Justin Medeiros looks like he could potentially bypass an entire generation of CrossFit athletes on the way to his first title.
The 22-year-old American burst onto the scene last season in his rookie campaign, finishing third at the scaled down, Covid-19 bubble 2020 CrossFit Games, which were held at a ranch in Aromas, California.
Now fans are back at the sold-out Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and Medeiros leads the men’s division after three days and 12 events. Medeiros is putting up an incredibly consistently performance for such a young competitor, showing shades of retired five-time champion Mat Fraser, who Medeiros trained with before the games.
Medeiros has 949 points and has finished outside the top 10 in only two events (15th and 11th). He is holding off a pair of Canadian veterans who are surely chomping at the bit given Fraser has now retired.
Patrick Vellner, who many had tipped to win the games this season after Fraser’s retirement, has won two events and sits in second with 907 points. After Vellner is none other than fellow countryman Brent Fikowski, who sits in third with 888 points. He does not have an event win, but “The Professor” is known for charging late in competitions.
In the women’s competition, it already feels like a done deal as four-time defending champion Tia-Clair Toomey is running away with the division. The Australian has 1,145 points, and her closest competitor is Laura Horvath with 939 points, followed by Kristin Holte, who has 834.
Toomey famously trained with Fraser for a few years, clearly soaking up his winning mentality, and could match him in terms of overall titles and ignite the debate as to who is the greatest CrossFit athlete of all-time.
Toomey has a staggering seven events wins out of 12 events and is on a mission as there are reports she will consider retiring after these games.
In the team division, which was axed last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is none other than former four-time champion Rich Froning and his CrossFit Mayhem team leading the way. The four-person squad (two men and two women) have 947 points, with their closest competitor, CrossFit Oslo, with 773.
