After a close battle at the top of the leaderboard, Alex Gazan and Austin Hatfield came out victorious at the World Fitness Project (WFP) Tour Event I in Indianapolis, IN.
Rounding out the top three women were Danielle Brandon and Aimee Cringle, while James Sprague and Jayson Hopper finished second and third, respectively, for the men.
Tour Event I Recap
The Women
On the women’s side, it seemed there was a new leader after each event: Danielle Brandon led after Day 1, Arielle Loewen vaulted into the lead following the third workout, but then Alex Gazan found herself in the top spot after Day 2 with two events remaining.
Meanwhile, Laura Horvath, the favorite going in, sat back in fifth after Day 1 and sixth after Day 2.
- Horvath, 40 points out of first, who came storming out on Sunday morning in Pro 5 – a workout featuring 10 legless rope climbs, 10 rope climbs, and yolk carries. She took the event win, propelling her into third place, just 36 points behind Gazan in first and 20 points behind Aimee Cringle in second, with only one event left to go.
It all came down to Pro 6: a 30-calorie row, 30 burpees over a block, 20 dumbbell thrusters, and a 15-meter overhead walk lunge with 50-pound dumbbells – a workout that quickly proved to be all about the walking lunges.
- Like many women in earlier heats, Horvath struggled on the lunges, failing multiple times, as her podium chances quickly diminished. She finished 29th in the event and dropped to ninth overall.
Lucy Campbell, who was eighth going in, won the event, while Brandon, who was fourth entering, finished second, helping her surpass Cringle and move into second overall as Cringle dropped to third overall.
Gazan was also solid on the lunges, finishing third in the event, clinching the title.
The Men
The men’s side featured a similar story: Jay Crouch was the leader after Day 1, Jeff Adler overtook Crouch after the third workout, but Austin Hatfield led all competitors after Day 2.
On Sunday morning, Adler jumped back into the lead after Pro 5, but he had just a 10-point lead over Hatfield heading into the final event.
Like the women, the final event, Pro 6, and ultimately the podium positions came down to the walking lunges.
- Hatfield and Adler both deliberately broke their lunges into two segments instead of risking an unbroken attempt. This strategy paid off for Hatfield, who cruised to the heat win (the event win went to Colten Mertens from Heat 2) and claimed the top spot.
Adler, however, failed a rep just a few steps from the finish line, which allowed other competitors, including Jayson Hopper and James Sprague, to pass him. Adler finished 20th in the event, which dropped him to fourth overall, while Sprague moved into second and Hopper into third.
| World Fitness Project Tour Season Leaderboard | |
|---|---|
| Men | Women |
| 1. Austin Hatfield – 500 | 1. Alex Gazan – 500 |
| 2. James Sprague – 485 | 2. Danielle Brandon – 485 |
| 3. Jayson Hopper – 470 | 3. Aimee Cringle – 470 |
| 4. Jeffrey Adler – 460 | 4. Lucy Campbell – 460 |
| 5. Dallin Pepper – 450 | 5. Arielle Loewen – 450 |
| 6. Justin Medeiros – 440 | 6. Emma Lawson – 440 |
| 7. Jay Crouch – 430 | 7. Alexis Raptis – 430 |
| 8. Roman Khrennikov – 420 | 8. Olivia Kerstetter – 420 |
| 9. Colten Mertens – 410 | 9. Laura Horvath – 410 |
| 10. Noah Ohlsen – 400 | 10. Madeline Sturt –400 |
Four Particularly Noteworthy Performances from Tour Event 1
Aimee Cringle
Aimee Cringle undoubtedly made a statement with her third-place finish this weekend.
The 2024 Games rookie, who was 13th at the Games last summer, started her weekend with an event win on Pro 1 and put up four more top 10 finishes.
As good as Cringle was all weekend, she hasn’t yet qualified for this summer’s CrossFit Games.
- Cringle is currently 12th on the unofficial In-Affiliate Semifinals leaderboard, meaning that she is one spot below the cutline. If nothing changes, she will miss out on qualifying via the In-Affiliate Semifinals by one spot and will have to rely on qualifying through one of the remaining three IPQEs that she’s theoretically eligible for (the Northern California Classic, the Torian Pro, and the Far East Throwdown).
Ultimately, though, Cringle demonstrated this weekend in Indianapolis that she belongs on the competition floor with the best in the world.
Fee Saghafi
Two-time CrossFit Games athlete Fee Saghafi delivered a consistent performance all weekend, including three third-place finishes, which helped her secure 11th place, the highest of any Challenger in the Pro Division.
Saghafi continues to demonstrate this season that she is fitter than ever. Earlier this season, she became the first woman to earn an invite to this summer’s CrossFit Games when she won the Mayhem Classic, and now she is the leading Challenger heading into Tour Event II.
Colten Mertens
Colten Mertens delivered consistent performances all weekend, becoming the top men’s Challenger in the Pro Division at Tour Event I. He took two event wins and finished ninth overall.
Like Saghafi, Mertens is demonstrating he’s fitter than ever this season. He also claimed victory in the WFP Challenger Qualifier I to qualify for Indianapolis, and, similar to Saghafi, he has already secured his invite to this summer’s CrossFit Games.
- Mertens placed second overall at the Mayhem Classic, surpassing two-time podium finisher Roman Khrennikov and 2024 Fittest Man on Earth James Sprague.
Mertens is on the rise and aiming to secure a Pro Card for the 2026 WFP season.
Austin Hatfield
If Austin Hatfield wasn’t already regarded as a podium threat – both at the WFP Finals and this summer’s CrossFit Games – he must be considered among the podium contenders after this weekend.
- This isn’t the first time Hatfield has impressed this season. The 2024 CrossFit Games rookie, who finished 10th last summer, was the first man to earn his invite to this summer’s Games when he won the Mayhem Classic.
And now this weekend, Hatfield proved he can beat the 2023 Fittest Man on Earth and 2024 Rogue Invitational champion Jeff Adlfer, arguably the favorite to win the whole thing.
Remind Me
Tour Event I is the first of three in-person events in this year’s inaugural WFP season. The next tour event is in Phoenix, AZ, in August, while the World Fitness Finals will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 18 to 21.
- The first two tour events feature the 20 WFP Pro Card holders competing against 10 Pro Challengers – the top 10 athletes who qualified through the first online qualifier – with 500 points available.
- Furthermore, another 20 Challengers, who qualified between 11th and 30th in the Tour Event online qualifiers, have their own leaderboard at the first two tour events and can earn up to 250 points (for first place) toward their season-long total.
Worth noting: The Challengers will all compete in a second online qualifier before the next tour event, so the Pro Challengers will likely be different in Phoenix than they were this weekend.
After the first two tour events, the top 10 Challengers will compete against the 20 signed pros in Copenhagen, where the champions will be crowned. At the season’s end, the top 20 point-earners will receive a Pro Card for 2026, guaranteeing a salary and a spot at all live events next season.
The Big Picture
For fans of the sport, nothing is more exciting than a competition that comes down to the last lunge.
In this sense, Tour Event I didn’t disappoint in delivering an entertaining, down-to-the-wire competition that will only add to the excitement and build rivalries as we head into Tour Event II this summer and the World Fitness Finals in December.
For now, it’s Gazan and Hatfield in the driver’s seat, but with two live events to go — and with double the points on the table at the Finals — it’s just getting started.
More CrossFit Stories
- Inside WFP Tour Event I: Podium Picks, Fantasy Draft, and Who to Watch in Indy
- Justin Medeiros Inks Deal With GYMREAPERS
- Competitor Nayeli Clemente Dies Following Medical Emergency at CrossFit Licensed Event in Mexico
Featured image: Scott Freymond
