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  • 😤 Inside Emily Rolfe’s Season of Setbacks — and Her Comeback Plan

😤 Inside Emily Rolfe’s Season of Setbacks — and Her Comeback Plan

October 13th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 🩹 Emily Rolfe isn’t done. Setbacks, injuries, grit — she’s chasing the comeback.

    📈 How great gyms win. Show up. Know your numbers. Manage your time.

    🏴 Rogue returns to Scotland. $1.3M purse. Stacked roster. Legends ready to throw down.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

I joke with Pat [Vellner] about this. We have been in our last year for five years, but then there always seems to be a reason to do one more, one more.”

Emily Rolfe, 2024 Third Fittest Woman.
PROFILE

Inside Emily Rolfe’s Season of Setbacks — and Her Plan to Come Back Stronger

Credit: World Fitness Project

After standing on the CrossFit Games podium for the first time in 2024, five-time Games athlete Emily Rolfe entered the 2025 season more motivated than ever. 

  • She was hungry, healthy, and eager to improve on her performance in 2025. 

But things didn’t unfold that way. 

What Happened Next

The 35-year-old Rolfe narrowly missed qualifying for the 2025 CrossFit Games by just one spot and five points at the first In-Person Qualifying Event (IPQE) of the 2025 season, the Mayhem Classic.

It was disappointing, but she knew she would have plenty more opportunities to earn her invite to the 2025 Games.

  • “But then two weeks after Mayhem, I hurt my back, and since then I haven't felt healthy,” Rolfe, who has continued to work full-time as a radiation technologist throughout her CrossFit career, told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview.

After the jump — the inside story of Rolfe’s elbow tear, her decision to skip surgery, and the mindset driving her comeback.

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SPEED READS

📚💪 Good Read: In The Atlantic (paywall), Arthur C. Brooks’ article “The Mind-Altering Effect of a Good Workout Routine” makes it simple: exercise builds happiness because it builds community, confidence, and control. Most of us don’t need more self-help; we need more sweat.

Affiliate Growth Limiter: It’s not your programming — it’s your people. On The CrossFit Podcast, Jason Fernandez and Matt Souza sit down with Jocelyn Rylee to unpack why hospitality, onboarding, and first impressions are the true engines of retention and growth.

🏋️‍♀️🔥 Lucy Campbell’s Return Is More Than a Comeback: After two wrist surgeries and being told to quit CrossFit, Campbell flipped the script — returning to heavy cleans (sometimes one-armed), qualifying for the 2025 Games, and proving resilience can rewrite your narrative.

🧬📈 “The Ozempic Effect” in the Gym: A new NASM survey of ~500 fitness pros finds 70% believe GLP-1 drugs (like Ozempic/Wegovy) are reshaping personal training roles — shifting the focus from calories and cardio to strength, longevity, and client retention.

ICYMI: 🏋️‍♂️ James Sprague makes it official — signs with Adidas, joins elite global roster.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

3 Habits Every CrossFit Affiliate Owner Must Develop

Credit: @besthouroftheirday / Instagram

Business is hard. The bigger it gets, the better you become at it, but the more challenging it becomes.

Just different problems to solve.

We've worked with hundreds of affiliate owners over the years, and we've noticed a consistent pattern: the ones who succeed aren't necessarily the most talented, charismatic, or the ones with the largest marketing budgets.

They're the ones who do three specific things. Not perfectly, but consistently.

  • These aren't complex strategies or revolutionary tactics. They are simple habits that most owners know they should be doing but somehow don't.

Let's break them down.

COMPETITIONS

2025 Rogue Invitational: CrossFit Competition Roster and Prize Purse

Credit: Sebastian Vallejo

The 2025 Rogue Invitational will be held from October 31 to November 2 in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the P&J Live. This marks only the second time in its seven-year history that the competition will take place outside the United States.

  • From the home of Rogue Fitness in Columbus, OH, to Round Rock, TX, and then overseas to Aberdeen, Scotland, the Rogue Invitational has become one of the biggest CrossFit competitions outside of the Games, and the ultimate standard in a high-level fitness event.

Last year, when the Rogue Invitational debuted in Europe, the competition featured top athletes in CrossFit, Strongman, and, for the first time, Strongwoman. Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr secured her fourth title belt, while Jeff Adler earned his first. 

Continue reading for the full athlete roster, prize breakdown, and how Rogue’s “Iron Game” prize purse is shaping up.

HIGHLIGHTS

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