Once the 2024 CrossFit Games concluded, nearly all the athletes took to social media to share their challenges to compete at a high level while mourning the loss of Lazar Đukić.
As fans watched the events, we could see that athletes weren’t performing at their peak, given the tragic event that had occurred over the weekend.
- With that in mind, there’s an argument that what happened at the 2024 Games should be taken with a grain of salt and given an asterisk for the entire weekend.
Right or wrong, the Games continued. And with it, there are some interesting takeaways as we head into the off-season.
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Fresh Faces Emerged
The 2024 CrossFit Games podium comprised James Sprague, Dallin Pepper, and Brent Fikowski. None of them finished on the podium in 2023. Of course, Fikowski stood on the podium twice previously.
In a rapidly developing sport, the men’s field has had consistency at the top of the leaderboard in recent years.
- This was the first time since 2010 that none of the podium finishers placed on the podium the previous year.
In the previous 13 seasons, there was at least one athlete celebrating back-to-back podiums.
Super Sunday
Austin Hatfield ended Saturday in 22nd place after “Push Pull 2.0.” By the end of Sunday, he climbed to 10th.
On the final day of the competition, Hatfield had an eighth-place finish in the “Dickies Triplet” and won both “Final 2421” and “Final 1815.”
- Hatfield’s incredible final-day performance earned him 272 out of a possible 300 points.
By finishing in 10th, he earned $26,000 in prize money — a nice jump from the $6,750 he would have earned by finishing 22nd.
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Vellner Keeps Rolling
Partick Vellner won “Midline Climb,” his eighth career event win.
- This also puts him in a tie with fellow Canadian Brent Fikowski and CrossFit legend Josh Bridges for third all-time in event wins by men.
Vellner is the only athlete to win an event in all four years of the Semifinals era.
Call It a Comeback
After a promising seventh-place finish at the 2022 CrossFit Games, Jayson Hopper had a disappointing 31st-place finish in 2023.
- By finishing fourth at the 2024 CrossFit Games, Hopper showed the world that 2023 was the outlier.
With his bounce-back season, Hopper joins Jeff Adler (2020), Kara Saunders (2015), and Val Voboril (2010) as the only athletes to finish in the top five at the CrossFit Games after finishing 30th or worse the year before.
Young Guns
James Sprague and Dallin Pepper are both 22 years old. This is the first time two competitors, 22 years old or younger, have been on the podium in the same year.
In 2011, Rich Froning was 23 when he topped the podium, while Ben Smith, who was 21, was in third place.
- If the 2011 Games were held the same weekend as the 2012 Games, Froning would have been 22.
More recently, Sam Kwant was 25, and Justin Medeiros was 21 when they shared the podium in 2020.
- The 2015 CrossFit Games was the only time when all three athletes (Ben Smith, Mat Fraser, and Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson) were 25 and younger when they stood on the podium.
Bonus
Ruan Potgieter took fifth place in “Run Swim” and fourth in “Push Pull 2.0.”
- It’s the first time that an athlete from Africa had two top-five finishes in a single CrossFit Games.
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The Bottom Line
The takeaways from the 2024 Games almost have a polar opposite feel.
On one hand, we have a new wave of men ready to take over the sport. On the other hand, the sport’s veterans continue to show us they are still in contention for the title.
Will 2025 be the tipping point where the next generation takes the sport as their own?
Credit: Carlos Fleury
