Event 1 of the 2024 CrossFit Games Is “Run Swim” — Light on Details, Heavy on History
“Four miles for time” of running and swimming. That’s what we know (and basically all we know) so far about the first event at this summer’s CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, TX.
The details: The CrossFit Games and Dave Castro announced Event 1 on Tuesday via an Instagram video, although the description was vague, to say the least.
- How many of those four miles are running miles, and how many are swimming miles? We still don’t know. And in classic Castro fashion, we’re left with more questions than answers.
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A quick history: A long run and/or swim have often been featured in the first event at the Games, starting back at the third CrossFit Games in 2009 with the infamous 7K Hill Run at the Ranch in Aromas, CA.
- The 2012 Games was the first time the opening event featured both running and swimming. That year, the event started with a 700-meter swim at the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton in CA and finished with an 11K run (although that year the event was a triathlon, so athletes also did an 8k bike between the swim and the run).
- The first event of 2017 also included running and swimming: “Run Swim Run.” That year, it was a 1.5-mile run, a 500-meter swim, and another 1.5-mile run.
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- 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2021 also featured swimming in the first event (but not running). In those years, the swim was paired with various other movements.
- Finally, in 2016, athletes hopped on an airplane in the early morning hours and flew to the Ranch in Aromas to repeat a similar run from 2009.
Athletes to watch: They say it’s not how you start but how you finish.
But it’s always a good confidence booster to start strong. In light of this, five athletes to watch include:
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr: In fairness, the six-time champion is an athlete to watch in any given event. However, she has proven herself particularly dominant in both running and swimming events in the past.
- Toomey-Orr won the Run Swim Run event in 2017, as well as the Swim Paddle event in 2019, and “Event 1,” the swim/kayak event in 2021.
Emily Rolfe: If there’s running and swimming, Canada’s Emily Rolfe is in the mix.
- Rolfe won the Ruck Run at the 2019 Games (while Toomey-Orr was close behind in second), as well as “Event 10” in 2021 (featuring 3 miles of running and 90 toes-to-bar), and she all but dominated the “Cross Country 5K” last year, winning by 42 seconds. Further, she was fourth in “Event 1” in 2021.
Jeff Adler: The 2023 champion doesn’t have the reputation of being a dominant runner, but he should. He was second on the “Cross Country 5K” last year, and according to a recent interview he did with Castro, he recently did a 4:56 one-mile run. He has also always held his own during swim events at the Games.
Jelle Hoste: As a rookie last year, Jelle Hoste won the “Cross Country 5K.” While his swimming hasn’t yet been tested at the CrossFit Games, he has gone all-in this year and is coming off a second-place finish at the European Semifinals. We expect him to factor in on Event 1 this summer.
James Sprague: The two-time individual qualifier took 13th in the “Cross Country 5K” in his rookie outing in 2023 (swimming was not tested). More recently, at the 2024 TYR WZA, he won “Wipe Out,” an event that featured swimming and running on an assault runner.
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One big thing: On the other side of the fence sits Pat Vellner, who always manages to dig himself a hole on long endurance opening events and then spends the rest of the weekend climbing back to the podium.
- In 2017, Vellner was 36th in Run Swim Run and went on to finish third overall.
- In 2018, he was 35th on the opening event — a bike event — and went on to finish second overall.
- In 2021, he placed 35th in “Event 1,” which featured swimming and kayaking, and again pulled himself to the podium by the end of the weekend.
- And last year, he was 27th on the first event of the week — another long bike — and, once again, finished second overall.
Will this year’s “four miles for time” of running and swimming cause Vellner to start the week in a hole, or has he finally ironed out his Event 1 endurance weakness?
The big picture: Though there might still be more questions than answers about this year’s opening event at the CrossFit Games, we also have enough information to know what to expect, as a long endurance event, often featuring running and swimming, is kind of the norm.
Then again, there could be a twist.
With Dave Castro, there’s always a twist.
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Featured image: CrossFit Games