Mallory O’Brien Will Not Compete in the 2024 CrossFit Season
The 2024 CrossFit Open is scheduled to begin with workout 24.1 on Feb. 29, 2024. Jeffrey Adler, Brent Fikowski, Alex Gazan, and Alexis Raptis will be the first athletes to perform the workout for the CrossFit community and elite athletes worldwide to witness.
One elite athlete in particular might tune in, but not as a potential competitor. On Feb. 15, 2024, just two weeks before the start of the Open, 2022 CrossFit Games runner-up Mal O’Brien declared via Instagram post that she will not compete in the 2024 CrossFit season. Check it out below:
[Related: CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Will Feature Justin Medeiros Vs. Colten Mertens]
Recording from Hawaii, O’Brien stated in the video, “My focus overall is my well-being as a person. It’s not something I focused on almost ever. I won’t be competing in the 2024 [CrossFit] season. It’s not what I need in my life right now.”
O’Brien continued that she will spend her time with other important areas of her life, though did not mention specifics. However, she did clarify that she is not retiring from the sport:
Just because I’m not competing in the 2024 season doesn’t mean that I won’t ever. I’m not putting a timeline on anything. I’ll forever be part of the sport.
After securing a runner-up finish at the 2022 CrossFit Games at just 18 years of age — the youngest to ever podium at the time (Emma Lawson is now the youngest after her runner-up finish in 2023) — O’Brien returned in 2023 under the tutelage of five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser and his Hard Work Pays Off (HWPO) team. O’Brien ranked first in the 2023 CrossFit Open worldwide and first in the 2023 Quarterfinals before withdrawing from the 2023 CrossFit season shortly thereafter.
O’Brien will continue training and intends to produce content in the CrossFit space.
Featured image: @malobrien_ on Instagram