For the uninitiated, CrossFit is more than just a workout. There's actually an entire industry dedicated to competitive CrossFit where athletes perform three to four workouts a day over the course of a weekend to see who's the fittest.
The ultimate competition in the sport is the CrossFit Games, now in its 14th season. The winner is crowned the Fittest Man or Woman on Earth and walks away with at least $300,000 in cash. The 2020 edition of the event, which has been paired down to five men and five women as finalists, runs from Oct. 23 to Oct. 25 in California.
This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no fans at the events. Here is a breakdown of who is competing.
The Men
Mathew Fraser
- Claim to fame: The four-time Fittest Man on Earth is the winningest CrossFit athlete of all time. He's won 19 individual workouts at the CrossFit Games and 13 live in-person CrossFit competitions, Fraser hasn't lost a live competition since 2015 and he's on the verge of making history again with a potential record-setting fifth straight championship.
- Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
- Instagram followers: 2.2 million
Noah Ohlsen
- Claim to fame: The 2019 Second Fittest Man on Earth, Ohlsen is the number one contender to unseat the reigning champion, Mathew Fraser. A former water polo player, Ohlsen is competing in his 7th CrossFit Games where he's consistently finished in the top 10 every year except 2016.
- Location: Miami
- Instagram Followers: 710,000
Justin Medeiros
Claim to fame: The guy rocking the best mullet in the field happens to be the youngest male athlete, as well as the only rookie. Even though he's just 21, Medeiros has been competing in CrossFit at a high level for the past three years. In the qualifier stage, the rookie shot past veterans in the sport, especially in this 437-pound front squat.
Location: Fort Vancouver, Wash.
Instagram followers: 27,400
Samuel Kwant
- Claim to fame: Just 20-years-old when he competed at his first CrossFit Games (2016), Kwant made a splash in his rookie year by winning an event called Double DT: 120 deadlifts, 90 hang power cleans and 60 push jerks, all at 155 pounds -- and he finished in 11:37. He beat the reigning champ by just four seconds and he'll need a lot more wins like that if he's going to challenge Fraser for the title of Fittest Man on Earth.
- Location: Burlington, Wash.
- Instagram followers: 20,200
Jeffrey Adler
- Claim to fame: The lone Canadian athlete competing this year is Canada's national CrossFit champion. Adler is a highly-skilled weightlifter and might even have some of the heaviest lifts in the field, like this 376-pound clean and jerk he did at the start of the season.
- Location: Quebec
- Instagram followers: 15,400
The Women
Tia-Clair Toomey
- Claim to fame: Greatness must come in pairs because the three-time Fittest Woman on Earth so happens to be the training partner of the four-time fittest, Mathew Fraser. Like Fraser, Toomey has been a nearly unstoppable force on the competition floor, notching up event win and after win, having yet to lose a live competition since early 2017. Oh, and she's a former Olympian who can clean and jerk 270 pounds.
- Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
- Instagram followers: 1.4 million
Brooke Wells
- Claim to fame: Already in her sixth CrossFit Games, the 25-year-old Oklahoma native is a veteran looking to finally get on the podium after a few misses. She has recorded some of the heaviest lifts in the field, like this 415-pound deadlift during a 2018 event the athletes will be repeating again this year.
- Location: Nashville
- Instagram followers: 1.3 million
Haley Adams
- Claim to fame: The youngest athlete in the field at just 19, Adams has been training with former CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning for the past few years. Despite her age, Adams qualified for Regionals when she was just 16 and has proven she can compete with athletes many years her senior. In 2016 and 2017, Adams earned the titles of Fittest Teen on Earth with consecutive championships in the CrossFit Games teen divisions.
- Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
- Instagram followers: 248,000
Katrin Davidsdottir
- Claim to fame: The native Icelander has already won the CrossFit Games twice, in 2015 and 2016. Davidsdottir is a veteran CrossFit athlete nicknamed the "sled dog" after her persistent spirit and unwillingness to give up. That fighting spirit is what helped her crawl back to qualify for this year's CrossFit Games when most had counted her out. Davidsdottir held a 2:54 long handstand to win and secure her spot.
- Location: Natick, Mass.
- Instagram followers: 1.8 million
Kari Pearce
- Claim to fame: Pearce has been the fittest American woman for three straight years, but she's yet to stand on the CrossFit Games podium and take home some hardware. Before CrossFit, Pearce was a Division I gymnast on the national champion University of Michigan team. With only five females remaining in the competition, 2020 may be her year.
- Location: Las Vegas
- Instagram followers: 324,000
Justin LoFranco is the Editor-in-Chief of the Morning Chalk Up, a sports media company focused exclusively on covering CrossFit and the CrossFit Games. LoFranco and his team of nearly a dozen experts in the field will be providing wall-to-wall in-depth coverage throughout the competition. Click here to subscribe to get email updates and alerts.
