Anikha Greer is Ready to Just "Go Do It" This Games Season

April 15th, 2024

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Anikha Greer is ready for the 2024 CrossFit Games season, as her third-place worldwide Open finish showed. Now, she has her sights set on Fort Worth

  • John Wooley, the creator behind Make Wods Great Again, shares his thoughts on the OG CrossFit slogan, “Forging Elite Fitness”

  • Mat Fraser’s HWPO Training acquired Michele Letendre’s Deka Comp. She will help launch HWPO AFFILIATE, and oh yeah, Pat Vellner is coming too

Nominate your affiliate as the Morning Chalk Up’s Affiliate of the Month for May. Just drop us a note explaining why your gym should be featured.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I almost said no to you.” - Anikha Greer (politely) on being “over” talking about her Games qualification near misses

PROFILE

Credit: @anikhagreer / Instagram

Interview: Is it Finally Anikha Greer’s Time?

Anikha Greer is tired.

She is “tired of this circle” she has been living in since 2018 when she first missed qualifying for the CrossFit Games. 

She is tired of thinking about how she missed the Games by one spot again in 2021, when she was sixth at the CrossFit Atlas Games Semifinals, and then again last year when she was 12th at the North America East Semifinals.

And she’s definitely tired of us asking her about it.

  • “I almost said no to you,” she told me politely during our chat about how she debated turning down the interview.

It was nothing personal. She’s just done with all of it.

She’s done with it, but most of all, she’s ready. Ready to break herself free from the cycle of coming close to reaching her CrossFit Games dream.

  • “I just want to go do it,” she said. 

Moving On From Last Season

Shortly after last year’s Semifinals, Greer, now 21, took to Instagram, where she admitted the workouts weren’t great for her, and vowed that next season she “will be so good” that the workouts won’t matter.

  • “It’s certainly not the first time I have been in this position. But it is certainly the last,” wrote Greer, who is from Prince Edward Island, Canada, but has been living and training at Peak 360 CrossFit in Miami, FL, under coach Training Think Tank coach Max El-Hag for the last two seasons. 

Ultimately, the experience of coming so close, once again, last season crushed her, leaving her in “not a great headspace,” she said.

GIVEAWAY

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SPEED READS

How to Tackle Quarterfinals: CrossFit Invictus just dropped the Ultimate Quarterfinals Guide with tips and tricks from Invictus coaches and their roster of CrossFit Games athletes. Learn how to get your hands on it now.

☀️🥵 “About the Heat”: The Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association revealed yesterday that in advance of the 2024 Games in Ft. Worth, TX, it sent a request to CrossFit for clarification about preparations for heat during the competition this summer (Click here to read it).

  • From the post: “Many athletes, coaches, and agents have raised questions regarding how the CrossFit Games team will mitigate the impact of the heat index in Fort Worth, TX. In support of all athletes and in partnership with our Advisory Board, we asked CrossFit to provide clarity regarding the duration of time athletes will work at high intensity outdoors. Having this information ensures each athlete can make appropriate arrangements for their health and safety.

  • CrossFit’s response (quoted in the IG post): “Thanks for all the thoughts about what information will help you prepare for Fort Worth. We reviewed your suggestions and can give you a little more information. It is not to the level you are looking for, but we hope it provides enough to help athletes decide how to manage their heat-related training heading into the Games in August.

    --The competition will feature 1 primary field of play, indoors in Dickie's arena

    --A much smaller percentage of events than Madison will occur outdoors”

The unofficial 2024 Team Quarterfinals leaderboard continues to settle as scoring reviews and adjustments are made. The leaderboard will be set no later than April 15, 2024, according to the CrossFit Games team.

🚨🚨Rogue Invitational 2024 Volunteer Applications: In case you missed the announcement, the Rogue Invitational is going international in 2024, and you can be there, behind the scenes, for all the action in Aberdeen, Scotland. Get more information and apply now.

Hustle Up App Named New Games Sponsor: On Friday, CrossFit named Hustle Up as an Official Sponsor of the Masters, Teenage, and Adaptive CrossFit Games.

  • From the press release: “ This newly formed partnership will extend beyond the CrossFit Games, as Hustle Up will also be an Official Sponsor of the CrossFit Semifinals and will provide helpful resources for CrossFit affiliates.”

👟👟 Reebok Revives the Nano UKNWN: Reebok launched the Nano UKNWN in 2020, and now it’s back by popular demand. Check out the design and order today.

ICYMI: CrossFit CLT The Grit Haus’s 2024 season ended earlier than expected. Learn more.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Photo Courtesy of John Wooley

Why is CrossFit Scared of “Forging Elite Fitness”? 

I found CrossFit in 2012 in the middle of adversity. 

Having gone through a sudden divorce a few years earlier, I found myself in the worst physical and mental condition of my life. 

I didn’t know where to turn to fix my problems, but I knew I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I decided to try P90X, and after 90 days, I reached what I thought at the time was the fittest I ever had been and ever would be. 

I was so wrong.

One afternoon, as I was watching my youngest daughter at soccer practice, one of the dads asked me what I did to stay in shape. Now, I assumed it was because he was impressed with my peak physical prowess, but it turns out he was a member of this new cult called “CrossFit.” 

I remember it like yesterday when he told me, “This will be the hardest thing you ever do,” and I literally laughed at him.

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INDUSTRY

Credit: @dekacomp / Instagram

Mat Fraser's HWPO Acquires Deka Comp; Launches Affiliate Programming with Michele Letendre

HWPO Training announced today that Deka Comp Founder and Pat Vellner’s long-time coach Michele Letendre has joined the HWPO team to “spearhead the launch” of their new affiliate programming. 

The details: HWPO has acquired Deka Comp, which has been offering affiliate programming since 2016. This means that as of May 6, current Deka Comp gyms will have access to what will become HWPO AFFILIATE.

  • HWPO AFFILIATE will then become available to the public in June, and can be accessed via PushPress, Wodify, BWTB, SugarWOD, and the HWPO Training app. 

Remind me: HWPO Training was founded by five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser, and they’re best known for coaching and programming for elite athletes. Until now, HWPO hasn’t offered affiliate programming for gym owners and coaches to roll out to their communities.


What they’re saying: Letendre, a six-time Games athlete, said in the press release that joining HWPO “is an honor."

  • “Since meeting Mat Fraser for the first time back in 2013, I’ve always had a profound respect for how he commits to his goals. To be working alongside coaches like Mat and all the accomplished coaches on the HWPO team is a great opportunity,” she said. 

She added on an Instagram post: “I’m excited to be a part of a team that’s really committed to training the sport of CrossFit, and all things fitness and community.”

Fraser, too, offered big praise for Letendre, saying, “We’re in the business of doing the right things, for the right reasons, with the right people. We waited a long time to come out with affiliate programming because we wanted it to align with those values. What Michele brings to the table is not only in line with our company core values, but the above principle as well."

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

  • 💪Nice work to adaptive Games athlete Michael Witous on the set of three front squats at 365 pounds/165 kilos.

  • Great job to the kids at Community of Strength Project, especially on the 265-pound/120 kilo-deadlift PR.

  • Congratulations to Games athlete Becca Voigt Miller on earning her CF-L3.

  • Great work to Games athlete Meredith Root on the 190-pound/86-kilo snatch.

  • 🙌Nice job to Helen Taylor of Core City CrossFit in Detroit, MI, on getting back to her kipping HSPU.