Move Fast Lift Heavy Announces Two Super Teams for 2023 CrossFit Games Season
With the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Open — the first stage of qualifying for the Games — kicking off on February 16, training camps and affiliates are announcing the athletes who will represent them. The Move Fast Lift Heavy (MFLH) camp based out of New York revealed it will field two teams — MFLH Certified and MFLH Varsity — for the 2023 CrossFit season.
The two teams consist of veterans and up-and-comers with a combined 13 CrossFit Games, 25 Regionals, and 12 Semifinals appearances. Here are the final rosters:
MFLH Certified
- Christian Harris | CrossFit Games Appearances: 2016, 2022
- Will Carter | CrossFit Games Appearance: 2022
- Winter Rodriguez | CrossFit Games Appearance: 2022
- Chloe Gauvin-David | CrossFit Games Appearances: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
MFLH Varsity
- Dex Hopkins | CrossFit Games Appearances: 2015, 2017
- Joe Pierro | CrossFit Semifinals Appearance: 2022
- Kristine Best | CrossFit Games Appearance: 2020
- Brooke Haas | CrossFit Games Appearance: 2019, 2020
“We are lucky enough to have the ability to field two teams with great potential,” MFLH founder and owner Christian Harris told BarBend in an email. “I’ve been fortunate to have a good rapport with these athletes through either competing alongside them or against them in previous seasons/competitions. They’ve put a lot of trust in me to select what I feel is the best combination of athletes that complement each other.”
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MFLH Certified Breakdown
MFLH is the affiliate founded and operated by Christian Harris, a two-time CrossFit Games competitor who captained the MFLH team in their first appearance at the Games in 2022. That team finished eighth with five top-10 finishes. Harris was also on the CrossFit Dynamix team that placed fourth at the 2016 Games in Carson, CA.
Will Carter and Winter Nicolette Rodriguez were also members of the 2022 team and will return for 2023’s iteration. Nicolette Rodriguez finished 170th in the Open last year, while Carter won the “Fittest Educator” through the 2022 CrossFit Occupational Games and finished 246th in the 2022 Open, a career-best.
The latest addition to the MFLH team is four-time Games athlete Chloe Gauvin-David. The Canadian has been a mainstay of the CrossFit Pro1 teams out of Montreal and helped them to three top-10 finishes, including fifth place at the 2021 Games. During the 2022 Games, her Pro1 team finished one spot behind the MFLH, ranking ninth.
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MFLH Varsity Breakdown
The second team is captained by Brooke Haas, who will make her return to the sport after placing 67th in the 2022 Open. Haas has two Games appearances as an individual athlete, placing 29th in 2020 and 53rd in 2019.
Dex Hopkins has two Games appearances, all with CrossFit Maximus. They ranked seventh in 2015 and 22nd in 2017. Hopkins competed as an individual in 2022, qualifying for the Syndicate Crown Semifinal.
Hopkins, Harris, and Haas qualified for the Games on the same team during the 2020 season, winning Filthy 150 to earn their Games invitations. Unfortunately, the team division was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be Kristine Best’s team debut. She has one Games appearance, finishing 16th in 2020, five Regional, and two Semifinal appearances. She just missed qualifying for the Games in 2022 when she ranked fourth in the Last Chance Qualifier.
Joe Pierro, 25, is the youngest athlete and final piece for the second MFLH team. Though his resume isn’t as heralded as his teammates, he has plenty of high-level experience. He placed 23rd as an Individual athlete at the Granite Games Semifinal in 2022.
What Does This All Mean?
CrossFit eased their restrictions in the team divisions this season, allowing camps and affiliates to field “Super Teams.” These teams are made up of top athletes and aren’t restricted by vicinity to the affiliate they are competing with or the length of time they need to train with that particular team. The main rule of note for this season is that all team athletes must be at the same affiliate and do the required workouts together during each stage of the 2023 Games season to qualify for the Semifinals.
With Rich Froning’s retirement from team competition after team Mayhem Freedom won their sixth team championship in seven years, it leaves a huge void at the top of the division. These two MFLH teams are the first of many announcements in the coming weeks as more squads look to take the top spot at the 2023 CrossFit Games.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing the training environment with two teams as I am very confident we’ll be able to push each other all season long,” Harris said. “On a team, it’s tough to get a true sense of how you stack up until you’re at a Semifinal. Now we’ll get immediate feedback. It’s going to be a great year.”
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Featured image: Drew Lu