The top 20 men to watch at the 2017 CrossFit Games

7/25/2017

The top 20 men to watch at the 2017 CrossFit Games

http://ift.tt/2tGyuiL

Top 20 Men To Watch At 2017 CrossFit Games

After excelling in the five-week CrossFit Open in the spring and placing in the top five in the regional competitions in May and June, 40 men and 40 women are ready to compete in Madison, WI, for the title of Fittest on Earth.

Apart from Dave Castro’s cryptic hints, this year’s events are unknown. What’s certain is the athletes will run, swim, squat, snatch, row, and climb well past the point of exhaustion.

[RELATED1]

In preparation for the CrossFit Games (August 3-6), we’ve prepared a guide of the 20 strongest male competitors, starting with last year’s champion, going in order of how each finished at Regionals. Check it out.

The top 20 men to watch at the 2017 CrossFit Games

1 of 20

Matthew fraser — CrossFit, Inc. All rights reserved

1. Mat Fraser

Mat Fraser is the reigning Fittest Man on Earth—and not by a small margin. At last year’s Games, he’d already won the competition before the final event even started. A few months ago, he took first in his region. Even though it was by a smaller margin that in 2016, he’s still the heavy favorite walking into Madison.

2. Patrick Vellner

A former national-level gymnast, and lacrosse and rugby player, Patrick Vellner took third in the Games last year. It was his first appearance, earning him Rookie of the Year. The Canadian is in the same region as Fraser (though their dynamic is less cutthroat than you'd imagine), so he knows full well what to expect.

3. James Newbury

It took James Newbury five years of competing before he qualified for his first Games, in 2016. He has an impressive athletic pedigree: He's Australia’s Fittest Man (2017), competed on Australian Ninja Warrior, and was a semi-pro rugby player. Oh, and he can deadlift 533lbs.

4. Tim Paulson

Based out of Ithaca, NY, Tim Paulson is in the North East region with Fraser and Vellner, so he’s used to competing against the best. This is his rookie appearance at the Games, but with one of the strongest performances at Regionals, he’s poised to do well. He can also do 50 triple-unders in 43 seconds.

5. Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson

Another former gymnast, Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson is perhaps best known for winning Murph, one of CrossFit’s longest, most grueling workouts, at the 2015 Games. That year, he took third overall, so it’s not outlandish to think he’ll make the podium this year.

6. Noah Ohlsen

Noah Ohlsen is, perhaps, CrossFit’s most star-crossed competitor. Though he’s consistently won the Open and his Regional, he’s never finished higher than 8th at the Games. With a new training regimen in place, he could realign his destiny.

7. Sam Kwant

Though he doesn't have a beard and shoulder tats, Sam Kwant is an intense dude. At the age of 21, he’s already competed at Regionals four times, and can clean and jerk 345lbs.

8. Streat Hoerner

Like Fraser, Streat Hoerner has a degree in engineering (industrial). And like Paulson, this will be Hoerner's first year at the Games. He's confident enough that he’s willing to reveal his mistakes, so don’t be surprised if he ends up on the podium.

9. Brent Fikowski

Last year at the Games, Brent Fikowski struggled with consistency. Of the 15 events, he finished in the top 3 in seven of them (including four first-place finishes) and in the bottom 10 for three of them, mostly powerlifting events. If he’s upped his PRs this year, he’s easily a top contender.

10. Logan Collins

If Logan Collins can perform at the Games like he did at Regionals, he stands to fare far better than his 31st place in 2016. At 5’7”, 172lbs, Collins is thick yet graceful. Last year, his best event was the handstand walk.

11. Rob Forte

This is not Rob Forte’s first rodeo. In fact, it’s his seventh appearance at the Games. He finished 12th in 2014 and 35th in 2012, and he’s consistently placed in the top two in his regional (Australia/the Pacific), so it’s tough to predict where he’ll end up.

12. Zak Carchedi

Last year at the Games, Zak Carchedi mastered the surprise event that bamboozled the other competitors: the pegboard. His first-place time was almost 20 seconds faster than Fraser’s second-place time—though Carchedi finished the Games in 23rd overall.

13. Josh Bridges

Josh Bridges is one of the strongest personalities in the sport, known for his victory scream at the end of brutal workouts. A former Navy SEAL, Bridges has been doing CrossFit since 2005. This is his fourth time at the Games.

14. Ricky Garard

Another former pro Australian rugby player, Ricky Garard has the power (510-lb deadlift) and speed (51-second 400m) that you’d expect from such a powerhouse athlete. He’s currently the world record holder in tandem pushups—and this is his rookie year at the Games.

15. Alex Anderson

Alex Anderson took 11th at the Games last year, winning the squat clean pyramid and taking sixth in the deadlift ladder (he finished at 555lbs). His weakest event was the handstand walk, so if he’s improved his upside-down game, he could easily crack the top 10.

16. R. Paul Castillo

R. Paul Castillo—not a household name at the Central East Regionals—surprised everyone, especially himself, by winning the competition a few months ago. To pull off another surprising win, the 27-year-old newcomer will have to pull off an even more impressive performance at the Games.

17. Cole Sager

Four months after Cole Sager started CrossFit, in 2013, he took 13th at the North West Regional. Since then, he’s only gotten faster and stronger, which he proved during “The Separator” event—a torturous chain of handstand pushups, squats, and burpees—at last year's Games.

18. Jason Smith

In 2012,Jason Smith decided to open a box with his brother, also an elite CrossFitter, in their hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa. Smith has been training there ever since, just missing a ticket to the Games last year with an eighth-place finish at Regionals.

19. Shane McBride

At 5’5”, 180lbs, Shane McBride is almost entirely muscle, and has the one-rep maxes to prove it: 550 lbs on deadlift, 505 lbs on squat, and 355 lbs on clean and jerk. He even has a sub-2:00 Fran time, showing that his bulk doesn’t necessarily slow him down.

20. Alec Smith

Another rookie, Alec Smith is hardly unfamiliar with the sport. He’s the younger brother of CrossFit legend Ben Smith, who won the Games in 2015, took second to Fraser in 2016, and placed third in 2013. A former competitive gymnast, Smith may follow in his brother’s footsteps.