Opinion | For 2019 CrossFit Games athletes, Wisconsin is a long way to go for 20 minutes on a rope and some swag

Credit to organisers for trying to diversify the sport, but the cruel cut after the first event definitely needs a hard look before 2020

Mat Fraser is dominating, Tia-Clair Toomey is near the top, Patrick Vellner looks sporadic and Rich Froning’s Mayhem Freedom are still the team to beat

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Tia-Clair Toomey, in the 2019 CrossFit Games promotional video, is in the hunt after day one. Photo: CrossFit Games

Published: 12:03pm, 2 Aug 2019Updated: 12:03pm, 2 Aug 2019

As one of the pundits charting how erratic the 2019 CrossFit Games were supposed to be given the new qualification process and country champions, I’m already eating my words.

Despite a sense of unfamiliarity heading into day one, which featured an opening ceremony that would rival the Olympics when it comes to country counts, the Games are surprisingly going to script.

Atop the list is three-time defending champion Mat Fraser, who leads the men after two events and looks well on his way to an unprecedented fourth straight title. This win would put him equal with Rich Froning, who won from 2011-14 and is, to no one’s surprise, leading Mayhem Freedom in the team division. And then on the women’s side, there’s no revelation there either: Australian Tia-Clair Toomey still has a great shot at her third straight title as she sits third behind Karissa Pearce and Annie Thorisdottir.

Both Fraser and Toomey put in clinical performances in various events that at times made the other competitors look silly. While everyone was expecting this, to see it happen once again is mind-boggling. It’s also not surprising the two now regularly train together.

When it comes to the Canucks, Brent Fikowski is living up to his nickname, “The Professor”, as his first and second event seemed timed to the millisecond, leaving him in 14th. Once again, fellow Canadian Patrick Vellner looks like his own worst enemy as he sits in fifth. Neck and neck with Fraser during the first event, aptly titled “First Cut”, he hung around through the rope climbs and a few laps, but then some failed snatch attempts looked eerily similar to 2018 when he started off the competition with a malfunctioning bike and a hard fall on the obstacle course which resulted in a trip to hospital.

You have to love Vellner, he’s like a dog without a bone, chasing his own tail half the time, and impressing everyone for the other. But it appears his slip-ups will probably cost him a chance to dethrone Fraser at this point, a repeat of 2018.