2019 CrossFit Games: get ready for upsets, dark horses, social media craziness and weird events

The CrossFit Games are less than a week away, and with a new qualifying format, the results could be shocking to fans

Madison, Wisconsin, is about to host the best CrossFitters in the world in what should be an interesting and unpredictable competition

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The rope climb will be the least of the worries for athletes at the 2019 CrossFit Games as we can expect some wacky events. Photo: Wodapalooza

Patrick Blennerhassett

Patrick Blennerhassett is an award-winning Canadian journalist and four-time published author.

Published: 1:10pm, 29 Jul 2019Updated: 12:25pm, 30 Jul 2019

The CrossFit Games are almost upon us. The South China Morning Post will have a live link to all the action here as the event kicks off late in the evening on Thursday, August 1 (Hong Kong time), and will run to August 5.

What can we expect from this year’s edition? If the 2018-19 season is any indication, this is the year of uncertainty as a new qualifying process and schedule was announced. Regionals were axed, country champions were crowned, Sanctionals were held all over the world and the Open brought out the best once again.

Most athletes qualified for the Games via the Open, an online five-week workout competition which also crowned country champions, while the rest booked their ticket via 16 Sanctionals, which included one in Shanghai, plus a few wild cards thrown in for good measure. This year in Madison, Wisconsin, you can expect the unexpected, but here are five things to look out for:

Expect an upset

Brent Fikowski after winning the Asia CrossFit Championship. Photo: Kang Dongho

There is no denying knocking off any of the reigning champions will be tough, given the three 2018 winners are all set to defend their crown. For the men, it’s three-time defending champion Mat Fraser, who looks primed for a fourth given he won the 2019 CrossFit Open. Two Canadians, Patrick Vellner and Brent Fikowski, will look to tear him from his throne, while Swede Lukas Hogberg will look to continue his climb and improve on his third-place finish from last year. On the women’s side, two-time defending champion Tia-Clair Toomey will try to fight off a pack of hungry Icelanders in Katrin Davidsdottir, Sara Sigmundsdottir and Annie Thorisdottir.

Dawn of the dark horses