Seventeen rookies competed in the 2025 CrossFit Games, including nine women and eight men. With a condensed field, it represented a substantial percentage of the overall athlete roster.
So, how did they do?
Here is a bird’s-eye view of some of the great performances and overall takeaways from the freshmen in Albany.
Remind Me
There is always at least one rookie performance that surprises us – remember Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr finishing second in 2015, her first year at the Games?
Fans almost always expect at least one top-ten performance from a rookie.
Here is the list of rookies who competed at the Games last weekend, in order of finish:
| Men | Women |
| 15. Ty Jenkins | 7. Mirjam von Rohr |
| 17. Colin Bosshard | 9. Anikha Greer |
| 23. Jorge Fernandez | 11. Lucy McGonigle |
| 25. Isaac Newman | 13. Lydia Fish |
| 26. Bill Leahy | 20. Jennifer Muir |
| 27. Toby Buckland | 22. Christina Livaditakis |
| 29. Henrique Moreira | 26. Siria Meha |
| 30. Tiago Luzes | 27. Mariana Meza |
| 30. Luiza Marques |
* Morteza Sedaghat qualified, but did not compete as he was unable to obtain a visa.
While they all competed for the first time as individuals, several had experience on teams and in the teen divisions, so it doesn’t mean they lacked Games experience. Jenkins and McGonigle podiumed as teens, and Fernandez was a member of the Invictus team that won first place in 2023.
Highlights
Mirjam von Rohr
The two-time CrossFit Open winner and elite HYROX athlete left Albany as Rookie of the Year, finishing seventh overall. She squatted a ridiculous 360 pounds to win “IE05: 1RM Back Squat.”
Ty Jenkins
The former teen champ had the highest finish for a male rookie this year and, at 19 years old, made a strong statement. Moving to Florida this season to train with Dallin Pepper, surrounding himself with a veteran presence, clearly paid off.
- Jenkins’ performances were consistent all weekend, with his lowest finish being 23rd in “IE02: All Crossed Up.” Expect great things from Jenkins in the future.
Anikha Greer
The Canadian youngster finally broke through and qualified for the Games this year.
Greer’s journey has been a dramatic one, as she narrowly missed qualifying multiple times due to various setbacks, including mental mistakes, judging miscalls, and technical problems. Still, she finally got the chance to compete with the best of the best this year.
- Her bad luck seemed to continue as she collapsed following the first event with a cramp, but she quickly recovered and finished in second place in “IE05: 1RM Back Squat.”
Greer left Albany, showing she belongs, finishing ninth in a stacked women’s field.
Lucy McGonigle
If you watched some of Toomey-Orr’s training videos leading up to the Games, you saw Lucy McGonigle.
- McGonigle became Toomey-Orr’s training partner leading up to the Games, even staying in a room at the champ’s house in Nashville.
This experience paid off, with McGonigle earning three top-six finishes and ending the weekend in 11th place.
Lydia Fish
Finishing two spots behind McGonigle was Lydia Fish, a crowd favorite, with her cheering squad wearing Nemo fish head hats in the stands.
- Fish spent some time near the top of the leaderboard over the weekend and also showed she had been working on her strength, finishing second in “IE03: Climbing Couplet” with those heavy cleans.
Hurdles
The first year an athlete competes at the CrossFit Games can be tough, and they don’t always finish as high as we might expect.
Jorge Fernandez
The former team champion had a tougher time as an individual, a story that has played out multiple times with other athletes.
- As he gains more individual experience, we expect Fernandez to climb the leaderboard.
Siria Meha
After winning the 2025 CrossFit In-Affiliate Semifinals, fans were eager to see what the Albanian standout would bring to live competition.
- She had a solid third-place finish in “IE03: Climbing Couplet,” but her highest finish otherwise was 17th.
Takeaways
With the recent retirement of several Games athletes, most recently Brooke Wells, the field is wide open for new talent, and we are seeing an increasing number of new athletes rise to the top every year.
- We anticipate the pipeline from the teen division to the individual competition will persist, and legitimate contenders will begin emerging from countries that have never participated in the CrossFit Games.
This year, twelve countries were represented for the men and thirteen for the women, and we saw an 18-year-old athlete nearly break into the top 10.
The future is bright.
More CrossFit Stories
- A Review of the 2025 CrossFit Games – At-Home Spectator’s Edition
- One Year Gone – Mourning the “Heart of Europe,” Lazar Ðukić
- 5 Epic Performances That Stole the Show at the 2025 CrossFit Games
Featured Image: Scott Freymond
