How Much Faster Are CrossFit Athletes In 2024? The Semifinal Snatch Ladder Showed Us

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• We know that CrossFit athletes are stronger, faster, and more skilled now than ever before, and sometimes we get a clear picture of that. The 2024 Semifinals snatch ladder is one of those opportunities.

• How building confidence and gaining experience helped Harry Lightfoot earn a ticket to the CrossFit Games.

• CrossFit Mayhem created the “Everyday Hero Games” in 2023 as a virtual competition for service men and women, law enforcement officers, first responders, and others. This year, there will be in-person finals in June, so get ready, Cookeville!

Should your gym be featured as our Affiliate of the Month for July? Please drop us a note to explain why!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I really enjoyed the training methodology. I've always been sporty and wanted to be an athlete, but it took a lot of people to tell me, ‘You're quite good at this; I think you could make a good crack here.’” - Harry Lightfoot, CrossFit Games rookie qualifier on getting serious about the sport

CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS

A Look Back: Comparing the 2016 Regionals and 2024 Semifinals Snatch Ladders

When the Regionals workouts were announced in 2016, most competitors knew they would likely not make it through Event 1 before the 11-minute time cap. 

And they didn’t.

Remind me: The event, repeated at this year’s Semifinals, was:

• 10 squat snatches by 2:00

• 8 squat snatches by 4:00

• 6 squat snatches by 6:00

• 4 squat snatches by 8:00

• 2 squat snatches by 11:00

Women: 135, 145, 155, 165, 175 pounds
Men: 185, 205, 225, 245, 265 pounds

Back then, the heaviest barbell was higher than many of the athletes’ one-rep max, so when Australia’s Kara Saunders and five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser set the fastest times in the world — 5:29.82 and 6:05.29, respectively — they were in a class of their own. 

Eight years later, when it was revealed that Semifinals Event 5 would repeat Regionals Event 1, we knew these times would likely be shattered.

The athletes didn’t disappoint.

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SPEED READS

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📸🎥 Dylan and Susana's Lost Gear Recovery: At the North America West Semifinal by West Coast Classic, two friends of the Morning Chalk Up, Dylan Shoemaker and Susana Rodriguez Mata, who are photographers/creators in CrossFit media, had some of their valuable camera equipment stolen.

• Heber Canon of the Buttery Bros arranged a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the lens and the camera. Check it out and help if you are able.

🏆🏆 Celebrate the launch of the all-new Jocko Hydrate Drink by winning some epic prizes! Win a Jocko Fuel x Blue Cube Ice Bath ($20,000 value), a year's supply of the brand-new drink, or be one of 10 lucky runners-up to snag prizes from YETI and GORUCK. Stay hydrated and win big!

🤔🦣 Wooley Memeth: Make WODs Great Again is no more. The platform created by affiliate owner/memelord John Wooley was shut down by Instagram. Check out the full story here, and give his new platform, Wooley Memeth, a follow.

• Order now to get your hands on a limited-edition “Block First. Block Hard.” T-shirt to celebrate the new platform 😉😆.

🌟🚣 Glow Row Fundraiser: Check out this cool event organized by The Dancer Love Foundation. It’s a marathon row with teams of 10 that supports adaptive athletes.

• The details: The event will raise funds to support those with physical and intellectual disabilities through fitness and love. It will take place June 15, 6:30-10:30 pm, at CrossFit Invictus in San Diego, CA.

• Learn more and register now.

🔥💙 Geaux CrossFit x Working with Larger Bodies: Later this summer, Geaux CrossFit in Baton Rouge, LA, will host the Working with Larger Bodies seminar. The seminar will provide members and the broader community with access to expertise and resources about fitness, nutrition, and working with athletes with varying needs for movement adjustments. Register now!

Rogue Invitational Qualifying System: The Rogue Invitational announced a new qualifying system for its annual event, which is moving to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2024.

• From the announcement: “Over the past few years, we have been working on the method to select the best CrossFit athletes in the sport. This system takes into account the most recent event performance along with the last five years. There is a predictive component to replace missing scores due to various life events.”

• The post clarified that Rogue “reserve[s] the right to invite anyone but plan on using this to choose a MIN of 10 along with 5 MIN from the Q.”

• Check out more details on the qualifying system and search for athletes here.

🏆 TYR Wodapalooza Drops TYR Cup Details: The team at Loud and Live is dropping more info about the inaugural event this Fall. Stay in the know below:

• With more details out in the world, the TYR Cup crew posted this hype video laying out everything you need to know. Check it out now!

• The prize purse for the event will be $250,000, broken down as follows:

  • TYR Cup Champs: $160k per team
    Runner-ups: $40k per team
    MVP: $10k - Awarded to the individual with the greatest singular positive impact on their team’s success.
    The remaining $40k will be shared across the remaining division champs.

ICYMI: James Sprague brought his 10,000-watt smile into Carson and walked away with a third-place finish and a Games ticket. We caught up with the now two-time individual qualifier and talked about his sophomore season.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

CrossFit Games Rookie Spotlight: How Getting His Mental Games Right Was Exactly What Harry Lightfoot Needed to Make It to Fort Worth

When you click on Harry Lightfoot’s CrossFit Games profile, up pops the face of Ben Stiller as Derek Zoolander. 

• And as Mugatu says, “Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look!”

Lightfoot has way more than one look on the competition floor, and with his first qualification for the Crossfit Games coming this year out of the Europe Semifinal by French Throwdown, the world will be able to see them all come August. 

Lightfoot started CrossFit when he was 18, but sports has always played a big part in this Englishman’s life. 

He started playing rugby when he was ten and continued throughout school, ultimately playing in a club.

Finding CrossFit

His introduction to CrossFit came casually.

• “One of my best mates found this thing online called CrossFit,” Lightfoot told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview. “He was showing me all these videos about the ridiculous pull-ups, the mental (“crazy”) workouts, and I did not like the look of it.” 

Despite Lightfoot’s hesitation, his friend continued to push him to join in on this program he had discovered online. 

“He found all the classic hero workouts, and we gave them a go,” Lightfoot said, “he would try to teach me something like a dumbbell snatch, and I just could not wrap my head around it.”

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COMMUNITY

Mayhem to Host Live Event for 2024 “Everyday Hero Games”

CrossFit was built on a foundation of those who serve our communities. Firefighters, law enforcement officers, educators, emergency and medical personnel, and those in the armed forces have been at the heart of CrossFit since its inception. 

The Everyday Hero Games, presented by Mayhem, is a way to highlight and celebrate the fitness levels of those service members. 

Remind me: In 2021, CrossFit HQ wanted to recognize these heroes with “The Occupational Games.” This virtual competition allowed athletes to fight for the title of fittest in their profession. 

In 2022, CrossFit expanded the divisions to include even more everyday heroes.

However, in 2023, CrossFit announced it would no longer host the Occupational Games, which had traditionally fallen between Quarterfinals and Semifinals. 

Enter Mayhem Nation: When HQ made this announcement, the CrossFit Mayhem crew decided to take action. 

Jake Lockert, president of Mayhem Nation and director of Mayhem Athlete, credits Rich Froning for the idea to run a similar event of their own. That’s how Mayhem’s Everyday Hero Games was born.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🎂Happy birthday to Dani Horan, Spencer and Saxon Panchik.

• Happy birthday (6/8) to Athena Perez.

• Nice work to Bruno Marins, who, two days after the Copa Sur, PRed his squat clean at 180 kilos/296 pounds.

• Check out Jaden getting after some bar muscle-ups - from a first to repping out three in a row - great work!

• 🙌Great job to Ben and friends from CrossFit Rapture in Brightwaters, NY, on the snatch grip deadlifts.