Three-time CrossFit Games veteran Alex Gazan is on a quest to achieve the goal she and her coach, Justin Cotler, set for this season:
- “Our goal is to win the [World Fitness Project] and win the Games,” Cotler, also the head coach and co-founder of Underdogs Athletics, told the Morning Chalk Up.
This past weekend, she took a big first step, nabbing first place in the women’s division at the WFP Tour Event I in Indianapolis, IN.
Remind me: Morning Chalk Up senior writer Emily Beers interviewed Gazan and Cotler earlier this month about the upcoming season.
We learned that Gazan had decided not to participate in the In-Affiliate Semifinals qualifier for the 2025 CrossFit Games and instead focus her efforts on WFP Tour I and the Northern California Classic in Sacramento, CA, in June. It’s the last of 10 In-Person Qualifying Events (IPQE) this year.
Alex Gazan’s Gold-Medal Weekend
The athlete field at the inaugural WFP event was deep and talented, but Gazan had a tremendous competition and looked dialed in from the start.
She took three top-three event finishes, including her best result in Pro 5, a 10-round workout that featured legless rope climbs, standard rope climbs, and yoke carries.
- She took second place in the workout and finished third in Pro 6, capping off her leaderboard climb on Sunday afternoon.
- Another notable finish was in Pro 4A, a one-rep-max jerk. Gazan took third place with a 287-pound lift.
She began the weekend with some momentum, finishing sixth in Pro 1, which included running, ring muscle-ups, and snatches, and remained near the top throughout all six events.
- “I’m so excited. It feels so good to finish an event,” Gazan told the Buttery Bros in a video from the event. “I’ve been in really cool positions before. I was in third at Rogue, I’ve been in third at the Games, but either my mind or my body shuts down, so to be able to stay in it and finish where I need to, it’s a really exciting feeling.”
Cotler is pleased with the decision to skip the In-Affiliate Semifinals. They agreed to concentrate exclusively on in-person competitions, where the pressure is greater and the best performers rise to the top.
- “This wasn’t just a win — it was a statement,” Cotler told Morning Chalk Up.
Gazan will now prepare for the NorCal event next month, but this recent performance illustrates how far she has come this season and how ready she is for a solid run at the Games and the Games podium.
- “This weekend was a powerful step forward, and just a glimpse of what we’re building together. And honestly, we’re just getting warmed up,” Cotler says.
One last thing: The structure and schedule of the 2025 season have led many athletes to make last-minute decisions to place themselves in the best position to perform. IPQEs are ongoing, and the In-Affiliate Semifinal leaderboard hasn’t been finalized yet.
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Featured image: @worldfitnessproject / Instagram
