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🌴 Who’s In So Far: Tracking the 2026 Wodapalooza Elite Field

January 8th, 2026

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 🌴 Who’s in for WZA (so far)? With online qualifiers wrapped and invites rolling out, the early 2026 elite field is starting to take shape.

  •  🏃 With consistent races, gym buy-in, and serious brand backing, HYROX is quietly building the kind of ecosystem that lasts.

  • 🎥 Inside Brooke Wells’ Last Dance — new documentary captures the moments, memories, and the people who shaped her CrossFit Games career.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through. My elbow was in my armpit, and it was so painful. They couldn’t get it back in for 20 minutes.”

Brooke Wells on her traumatic elbow injury at the 2021 CrossFit Games.
COMPETITIONS

Who’s Headed to Miami? Tracking the 2026 Wodapalooza Elite Field

Credit: Scott Freymond

Months ago, major changes were announced for our winter mainstay, Loud and Live’s Wodapalooza. First, the competition would move from January to mid-March. 

  • And after what was, for some, the busiest season in our sport’s history, that delay in competition is welcome. 

Second, after a three-year run with TYR, Wodapalooza’s title sponsor is now Gymreapers. 

Other details remain the same: there will be two days for individual competition and two days for team competition, with some athletes opting to participate in both divisions. 

  • The LatAm Cup is returning, as are the many community divisions that helped grow Wodapalooza into the giant, much-anticipated event it is.

Online qualifiers have wrapped up, with the top ten men and women heading up the 2026 Elite Individual roster. Familiar names like Luka Ðukić, Bill Leahy, and Ellie Turner are on the list. 

  • And now announcements have begun to trickle out on social media about invitations being sent, along with details on Wodapalooza’s website regarding the invitational process.

SPEED READS

💪🔬 Why Creatine Works: CrossFit’s Stephane Rochet digs into the science behind creatine supplementation, explaining how it boosts high-intensity performance, supports muscle adaptation, and remains safe, effective, and widely misunderstood.

🏟️🔥 HYROX Goes Big-League in Phoenix: HYROX will make history this winter (January 29-February 1) by staging the Phoenix Major inside State Farm Stadium — the first fitness race ever held in an NFL venue — transforming the Cardinals’ home into a 50,000-seat racing colosseum and signaling just how fast fitness racing is scaling in the U.S.

💭📊 Forget the Myths, Track the Results: The CrossFit Podcast episode breaks down why old nutrition and training prescriptions miss the point, and how paying attention to outcomes can reshape your approach to food and fitness.

💪📊 Strong is the New Skinny: A new Life Time wellness survey shows Americans are shifting their fitness priorities away from just losing weight toward building strength and focusing on long-term health and longevity — with strength training now topping the list of 2026 goals.

ICYMI: 🇺🇸💪 Mayhem and NCFIT officially launch “integrated affiliate programming.”

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

5 Reasons HYROX is Looking Less and Less Like Just Another Fleeting Fitness Fad

I’ll be honest. When I first heard about HYROX, I was skeptical it would last.

  •  It sounded a lot like Tough Mudder or Spartan races: “type two fun,” gritty, something you do once, grab the photos, tell the story, and then cross it off your bucket list forever. A cool experience, sure, but not a sport you build your life around.

But in December, I attended my first HYROX race in Vancouver, BC, as a spectator. 

There was something different about this, something that made me think, ‘Oh, this isn’t going anywhere.’

Here’s why I think HYROX isn’t just a fad, and is just getting started.

PROFILE

Brooke Wells’ Last Dance at the CrossFit Games: A Review

Credit: Rachel Moore

After a 10-year career, competing at the highest level in CrossFit, a journey that began at age 19, Brooke Wells’ run came to a close in 2025. 

  • Over the course of a decade, Wells inspired countless athletes, from her fellow competitors to those who watched and cheered her on from afar. 

She grew from a Games rookie as a teenager, was one of 10 athletes to compete at The Ranch at the 2020 CrossFit Games, served as a mentor to her sister, Sydney, and became an entrepreneur, co-founding While on Earth. 

For Wells’ last trip to the Games, filmmaker Carlos Bown followed along, capturing moments and memories of those days in Albany, as well as interviewing those closest to her throughout her career. 

The new documentary, available on YouTube, lets us peek in on it all.

HIGHLIGHTS

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