Mat Fraser has been crowned the ‘Fittest on Earth’ for a record fifth time at the CrossFit Games. The five consecutive wins takes the American past former record-holder Rich Froning. Fraser absolutely dominated the field from the first minute and had the title in the bag with a day to spare. His training partner, Tia-Clair Toomey, was also dominant and had the women’s title wrapped up on the second day, too. Fraser won 10 of the 12 events. It’s a mark of how far he’s come, even as a champion. When he took his first title in 2016, Fraser had one event win and finished second seven times. Now the 30-year-old looks absolutely unstoppable. Even when the title was assured he was still hungry. “I want to see what I’m capable of. Tia and I have put in a year like no other so it’d almost be a waste,” he said after winning the penultimate event. Fraser’s dominance was total, winning in the end by 545 points from Samuel Kwant (605), Justin Medeiros (560), Noah Ohlsen (540) and Jeffrey Adler (505). There were just the five men competing for the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’. Covid-19 travel and group size restrictions meant the usual crowds and field size were not possible. Instead, 30 men competed in a remote leg of the CrossFit Games and the top five made the finals on a ranch called Aromas in California. The final event of the weekend was touted to be the hardest CrossFit Games event ever and it lived up to its billing. Atalanta, as it was called, was a one-mile run (1.6km), 100 handstand push-ups, 200 single-leg squats, 300 pull-ups and another one-mile run all while wearing a 20lb (9kg) vest. The men and the women competed at the same time. What is the CrossFit Games 2020 prize money? Fraser set off on the run at the back of the pack, matching pace with Toomey, letting the others draw ahead and tire themselves out. Even as they started the handstand push-ups, the men and women’s champions matched each other rep for rep. The two touchingly stuck together for the whole workout. They finished the push-ups together, put on wide-brimmed hats to protect themselves from the sun and set off together on the squats. Fraser was leading the men at this point, though Toomey was in fourth but still stuck with her partner. Fraser finished the pull-ups at the same time as Ohlsen. The latter sped off on the run, but Fraser waited for Toomey to finish and they ran together. Fraser overtook Ohlsen and won the event, with his partner in tow. And as they crossed the finish line in 51 minutes, it became official – Fraser is the Fittest on Earth once again. Event 11 Fraser was made to work hard in the sprint sled sprint, beating Kwant by less than four-tenths of a second. Fraser has now won nine of 11 events. Fraser had already locked up his fifth straight ‘Fittest on Earth’ title. By the end of day two, he was over 400 points ahead. Given there are three events on the final day and a win is worth 100 points, the championship was in the bag, barring some change in scoring or a surprise event. The same is true of the defending women’s champion Tia-Clair Toomey . The penultimate workout of the week was a 100-yard sprint, 100-yard sled push and another 100-yard sprint. The men had to push a 105lb (47kg) sled. Ohlsen burst out the gate into an early lead. He was first to the sled but Fraser and Kwant pushed into the lead. By the final sprint it was a two-horse race. The pair were neck and neck and crossed the line in a photo finish, with Fraser winning by a fraction. Should Toomey and Fraser have handicaps to make Games competitive? Fraser’s time was 0:56.08, followed by Kwant (0:56.45), Medeiros (1:01.97), Ohlsen (1:03.89) and Adler (1:05.64). “I didn’t even have to look to the side, I could see him out the side of my vision,” Fraser said. “It was just like muscle failure the last 20 yards. It was all grit and determination.” Fraser is atop the leaderboard on 1050 points, followed by Kwant (590), Medeiros (505), Adler (470) and Ohlsen (465). Event 10 Kwant won the first event of day three. It is only the second event out of 10 that Fraser has not won. The victory moves Kwant up to second overall on the leaderboard. The opening workout of the third day was the ‘swim ‘n’ stuff’. Athletes had to complete four rounds of 15 calories on the air bike, a 50m swim, 10 GHD sit-ups and 10 60lb (27kg) ball slams. The order of exercises reversed each round. There was a break between each round and the winner was scored by their accumulative time. Ohlsen was touted as a favourite for the event, given he is a strong swimmer. He won the first round, but just eight seconds separated first and fifth. Fraser was in fourth, three seconds behind Ohlsen. Fraser changed his technique on the next round and did not let go of the ball on the slams. He just touched it on the ground and started his next rep to save time – it seemed like a pretty loose interpretation of a ‘slam’. Fraser won round two, beating Ohlsen by six seconds and moving into second. Kwant, without winning either round, held the lead though. Kwant then won the third round by seven seconds, followed by Fraser. The athletes were beginning to struggle with the wet equipment. Several dropped the balls during the slams, even Fraser with his touch-and-go technique. What is the CrossFit Games 2020 prize money? Fraser won the final round, followed by Kwant. It was enough for Kwant to win the event and Fraser finished second. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my event, but I was just able to hold on a little longer than anyone else,” Kwant said. He mentioned that the assault bike was particularly hard. “I’m just trying to keep my breakfast down.” Fraser is on top of the overall leaderboard on 950 points, followed by Kwant (515), Adler (455), Medeiros (450) and Ohlsen (430).
