The NorCal Classic introduced four new names to the 2025 CrossFit Games roster: Alex Gazan and Hattie Kanyo on the women’s side, and Bill Leahy and Jorge Fernandez for the men, both of whom are Games rookies.
The event was punctuated by confusion and controversy at times (more on that below), yet the athletes thrived under the California sun.
Here are a few key takeaways, in case you missed the action over the weekend.
7 Takeaways From the 2025 Norcal Classic
Alex Gazan’s Season Going to Plan
Gazan played it smart, skipping CrossFit’s online Semifinals to focus on the World Fitness Project Tour Event I. It paid off with a win, 500 WFP points, and a check for $30,000.
- She saved her Games bid for the final IPQE and delivered once again.
Gazan took first place at the NorCal Classic, punched her ticket, and banked another $30,000.
Both she and coach Justin Cotler bet on her ability to perform under pressure, and so far in 2025, they are two for two.
Bill Leahy Completes His Comeback
It is well known that becoming a professional athlete requires immense effort and dedication. However, some performances challenge our perceptions of what is possible.
- A ruptured Achilles tendon at the 2024 West Coast Classic could have derailed Leahy’s fitness career.
Yet here he is, just 12 months later, making his first appearance at the CrossFit Games.
Early in the season, we asked Leahy what success would look like for the 2025 season.
- “I want to make the CrossFit Games. Nothing more, nothing less,” Leahy said. “To hit that low of a low, then fight back within a year and finish top 30 in the world – that would be an incredibly successful year. And honestly, it would prove a lot of people wrong.”
Mission accomplished.
Three Kriger Women in the Top Six
Kristin Holte is nothing short of a legend.
She boasts eight CrossFit Games appearances, six top-10 finishes, and a silver medal from 2019. After the 2021 Games, she officially retired to focus on family and coaching.
- However, four years later, at 39 years old, she proved she’s still got it, finishing seventh in the 2025 worldwide Open.
In Sacramento, Holte appeared as both a coach and athlete, standing alongside fellow Kriger crew members Oda Lundekvam and Andrea Solberg.
The Norwegian trio made their mark, finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth, with Holte leading the way.
Jorge Fernandez Flies Solo and Punches His Ticket
Jorge Fernandez is no stranger to the big stage, having won a CrossFit Games title with Team Invictus in 2023 and finishing third in 2022.
- However, 2025 marks a new chapter, and he’s now earned his first solo trip to the Games as a Mayhem athlete in the Individual Division.
After a gritty weekend of battling his way up the leaderboard, when it was all said and done, Fernandez and Nate Ackermann ended in a tie for the final qualifying spot.
It came down to the tiebreaker, and Fernandez emerged victorious.
Injuries Impact Mertens and Rolfe
Colten Mertens arrived banged up and called it after four events, citing a minor back injury from training. With his Games ticket already secured, there was no need to push himself.
Emily Rolfe had a different experience as she competed for the first time since WFP Tour Stop I in Indianapolis. Still pursuing her spot, she appeared to be competing at less than 100%.
- At NorCal, she gutted out the weekend but skipped both heavy events: “Heavy Isabel” and “Hero Ball.”
She finished 18th, and unless she pulls something off in next weekend’s Last Chance Qualifier, the 2024 podium finisher will not be returning to the Games.
The silver lining is that she’ll have some time to recover before WFP Tour Stop II takes place three weeks after the Games.
The Chaos
The event lived up to its reputation for creative programming and a hefty prize purse.
This year’s menu featured reverse lunge wall-balls, bar muscle-up/pull-over complexes, and a full-send Strongman-style vehicle push.
However, not everything went smoothly.
- Fans hoping to catch the action live were disappointed, as NorCal was the only IPQE without a livestream.
On the floor, inconsistencies emerged: mismatched ring sizes, cone placements during shuttle runs, and lane discrepancies.
Most notably, one vehicle was significantly faster during the push event, to the extent that athletes began jockeying for the “fast side.”
NorCal organizers decided to halve the points, and the scores were adjusted so that athletes were ranked only against others who had competed within the same lane.
The Controversy
The final event had heavy implications and a heavy barbell.
How heavy? No one knew for sure.
- Originally programmed with a final squat clean barbell weight of 335 pounds for the men, organizers made a last-minute adjustment (due to some equipment and planning issues) to drop that weight to 325.
The athletes were responsible for changing their own plates as the barbell weight increased throughout the event.
In the men’s final heat, Nate Ackermann arrived at his final bar with time to load the weight and cross the finish line ahead of Jorge Fernandez and others to secure his Games berth. Due to some confusion about which plates to add, stemming from multiple causes, Ackermann struggled to set the bar.
While he ultimately sorted it out, made the lift, and crossed the line, the damage had been done. The time he lost was enough to cost him the qualification.
Ackermann ended the weekend tied with Fernandez, who earned the ticket to Albany through a tiebreaker.
A person close to the matter revealed to the Morning Chalk Up that “CrossFit will be reviewing all 2025 In-Person Qualifiers as 2026 planning begins.”
The Bottom Line
We now know 58 of the 60 athletes who will compete in Albany this August for the title of “Fittest on Earth.”
- The online Last Chance Qualifier will determine the final two spots over the weekend of June 13-16.
The wild and unpredictable 2025 season rolls on.
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Featured Image: @marc_costaa / Instagram
