Mirjam von Rohr and Colten Mertens Win 25.1

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Mirjam von Rohr and Colten Mertens repeat, finishing CrossFit Open 25.1 on top. The pair also won the women’s and men’s open division for 24.1 last year.

  • How training hard in the gym can help make life easier everywhere else.

  • The live CrossFit Open announcement for 25.2 is coming this week. Find out how to watch.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A year ago I was unsure whether to even sign up for the Open or pause for a year,” - Mirjam von Rohr via Instagram following 25.1. She set the women’s world record for the workout.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Scott Freymond

Deja Vu All Over Again – Mirjam von Rohr and Colten Mertens Top 25.1 Leaderboard

For the second year in a row, “point one” of the CrossFit Open ended with the same two names at the top. 

Mirjam von Rohr from Switzerland, the current iF3 World Champion, put up a score of 259, 14 reps ahead of second place Alazne Egiazabal from Spain. Caroline Dardini and Fee Saghafi tied for third with a score of 343 reps. 

On the men’s side, “The Iron Hog,” Colten Mertens, took the top spot with 361 reps, just two reps ahead of Colin Bosshard, who placed third in 24.1. 

  • Second Fittest in 2024, Dallin Pepper, finished 10 reps behind Bosshard with 348 to round out the top three. 

Remind me: Last year’s first workout, 24.1, also included a single dumbbell and burpees over the dumbbell. However, Mertens’ time of 5:19 and von Rohr’s time of 5:39 in 24.1 were roughly one-third of the 15-minute AMRAP that was 25.1. Bodyweight lunges were also added this year. 

  • This would suggest a different stimulus, since 24.1 would be considered a short couplet, and 25.1 would be considered a moderately long triplet. However, movement efficiency on the burpees and dumbbell was of the utmost importance, and lunges were not a factor. 

Fun facts: The woman who has won the first Open workout has won the overall Open five times. 

  • 2024: Von Rohr finished first, 37th, and second in the three workouts.

  • 2022: Mal O’Brien was practically perfect with a first, second, and first for the lowest average score in Open history. 

  • 2014: Sam Briggs finished first in 14.1, 14.4, and 14.5. 

  • 2012: Kristan Clever won 12.1, 12.3, and 12.4. 

  • 2011: Annie Thorisdottir won 11.1, the first Open workout in history, en route to her overall victory. 

It has never happened on the men’s side.

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SPEED READS

🚨🚨 The CrossFit Open Is Here! The 2025 CrossFit Open started last Thursday with 25.1 and will continue through March 17. Sign up now!

  • Live Open Announcement Viewership Survey: CrossFit HQ is seeking feedback from anyone who watched 25.1 last week. Take the survey here.

🌎 🎟️ 2025 Qualifying Event Updates: Here are a few quick updates from some of the 2025 CrossFit Games Qualifying Events.

  • Mayhem Classic: The first In-Person Qualifying Event of the season, the Mayhem Classic Invitational continues its backfill process. Victoria Campos and Augustin Richelme recently replaced Ellie Turner and Travis Mayer on the official invite list. 

  • Torian Pro: Announced earlier this week, the GOAT, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, will compete at the Torian Pro, Oceania’s only In-Person Qualifying Event.

  • Far East Throwdown: Asia’s only In-Person Qualifying Event is seeking judges for its competition in Busan, Korea. Get the details here.

ICYMI: The Open Report is back for week six, and it’s a big one. Check out Known and Knowable’s breakdown of the unofficial 2025 Open registration total, which dropped by almost a third from 2024.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @benbergeron / Instagram

5 Ways Training Hard in the Gym Makes Life Easier Everywhere Else

Pushing ourselves in demanding workouts doesn't just build physical strength and endurance. 

The mental and emotional "muscle" we develop through hard training directly translates to greater resilience in any challenging situation.

  • While the benefits of exercise for reducing stress, improving mood, and boosting brainpower are well documented, less obvious are the practical lessons that dedication to intense fitness instills. 

Lessons that, once internalized, lighten the burden of life's inevitable trials.

Bringing awareness to how your hard work in the gym carries over to your daily life can help you reap even more rewards from your sessions in the gym.

For an episode of the Chasing Excellence podcast, we recently talked through five lessons that hard training teaches us, each of which has the power to ease the struggle of facing life's everyday obstacles:

Drop the Weight of Judgment and Expectation

The heaviest weight to lift isn't on the barbell. It's the mental burden of judgment and expectation. Drop these two weights first.

Judgment and expectations, whether from others or ourselves, are distractions that stand in the way of progress.

They make us feel inadequate, anxious, and afraid to fail.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: @sydneywells / Instagram, Scott Freymond

How to Watch CrossFit Open Announcement 25.2

Week two of the CrossFit Open kicks off with the live announcement of workout 25.2 on Thursday, March 6, on the official CrossFit YouTube channel. And we’ve got all the details you need to know heading into the event.

The details: The second live Open announcement marks the middle of the 2025 CrossFit Open. The Open kicks off the competitive season annually, and this year, it's likely to look different from any in CrossFit’s history. The live announcements started during the 2013 season and grew in size and popularity through 2018. CrossFit elected not to host live Open announcements during the 2019 and 2020 seasons but returned to host them in 2021.

  • 25.2 will be presented by the U.S. Border Patrol, and will take place in Peoria, AZ at CrossFit Incendia.

  • The Third Fittest Woman in 2024, Emily Rolfe will take on 2023 Games athlete, Sydney Wells, twin sister to Games legend, Brooke Wells.

  • The 25.3 announcement will take place at CrossFit Spur in Glenmont, NY, not far from the new CrossFit Games home of Albany, NY, in Nashville, TN, on March 14. The final live announcement will feature a head-to-head-to-head battle between the first, second, and fourth place finishers at the 2024 Games on the men’s side—James Sprague, Dallin Pepper, and Jayson Hopper. 

How to Watch the 2025 CrossFit Open Workout 25.2

Tune in to the CrossFit Games website or CrossFit YouTube channel for the live 25.2 announcement on Thursday, March 6, at noon PT.

POLL

Credit: @crossfitgames / Instagram

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HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 🙌Congratulations to Mirjam von Rohr, who, with her partner, took third place at the Karlsruhe Hyrox in the Mixed Doubles division. 

  • Check out this 155-kilo/342-pound back squat for Elisa Fuliano.

  • Congratulations to Sam Briggs, who is now certified as a Firefighter-Parametic.

  • Check out 25.1 second-place finisher Colin Bosshard, who finish the workout with 358 reps. Amazing!

  • 😮‍💨Well done to Michelle Basnett on this 90-kilo/200-pound complex.

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