024 CrossFit Games Coverage
- Will Any CrossFit Games Rookies Finish in the Top 10 in 2024?
- 5 CrossFit Games Storylines You Should Pay Attention To
- Will One of These 3 Veteran Women Finally Get to the CrossFit Games Podium This Summer?
Featured image: @CrossFitGames / Instagram