Our Favorite Moments from TYR Wodaplaooza’s Recent Past

Held within the first few weeks of January, TYR Wodapalooza has always been the unofficial kick-off of the CrossFit calendar. 

Changes have arisen each year, from the programming and location of the workouts to the duration of the event as a whole and the addition of new divisions. 

With the 12th annual TYR Wodapalooza just days away (January 11 through 14, to be exact), we anxiously look forward to all that is about to go down while reflecting back on some of the biggest moments from the last few years. Here are some that stood out. 

2022

• This year marked Pat Vellner’s third consecutive win at the competition, finishing the weekend with two event wins and an average finish of 5.5 across all the workouts. Alexandre Caron and Sam Cournoyer took second and third, respectively, rounding out the Canadian podium.

• After a slow start, Emma McQuaid quietly climbed her way up the leaderboard to a tight finish, beating out second place by a narrow margin. 

• Competing with Team Kriger out of Norway, we watched Kristin Holte throw down one final time. And what a last hurrah it was, with Holte taking first place in the Elite Female Team Division. 

• We saw Haley Adams compete on a team for the first time, as she was a member of MayFem. She took home second overall, alongside fellow Mayhem athletes. 

• We watched youngsters Anikha Greer and Dallin Pepper battle against the big guns in the Elite Individual Division. At the time, Greer had yet to make a big splash on the scene, and Pepper had only been widely known as a teen competitor up to this point.

• All three Panchik brothers — Spencer, Saxon, and Scott — competed in the Elite Individual Division, finishing in seventh, eighth, and ninth place, respectively. 

• After winning the West Coast Classic, Bethany Shadburne withdrew from the 2021 CrossFit Games due to COVID. The 2022 Wodapalooza was her return to competition, and she walked away in second place overall, only nine points out of first. 

2023

• Changes were implemented in 2023, abbreviating the four-day competition down to only two days for each division, with individuals competing first, followed by teams. This allowed athletes to compete both as individuals and on a team. We saw Pat Vellner, Brent Fikowski, and Roman Khrennikov, among others, compete and excel in both divisions. 

• Neuromuscular athlete Alyssa Kobela was given a redemption weekend, as she injured herself just prior to the 2022 CrossFit Games and was unable to compete. Having recovered, she dominated the Female Neuromuscular Division and walked away a WZA champion. 

• The event “We Have Lift Off” included a one-rep-max clean and jerk followed by a handstand hold for max time. Rebecca Fuselier won for the women with a 1:27 hold, while Cole Greashaber won for the men with a 1:28 hold. 

• In the same event, fan favorite Gui Malheiros clean and jerked 395 pounds, while Cece Cronin bested Dani Speegle by one pound, clean and jerking 256 pounds. 

• On the team side, Tola Morakinyo, on team King BK and Friends, snagged a 407-pound shoulder to overhead. 

• This was the year of PB and J, as Canadians Pat Vellner, Jeffrey Adler, and Brent Fikowski, donning sleeveless flannels and denim cutoffs, won the team division, beating out previous champions, The Boyz. 

• The Panchik brothers returned to compete on a team, finishing in fifth. 

• Adaptive athlete Casey Acree won for the sixth consecutive time in the Adaptive Standing RX Division. 

2024
More information is being released every few days, and it seems that this year’s upcoming TYR Wodapalooza has the potential for some big moments and memories. We can all look forward to a max snatch event, new teams, an off-site trail run, and a packed vendor village, making for what we know to be the season’s biggest party and the best way to kick off 2024.