CrossFit champions Mat Fraser and Rich Froning fallout is barely shocking, but sport does need rivalries

All sports benefit from rivals going toe-to-toe but everyone in CrossFit likes each other, which is why this conflict has shocked fans

A CrossFit villain would take the sport to the next level, like Mayweather or McGregor

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Mat Fraser is a five-time CrossFit Games champion. Photo: CrossFit Games

Mark Agnew

Mark Agnew joined the Post in 2017 to capture the booming extreme sports scene in Hong Kong.

Published: 4:06pm, 7 Jan 2021Updated: 4:06pm, 7 Jan 2021

Shock. Horror. Not everyone in CrossFit is best friends. Oh, the humanity. Think of the children.

The reaction to five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser saying that he and four-time champion Rich Froning have not spoken in over two years has been comical.

So what? Froning has responded by admitting they are not best buds, as they do not have a great deal in common, but it is not an “excommunication” as Fraser suggested. There is not a lot that is strange about that.

They are professional sportspeople at the top of their game. Their feats and achievements are incredible. That does not mean they are destined to have loads to talk about. It is not a personal attack if they do not have much in common personally.

I do not expect to be best friends with my colleagues just because we are all journalists and live near each other. Some I go for beers with, some I don’t. None are my nemesis.

In other sports, we do not expect the best players to be friends just because they are both talented. Imagine the lack of controversy in another sport if the stars were only passing acquaintances away from the game.