Add nine-time CrossFit Games athlete and five-time medalist Pat Vellner to the growing list of athletes who are choosing to skip the 2025 CrossFit Games season.
- “I’m not stepping away from the sport, in fact this year I’ll be competing more than ever,” he wrote in the post. “But if you’re looking for me on the CrossFit Games leaderboard in a couple of weeks just know I won’t be hitting submit on my Open registration form, and that it’s intentional.”
In an interview with the Morning Chalk Up, Vellner told us he plans to focus on the World Fitness Project (WFP), TYR Wodapalooza events, and the Rogue Invitational.
And to those who are planning on doing both seasons, Vellner said he thinks they’re underestimating the physical commitment.
- “I think people planning to do both will be surprised at the toll it takes by the end of the year. [The] key will be to not stress about being not at your absolute best all the time,” he said.
That being said, Vellner also thinks athletes can be at their best at the Finals for both the CrossFit Games and WFP seasons, as they’re five months apart, but that “it will just depend on what else you want to give up.”
- He added that three other big events — The 2025 Rogue Invitational, TYR Wodapalooza SoCal, and the WFP Tour Event 2 — all fall in between the CrossFit Games and the WFP Finals.
Pat Vellner Joins a Growing List
Twelve-time CrossFit Games athlete Annie Thoridsdottir recently announced she will be sitting out the 2025 CrossFit Games season, citing how CrossFit HQ dealt with Lazar Đukić’s death at the 2024 Games as her reason.
- “I feel very, very disappointed in how they have handled everything and what happened, obviously. That’s the biggest thing,” Thorisdtottir said. “So for moral reasons, I cannot partake in the Open this year, and that will be the first year since 2009, or since the Open started. I will not participate in the CrossFit Games season.”
Similarly, on February 13, four-time Games athlete Chandler Smith posted on social media that he is out of the 2025 CrossFit Games season.
- “Today, I’m using my voice and following it up with action: I will not be competing in the 2025 CrossFit Games season,” he wrote.
He went on to say that he doesn’t think the CrossFit brand “has done enough to make me believe that it is serious about doing things differently in regards to giving athlete concerns around safety, structure, and fairness the ability to affect what happens on the floor.”
Instead, Smith said he plans to focus on the WFP and HYROX competitions this season.
Italy’s three-time Games veteran Elisa Fuliano is another athlete who has publically said she’s out.
- “After a lot of thinking, I’ve come to the decision that I won’t be signing up for the Open this year,” she wrote on social media. “After what happened at the last CrossFit Games, the wound is still fresh to move forward without looking backward…The hardest part to accept is that no one has ever taken responsibility for what happened.”
Out of the 1,345 Semifinals athletes who competed from 2021 to 2024, only 133 had signed up for the 2025 Open as of February 11. It’s important to note that there is still plenty of time left before the Open starts.
One Thing
Prize money has also become a big factor this season in terms of how athletes will determine their competition priorities. And right now, things aren’t looking great for the CrossFit Games season.
This year, for the first time, prize money will be dependent on CrossFit Open registration numbers. Currently, Open registration is trending nearly 40% lower than in previous years.
- “[P]rize money could be fairly low,” Vellner said. “Basically, unless you win.”
As a result, reigning CrossFit Games champion, James Sprague said that while he is planning on doing both the CrossFit Games and WFP seasons, he will be “prioritizing whichever one makes the most financial sense to prioritize.”
- 2024 bronze medalist Emily Rolfe has a similar perspective, saying: “Money makes a difference. Right now, the prize money for the games is unsure, whereas WFP is already set. I’m leaning more into prioritizing WFP right now,” she said.
Finally, four-time Games veteran Arielle Loewen added: “I am excited for the WFP and will prioritize that season.”
The Big Picture
Vellner’s decision undoubtedly makes a statement to CrossFit that they’re not the only player in the game for CrossFit athletes anymore.
Between foregoing the CrossFit season for “moral reasons,” like Thorisdottir, to make a statement about CrossFit HQ, like Chandler Smith, or choosing competitions based on an athlete’s best chance for a payday, we expect more athletes to follow in Vellner’s footsteps.
And we expect the CrossFit Games to look a whole lot different this year than in years gone by.
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Featured image: Heather Weir @hweirphotography / Instagram
