5 Burning Questions Heading Into the 2025 CrossFit Games

We’re only two weeks away from the 2025 CrossFit Games, and with this comes a wave of speculation, excitement, and plenty of unanswered questions.

• With many veterans missing from this year’s lineup and a new venue in Albany, NY, this year’s competition is expected to look very different from recent years.

Whether you’re a dedicated fan or a curious newcomer to the sport, here are five of the most pressing questions we’re asking as we approach the sport’s biggest event of the year.

Who Will Join Tia on the Women’s Podium?

The obvious choice for one of the three podium spots, most likely the top spot, is seven-time champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr. But beyond that, the podium is pretty open.

• Aside from Toomey, Arielle Loewen is the only other woman on this summer’s roster who has been on the podium before; she took third in 2023.

This means there will be at least one woman to break through to the podium for the first time in August. Who will it be?

• Five women we believe have a great chance this year include this year’s TYR Wodapalooza winner, Lucy Campbell, along with veterans Danielle Brandon, Alexis Raptis, Haley Adams, and Madeline Sturt.

Will Jeff Adler Snag a Second Title?

The 2023 CrossFit Games champion, Jeff Adler, who withdrew from the Games last year after Lazar Đukić’s tragic death during Event 1, should be considered this year’s frontrunner to win the title.

• Since last summer’s Games, Adler has won the 2024 Rogue Invitational and the In-Affiliate Semifinals. However, he only finished fourth at the WFP’s Tour Stop I.

Although he might be the favorite, Adler will face tough competition in Albany, including last year’s champion James Sprague, as well as ambitious young contenders like Dallin Pepper and Austin Hatfield, not to mention former podium finishers Medeiros, Roman Khrennikov, and Ricky Garard.

Is Justin Medeiros Back?

Ok, so Justin Medeiros has never left the sport, but it’s almost as though he has had two careers.

• He burst onto the scene in 2020, when he finished third as a rookie at the pandemic-era CrossFit Games in Aromas, CA. He then went on to win back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, and it seemed as though he was on track to be the next Rich Froning or Mat Fraser.

But in 2023, Medeiros didn’t look like the athlete we had seen in the past. He finished in fifth at the North America West Semifinals and 13th at the Games. 

Last year, Medeiros salvaged a top 10 performance – eighth overall – but he still didn’t exude the confidence he showed up with in 2021 and 2022.

So, where is Medeiros today?

He finished eighth at the 2024 Rogue Invitational and sixth at the World Fitness Project (WFP) Tour Stop I. 

Has Medeiros settled in as a top-10 athlete, or is he due for another breakthrough year and a return to the podium in Albany?

Who Will Be This Year’s Rookie of the Year?

Following rookie storylines is always exciting at the Games, and this year is no exception.

• Of the 60 athletes competing next month, 17 are rookies, comprised of eight men and nine women. 

Which one will place the highest?

• On the women’s side, we predict it will either be Siria Meha, the winner of this year’s In-Affiliate Semifinals, or two-time teen champion Lucy McGonigle, who is currently training for the Games at PRVN Fitness alongside Toomey-Orr. 
• As for the men, we are watching three-time teen champion Ty Jenkins, who has been training with last year’s second-place finisher Pepper, and 2023 CrossFit Games team champion Jorge Fernandez.

Will This Be Dave Castro’s Last Year at the Helm?

Dave Castro is like a cat with nine lives.

Remind me: Castro was fired from CrossFit just before the 2022 CrossFit Open, but was rehired five months later in a new role as a key advisor focused on affiliates and coaches.

• A year later, in June 2023, Castro regained his position as CrossFit’s Director of Sport after Justin Bergh left the company.

A year after that, after Đukić’s death at the 2024 CrossFit Games, the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) put pressure on CrossFit to remove Castro from his Director of Sport position, but CrossFit ignored the demands, keeping Castro in his role.

Most recently, CrossFit confirmed that it is seeking new ownership. 

• If the company does sell to a new buyer in the upcoming days, weeks, or months, what they will do with Castro is anyone’s guess. 

In light of this, will this be Castro’s last year running the CrossFit Games, or will he return again next season? Like he always does.

The Big Picture

The CrossFit Games always bring exciting, unpredictable storylines and burning questions eager to be answered.

Fortunately, our questions will be answered in just two weeks when everyone’s attention turns to Albany.

Featured image: Ava Kitzi