OpinionCrossFit: the seven men who could win the 2021 Games, statistically speaking
- Breaking down the numbers as to who might replace Mat Fraser at the 2021 CrossFit Games
- Canadian Patrick Vellner looks to be the statistical favourite to win it all this year given his past results
With the retirement of five-time reigning “Fittest Man On Earth” Mat Fraser, there is a massive vacancy at the top of the CrossFit Games podium. It’s easy to throw names around, but today, we’re looking at numbers.
Who are the contenders? We have identified 22 men who fit certain criteria, analysed their competitive histories and stacked them up against each other.
We have seven previous podium finishers: Ben Smith (four), Pat Vellner (three), Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson (two), and Noah Ohlsen, Brent Fikowski, Samuel Kwant and Justin Medeiros with one each.
There are five other men with recent top-five finishes at the Games: Scott Panchik, Jeffrey Adler, Cole Sager, James Newbury and Lukas Hogberg.
There are 10 other men who had statistically significant performances in two of three categories (CrossFit Games in the past two seasons, Sanctional performances in year one, or Sanctional performances in year two). These men are: Chandler Smith, Jonne Koski, Samuel Cournoyer, Bayden Brown, Jacob Heppner, Roman Khrennikov, Willy Georges, Saxon Panchik, Matt McLeod and Adrian Mundwiler.