How Many Nations Will Be Represented at the 2024 CrossFit Games?

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• There have been cuts at the CrossFit Games about 70 percent of the time and every year since 2019. Why do they remain a key aspect of the test despite being universally unpopular among athletes, coaches, and brands?

• Have you noticed that some Games athletes always seem to be at the top of the leaderboard with particular programming and toward the middle or bottom of the pack with different programming? What are their superpowers and kryptonite?

• Twenty-five nations will be represented at the 2024 CrossFit Games out of a field of 79 athletes. Get all the details and compare these numbers to the Paris Olympics today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“In reality, it would’ve been really tough [to go to the Games] with a 4-month-old who’s still nursing…but I would’ve tried. I would have flown my whole family out…It’s a bummer.” - Niki Brazier on the new episode of Kettlebells and Cocktails, discussing not being on the sidelines at the 2024 Games.

CROSSFIT GAMES

CrossFit Games Cuts: A Brief History

The 2024 CrossFit Games cut schedule was released earlier in July, giving athletes, coaches, and fans a glimpse into what will unfold on August 8. 

This came as no surprise to many, as cuts have become commonplace at the CrossFit Games, both in the Individual and Team divisions. 

• While some years have featured dramatic cuts, six of the 18 Games so far haven't held any cuts at all. 

Remind me: The CrossFit Games started to cut the field in 2009 at its original home in Aromas, CA. In the early years, these cuts never created much of a stir. 

• In fact, Games cuts didn’t receive much media attention or fan backlash until they were re-instituted in 2019, after a four-year hiatus. That year introduced extremely deep and early cuts to cull the field from 141 individual men and 129 women down to just 10.

2024 Individual cuts: This year, athletes will be met with the following cut schedule:

• Thursday: 40 men and 40 women compete

• Friday: 40 men and 40 women compete 

• Saturday morning: 40 men and 40 women compete

• Saturday evening: 30 men and 30 women compete 

• Sunday: 20 men and 20 women compete 

Two total cuts will take place. According to CrossFit GM of Sport Dave Castro, one will be on Saturday morning following Event 7, “Chad,” where both Individual fields will be cut from 40 to 30 athletes. The next will take place after the competition ends on Saturday, where each field will be cut once again from 30 to 20.

• Teams will also face cuts, with 30 teams competing on Thursday and Friday, followed by 20 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday.

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SPEED READS

💪📋 HWPO on Main Site: In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, the team from Mat Fraser’s HWPO will program CrossFit main site workouts from July 24 to August 4. CrossFit has featured guest programmers for the past year or so, including Adrian Bozman, Dave Castro, and others.

🎙️🍸 The Kettlebells and Cocktails Podcast is Back: Niki Brazier is back from maternity leave and she and John Wooley catch up on all things related to the CrossFit Games, Niki’s thoughts on not being asked to be part of the broadcast, and the importance of communication with the CrossFit community.

🏆🚨 Eighth Athlete Announced for TYR Wodapalooza SoCal: Patrick Vellner was announced as the eighth athlete in the mix for the inaugural TYR Cup, a battle between North America and the World. He was announced yesterday on Coffee, Pods, and Wods:

• Vellner now joins a growing roster of athletes for the event, including Jeffrey Adler, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, Danielle Brandon, Lazar Ðukić, Justin Medeiros, Seher Kaya, and Arielle Loewen. Vellner will compete with Adler, Brandon, and Medeiros on Team North America.

⭐️🤩 “The Happy Star”: On Saturday, Dave Castro announced via his personal Instagram account, that athletes would use an implement that appears to be a Rogue sandbag, called “The Happy Star” in Event 6. Eagle-eyed commenters on Castro’s post noticed that the bag pictured had “170 lb.” written in one corner.

• Announced on Friday night, Event 6 (at Farrington Field) will be a “Field Sprint, Rest, 1600m Run.” No additional details were given.

• Remind me: In 2020, Event 9 at the CrossFit Games was called “Happy Star” and featured different running loops up and down the hill with five rounds of increasing reps of thrusters and burpees.

ICYMI: Upfront payments for gym memberships and personal training sound convenient, but there are a few things you should know. Learn more.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

What Are CrossFit Games Athletes’ Superpowers and Kryptonite? – Part 1

Every CrossFitter has strengths and weaknesses, even the best in the world. 

For some athletes, the strengths and weaknesses are obvious (see Danielle Brandon and handstand walks), but sometimes they are hidden and you can’t quite pinpoint why an athlete finishes where they do on the leaderboard.

• As the clock counts down to the CrossFit Games, we looked at past results for five men with their eyes on a top ten overall finish to spotlight the superpower propelling them up the leaderboard, and the kryptonite stopping them from reaching the podium.

Guilherme Malheiros 

Superpower

It’s no secret that Gui Malheiros’ superpower is in strength events. 

He won the max lift event in his last two trips to the CrossFit Games, the Max Snatch in 2021 and the Max Sandbag Clean in 2022. 

• Malheiros also owns the world record in the 2022 Semifinals Barbell Complex and 2016 Regional Individual Event 1 which appeared at Semifinals in 2024 (the snatch ladder). 

If there is a max lift event at the Games in 2024, expect Malheiros to be the favorite to win.

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CROSSFIT GAMES

25 Nations Will Be Represented at the 2024 CrossFit Games

One of CrossFit’s long-time goals has been to bring the sport to a global audience.

• It’s an admirable goal that, in 2019, led to national champions from every country earning a CrossFit Games invite. 

But the reality is that just wasn’t practical. 

Here we are today: Only the fittest 39 men and 40 women in the world get to compete on the biggest stage of the sport next month in Fort Worth, TX.

So how global has the sport become in 2024?

The details: This year, the 39 men and 40 women competing in the Individual Division come from 25 different countries. 

The men’s division represents 15 countries, and the women 17.

• As for the team competition, they will be represented by 12 different countries.

In comparison: At the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, athletes from more than 200 countries will be represented. 

• That being said, the modern Olympic Games are 128 years old – it might be a bit of an unfair comparison.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🤸‍♀️Check out Elisa Fuliano’s impressive handstand-walking Games training.

• Happy belated 90th birthday to Grandma G from Anywhere Fit in California.

• Congratulations to Mack from CrossFit Acclivity in McCall, ID, on his first bar muscle-up.

• Travis Mayer is getting Games-ready with this 129-kilo/285-pound snatch.

• 📝Congratulations to Jeremie from CrossFit 27 in Spain on receiving his CF-L3.