Last week, Kristi Eramo, three-time CrossFit Games individual athlete declined her invitation to the 2019 CrossFit Games, and this week Eramo’s decision opened up a spot for another athlete on the leaderboard.
Eramo, along with Rich Froning, Devin Ford, and Tasia Percevecz have all officially declined their invitations to compete as individuals at the 2019 CrossFit Games, which means their spots have now been given to Patrick Vellner, Tim Paulson, Colleen Fotsch, and Courtney Haley. Vellner, Paulson, Fotsch, and Haley have all accepted.
Vellner, Paulson, Fotsch, and Haley all posted to their individual Instagram pages about their excitement for attending this summer’s Games.
Fotsch wrote, “Smiling extra big today. GAMES BOUND!”
Paulson posted an emotional response to receiving his invite, “It’s official. We’re headed back to Madison this summer!
The last 6 months or so have been an insane ride, filled with successes, setbacks, and more than a little stress and frustration. Many things did not go to plan, but you know what they say about getting punched in the face… That’s all behind me now, and the lessons have been learned – starting next week my eyes turn fully forward to the @crossfitgames and ensuring that a healthy, excited, and most importantly – extremely fit version of myself is on that Coliseum floor in August.
This is my most favorite time of the year – Games Prep – and I cant wait to get to work. Purpose. Process. Positivity. “
Remember, there are six CrossFit Sanctionals™ remaining before the 2019 CrossFit Games. Upcoming Sanctional events this month and in June include,
- Brazil CrossFit Championship
- The Down Under CrossFit Championship
- ROGUE Invitational
- The CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown
- The Granite Games Championship
- French Throwdown
This Is Probably Not the Last of the Leaderboard Changes
If we had to guess, this won’t be the last of the shake-ups for the leaderboard. For example, we still don’t know and are waiting to see how the Chantelle Loehner situation will pan out. Loehner, a member of Team Invictus X, posted on Instagram last week that she tested positive for a banned substance at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge.
Since finding out that she tested positive, Loehner requested for a B-sample to try to prove that the first test was incorrect. If the B-sample comes back positive, then not only will Loehner be eliminated from participating in the Games, Team Invictus’s invite will also be invalidated and they will have to re-earn their spot.
Feature image from @colleenfotsch Instagram page.