At 21 years old, Justin Medeiros has already made a mark on CrossFit. In Stage One of the 2020 CrossFit Games, Medeiros finished in third place — at his first-ever Games! — and trailed reigning champ Mat Fraser in the Nasty Nancy event by 30 seconds. Now, he’ll have the chance to close the gap at the finals, taking place Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, through Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in northern California.
All of the athlete’s points will reset to zero. So far, the events list is looking brutal and will certainly push all of the competitors to their absolute max.
[Related: Justin Medeiros Changed Literally Everything to Make it to the 2020 CrossFit Games]
Justin Medeiros Stage One Performance
The 2020 CrossFit Games rookie is incredibly strong at just 21 years of age. Is he ready to put up big results on the Finals leaderboard? Let’s look at the tape to find out what Medeiros is capable of.
0:00 He’s a rookie, but he’s strong
0:39 How Medeiros qualified for the Games
1:11 Stage One performance breakdown
2:57 Life outside the Games
Justin Medeiros’ Finals Performance
Medeiros came into the Finals as the youngest male athlete of the five competing.
Event One — 2007 Reloaded
For time:
- 1,500-meter row
Then five rounds of:
- 10 bar muscle-ups
- 7 shoulder-to-overheads — 235 pounds
Medeiros put on a great show in this first event. He had a continuous pace throughout and ultimately took second place, finishing just eight seconds behind the winner of the event — Mat Fraser. The difference maker in the event came down to the pacing on the muscle-ups. Medeiros sat at the top of of each muscle-up for a half second or so where as Fraser’s were continuous motions. Those subtle stops at the top piled up at the end and made the difference, but it was still an exceptional start for Medeiros to open the Finals.
Event Two — Corn Sack Sprint
For time:
320-meter hill sprint with a corn sack — 50 pounds
Medeiros fell into fourth position early and sustained it for nearly the entire run. What the commentary team called “a rookie mistake”, Medeiros didn’t realize that Adler was right on his tail and pushed a last ditch effort right at the finish line to hop into fourth position. This left Medeiros to take last place by the narrow margin of less than a quarter of a second.
Event Three — CrossFit Total
For total load:
1-rep-max back squat
1-rep-max shoulder press
1-rep-max deadlift
Medeiros was not playing around in the squat portion of the event, hitting a massive 455 pound lift to start it off. He ultimately was unable to keep up in the shoulder press after failing a 212-fpound attempt. Ultimately, he came in fifth place for the second event in a row after posting the following lifts to a 1,192 total — just four pounds behind Kwant’s fourth place total:
- Squat — 480 pounds
- Shoulder Press — 175 pounds
- Deadlift — 537 pounds
Event Four — Handstand Sprint
For time:
100-yard handstand walk
Medeiros needed to post a fast time after back-to-back last place finishes in the second and third events. Luckily, his strategy of breaking every five or so yards paid off big time with a second place finish via his time of 1:26.19. He was only bested by the Fraser, who finished just six seconds ahead of him.
Event Five — Ranch Loop
Run along 3-mile± course through varying terrain
The rookie had a stellar performance once again. He kept pace with the reigning champion through the entire nearly-hour-long run, taking the lead on multiple occasions. In the last stretch, Fraser was able to surge for the win, leaving Medeiros to score his third second-place finish of the finals.
Event Six — Toes-To-Bar/Lunge
30-20-10 reps for time:
Toes-to-bar
Kettlebell lunge (yards) — 32 kilogram kettlebells
In a race that focused on the battle between Ohlsen and Fraser, Medeiros was able to maintain the pace enough to start Day Two with a third-place finish. His official time was 3:18.51.
Event Seven — Snatch Speed Triple
For time:
One snatch at each bar
- Quarterfinal — 225-235-245 pounds
- Semifinal — 245-255-265 pounds
- Final — 265-275-285 pounds
For the Games rookie, of his few weaknesses, his strength events were not quite up to par with the rest of the field. He was able to hit each snatch in the opening round, but not in a time fast enough to dodge elimination. He took fifth-place in this event.
Event Eight — Bike Repeater
10 rounds:
- 440-meter bike sprint
- One legless rope climb — 15 feet
This event had an exciting race in the last couple of rounds between Adler and Fraser battling for first place. Under the radar was Medeiros holding his own and scoring another third-place finish with an official time of 13:20.52.
Event Nine — Happy Star
Four rounds:
200- to 300-meter hill run
5-7-9-11 reps of:
- Burpee
- Thruster — 135-145-155-165-pounds
The recurring theme of struggles in the strength-based events continued as Medeiros fell to the back of the pack. His official time of 8:59.33 wasn’t enough to avoid fifth-place.
Event Ten — Swim ‘N’ Stuff
Four rounds, each for time:
- Air bike calories (10 | 15)
- 50-meter swim
- 10 GHD sit-ups
- 10 ball slams — 60 pounds
- Rest
Begin a new round every four minutes
*Rounds two and four performed in reverse
As was the story with most of the events on Day Two, there was a battle between Fraser and another athlete — this time Kwant — for first place. It was the second event of the weekend that Fraser didn’t take first, but a solid third-place finish for Medeiros.
Event Eleven — Sprint Sled Sprint
100-yard sprint
100-yard sled push — 105-pound sled
100-yard sprint
A repeat story of event 10, Fraser and Kwant raced for first — Fraser got it by just four-tenths of a second — as Medeiros maintained his consistency and hit another third-place finish with an official time of 1:01.97.
Event Twelve — Atalanta
For time while wearing a 20-pound vest:
- One-mile run
- 100 handstand push-ups
- 200 pistol squats
- 300 pull-ups
- One-mile run
The final “most difficult” event of the Games according to Dave Castro was not enough to throw off Medeiros consistent performance he brought all weekend. Yet another third-place finish locked up a podium spot in his first ever Games, a $75,000 prize, and the Rookie of the Year award.
What did you think of Medeiros’s performance in the Finals? Let us know in the comments!