CrossFit Open 20.1: Froning vs Panchik preview – who will win the heavyweight throw down?
- The CrossFit competition is opening with a bang, as four times Games winner takes on one of the most consistent athletes in the sport
The Open is an online competition. CrossFit will release a weekly workout for five weeks. Participants complete the exercises and upload their scores. The score measurements depend on the workout – for example, they can be as many rounds as possible in a given time, or quickest to finish a particular circuit. The top athletes video themselves as proof of their score.
The winner earns a place at the CrossFit Games.
Froning and Panchik will kick off the competition, but who is favourite?
Froning’s packed trophy cabinet
The American is the king of the sport. He won four CrossFit Games titles from 2011 to 2014, a feat only matched by Mat Fraser when he won his fourth title at the 2019 Games. Froning, 32, then turned his attention to team competitions. Froning and his team, Mayhem Freedom, won four titles from 2015 to 2019, and finished second in 2017.